[Rensek]

Though I don’t agree with you on several things, I must admit that I prefer dogs. Constanza, avert your eyes!

That is a seriously sad dog.

 

[33na3rd]

That is a seriously sad dog.

That dog is not sad, merely morose and contemplative. A common occurrence these days.

 

[MWSVette]

 

[Timster]

Though I don’t agree with you on several things, I must admit that I prefer dogs. Constanza, avert your eyes!

Awwww, nice hound!

 

[TomSix]

It was a multilayer chip cap that I was searching all over for today for the Coaster. Every vendor I tried had zero, some 36 weeks out unless I wanted a reel of 2,000. I may put in a large order tomorrow to grab other parts that could be affected as well.

You know, this is a common problem. It's often difficult for small builders or manufacturers to reliably source parts due to excessively high minimums and/or lack of vendor inventory combined with long lead-times from the manufacturers. Seemingly, much of everything made goes straight to "the big boys" who have the ability to make multi-thousand-unit purchases direct from the factory, and so then very little (if any) of the production goes to vendor inventories for sale in smaller lots. The general situation seems to be getting worse.

It's tempting to think that because an item is listed in a large manufacturer's current catalog, then surely some vendor out there can be found on the web which will have the part in inventory. Actually, this isn't necessarily so. A considerable part of the design effort can be expended in making lengthly web searches in an effort to avoid parts with uncertain future availability and/or which can only be sourced through one or two vendors.

I've often had to modify a design considerably because there were certain parts for which I simply could not find a reliable/stable inventory to draw upon --anywhere. I've encountered this issue a number of times, particularly with things like: switches; connectors; controls etc. If a design absolutely relies upon even a single non-substitutable part which may not be available next month, and has, say, a 12-week factory lead-time, then you could be "dead in the water" --fast.

It can be a serious challenge, a real PITA

 

[FLTWS]

That is a seriously sad dog.

Or maybe guilty, dogs will let you know when they've done something wrong, cats carry on like nothing is ever amiss or their fault.
While I keep no pets I enjoy the company of friends pooches when I visit them.

 

[FLTWS]

One of my thoughts on this trade war stuff, it could impact the price of metals very quickly. So from autos to audio there could be significant price increases in a big way and in a hurry. Not sure who this is going to benefit. Certainly, as usual, not consumers.

 

[the finisher]

I keep seeing your pics in my notification e-mails, but not on this page. Is it just me? (Are they GIFs? Trying to figure out why I only see "

Ya they are GIFs, I see them when I post, then on my phone, tablet, other browser I see them.

I am a dog and cat owner, we all get along around here.

 

[the finisher]

I've been a lurker on this thread, and Mike's for quite a while, staying ON topic in either of these threads LOL really!?

Umm, so what is the topic exactly anyway, I thought these 2 threads are a cool place to hangout and talk some Schiit. Then when Jason or Mike post, the topic will go that way for a bit, then???

Is this really a problem, I don't think so.

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

Anyway those of you who might be ordering Coaster amps may run into some parts difficulties at Mouser. I ended up using four sources for my next couple builds just to have enough parts. Amazon even carries some of the components.

Paladin79, I'm planning to order and build some coasters, but I'm a little intimidated by trying to find and order the parts. I don't even know how to begin. How much are you spending on average for parts to build one coaster? Would you be interested in supplying a complete parts kit (minus the coaster board and power supply) to newbs like me?

I've been following this forum for about a year and this is my first post.

 

[Paladin79]

Well, if'n you'd quit buying up all the Mouser parts, there'd be enough to go around!


Seriously, though, I typically use Newark, Mouser, and Digi-Key...maybe Grainger (for some stuff, and also Parts Express). Finally ending up at ebay. Ebay has saved our bacon more than once. Obscure, obsolete parts are the worse, man.



(On-topic reference follows.)

Currently listening to my today-delivered HE4XX 'phones via my Schiit Pile:

My master plan is to control all Coasters in the world bwa ha ha. My posts are always on topic, except for the times when they are not.

Yeah I know the usual part sources and I use Allied Electronics as well. My problem is I get ready to work on a build and allocate time on a weekend but thus far coordinating all the parts has been a little tricky but it should get better. A couple places have back ordered parts for me and I will have an abundance of parts one day. What started out as a one or two board build has ballooned a bit on me and I get requests to help with builds so I try to accommodate.

 

[Paladin79]

Paladin79, I'm planning to order and build some coasters, but I'm a little intimidated by trying to find and order the parts. I don't even know how to begin. How much are you spending on average for parts to build one coaster? Would you be interested in supplying a complete parts kit (minus the coaster board and power supply) to newbs like me?

I've been following this forum for about a year and this is my first post.

I can certainly help with that if you use the Bom (Bill of Materials, that is the parts list.) you can go straight to Mouser and get many of the parts. What you cannot get, I will help you figure out. One thing to know is, you can substitute a through hole component on occasion for the chip resistors or caps and I can help you with techniques for doing that. The biggest help you might need is polarity on the LED's and maybe diodes but I can help with that as well. Never hesitate to PM me with specific questions, I will always respond and give you what help I can offer. You can get the wall-wart (power supply) from Schiit for $10 so you might want to order at least one of those when you order the coaster boards. I have shopped around and that is a very reasonable price. I am estimating a complete coaster build at $40-$45. Tubes can be around $2.00 each from ebay but unfortunately in order to match them you may have to buy five or so. When some of my larger orders that are back ordered hit, I will have plenty of extras on some harder to find parts and I do not mind sharing.

Once I get my test board set up with a form of tube sockets I will be able to better match the tubes and I am not opposed to sending matched sets out to folks to keep them from having to buy so many tubes to do their own matching. If you have never done a DIY build before, this might be a bit tricky but it is not a real costly lesson to learn.

Welcome, and I am in the Maryland area a couple times a year, as well as D.C. and Fairfax county.

Tom

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

Jason,

I'm going to order a set of coasters and power supply.

I'd really like to purchase a Schiity T-Shirt (2XL) at the same time, I've never seen any for sale on the website. I live in Maryland so I can't go by to the Schiitr to get one if they are on sale there. I went to Capital Audiofest 2017 but there weren't any shirts there at the Schiit booth. If Schiit is coming to Capital Audiofest 2018 or anywhere else in the DC/MD/VA area I'd love to assist.

Also you might should update the http://www.schiit.com/products/wall-warts page to indicate the 16 VAC model works with the coaster/Vali mini.

Rob

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

So far I still have an iPhone with a headphone jack but I'm upgrading soon. The Apple Lightning headphone jack dongle evidently has terrible AQ and is fragilee. So I've considered my options and I think I'm going to tape an 10400 mAh Anker USB power bank to a Fulla 2.

DAPs unfortunately appear to cost too much and seem to all be made overseas. Not an elegant/attractive solution but an iPhone USB battery/Fulla 2 will output great sound for when I'm away from my Schiit stack with minimal cost ($99 + cables). Also it will be fixable/upgradable when ports/cables change or the battery dies. I already fix/upgrade iPhones/computers for fun.

I'm interested to hear what the rest of you all use when mobile between your phones and headphones.

I know Jason is not interested in making a DAP (much software) and there probably isn't much of a market for a portable/battery powered DAC/AMP.

 

[Paladin79]

Right now I just use DAPS for the most part like Pono, if using an iphone, and I must have four or five previous models I use an OPPO amp/dac, HA-2 in conjunction with a phone.

I will be working on various other outside rigs but right now it is so hot here, I am rarely outside that much, I will address it more this fall. I can foresee using a Coaster with a DAP but it is a little early to say.