DIY amps?

[sts9fan]

Anyone have good links to some DIY amp pages? I think I may try this out for S&G's.

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

Elliot Sound Products

Although based in Australia, it (actually "he", namely Rod Elliot) has a worldwide following. And even with the overseas postage his printed circuit boards are a good value. It's up to you to source the components however.

The site also has a forum where you can get knowledgable DIY help.

I'm building a number of his designs.

 

[MBauer]

Randy Slone

Randy has written several books on amplifier design but has stopped selling his kits. There a couple of distributors left in Canada and Australia. If you want to get into circuit board design, etc he has detailed plans in his books. Also he did a two part series in "Nuts and Volts" magazine a while back and they can be ordered from "Nuts and Volts"

He is a bit controversial as he is the anti-tube guy and uses strictly solid state designs.

 

[JoeE SP9]

Have you tried the Pass Labs Website?
www.passlabs.com

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

Too bad Randy Slone is no longer selling his kits, else I would have mentioned him, too. I have learned a lot from his "Tab Electronics Guide to Understanding Electricity and Electronics" and recommend it for novice hobbyists. In fact, I just finished building the lab power supply project from the book.

Dan Banquer once told me that you're not "a member of the club" until you've destroyed some components due to dumb mistakes. I smoked some transistors while building the power supply so I guess I'm in!

 

[SQ Kid]

i know i'm a month behind on this conversation, but figured i'd still chime in. a wildly popular diy amp has been the gainclone. you can build then for around $100/pair and much less if you can scroung for parts and dont need a pcb. seeing as it, in its most basic form, is made up of less than a dozen parts, its a very good beginner project. check out www.chipamp.com for one of the guys from diyaudio.com's packages.

 

[WmAx]

Anyone have good links to some DIY amp pages? I think I may try this out for S&G's.

I hope that you are building for the fun aspect. I fail to see an economic advantage to building amplifiers.

-Chris

 

[sts9fan]

I found my kit!!!

should be fun


"I hope that you are building for the fun aspect. I fail to see an economic advantage to building amplifiers.

-Chris"

Does everything you do have to have a economic advantage?? I fail to see how you get any enjoyment from life. Also I don't think there is a better way to get a solid understanding of your equiptment then by DIYing.

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

Tubes ain't my thing, but it should be fun.

A cool thing about DIY is that it demystifies the innards of your gear a bit. And repair/mods suddenly seem a lot easier. Blown capacitor? No problem, grab the soldering iron!

I don't think Chris was trying to be a killjoy. At least for the first couple of projects DIY costs as much as just buying the stuff because of the tools, test equipment, etc. it takes to get started. Plus the stuff you buy that seemed useful/a good deal/cool that turns out to be useless. Been there, done that! I have piles of resistors, capacitors etc. from "bargain grab bag" surplus assortments I don't know what I'll do with.

And remember: you're not really a member of the club until you blow something up!

 

[sts9fan]

tubes

I don't know if they are my thing either but I think it will be a fun project and really teach me something about amps(which I know little about). i always learn best when I get my hands on things

 

[DVV]

I hope that you are building for the fun aspect. I fail to see an economic advantage to building amplifiers.

-Chris

There CAN be a tremendous economic advantage to it. If for example you aspire to high end gear, and can get hold of some good schematics, you can build a Krell for about 1/6 or 1/5 of its asking price. Perhaps less if you insist on many kilos of aluminium all over your room

The problem with most DIY gear is that you are locked into the design with only minor reservations, usually in the power supply department. While this is probably the most significant part of any amplifier, it would be good if you were given choices elsewhere too - such as whether to use classic power supplies, or electronically stabilized power supplies. Then, stabilized for the voltage gain stages only, and in the next step, separate stabilization for the current gain stages as well. To be able to have standard RCA Cinch input connectors, or perhaps later on add or switch to XLR balanced.

This is generally missing altogether! Choice is zero, except for component quality, but changing that to NASA standard will only take you so far, critical benefits are achieved in the design, not in the parts quality alone.

What most people don't understand, most unfortunately, is just how much benefit a typical transistor amp will experience and pass on to your ears with fully regulated power supplies. Much like tubes, but with the dynamics and power of transistors such as tubes can never match.

True, it makes your project more expensive, but in the end, you pay say $300 for a reasonably powered amp; if you were to buy a similar unit, I'd guess you'd need at least $1.5K, which is, as I see it, just 5 TIMES more. Your case probably own't be so sexy, there won't be a fancy brand name on it, but it will outplay many a fancy name product around.

And you'd be surprised, nay, shocked at how subjectively loud a fully stabilized amp can be; you'd swear it was rated at least twice what it actually is. A good case in point are Naim amps - ever heard 35W sound like they were 100W? If not, go listen to Naim.

And if you like it, well, you can always pick up the schematics, printed circuit artwork and layout plans on my site http://www.zero-distortion.com .

Cheers,
DVV

 

[WmAx]

...There CAN be a tremendous economic advantage to it...

... it would be good if you were given choices elsewhere too - such as whether to use classic power supplies, or electronically stabilized power supplies..

... Then, stabilized for the voltage gain stages only, and in the next step, separate stabilization for the current gain stages as well. To be able to have standard RCA Cinch input connectors, or perhaps later on add or switch to XLR balanced...

Well, I suppose that is nice if one wants these as a preference, but the contribution to audible differences in any normal circumstance by using balanced lines and the other things is not an issue unless a resultant effect occurs that will be audible, such as noise(s) and(or) distortion(s).

A perfectly good used Adcom can be had on ebay for low $$, or one can buy a nice new professional P.A. amplifier with high power output for low $$. A huge selection of low cost recievers is also ripe for the picking, that as a benefit, also have a built in preamplifier.

If one likes to build for fun or preference(XLR inputs, massive construction, class A, special topology, etc.), then that is cool. But I don't see an economic advantage demonstrated if the only important thing is function.

-Chris

 

[DVV]

Well, I suppose that is nice if one wants these as a preference, but the contribution to audible differences in any normal circumstance by using balanced lines and the other things is not an issue unless a resultant effect occurs that will be audible, such as noise(s) and(or) distortion(s).

A perfectly good used Adcom can be had on ebay for low $$, or one can buy a nice new professional P.A. amplifier with high power output for low $$. A huge selection of low cost recievers is also ripe for the picking, that as a benefit, also have a built in preamplifier.

If one likes to build for fun or preference(XLR inputs, massive construction, class A, special topology, etc.), then that is cool. But I don't see an economic advantage demonstrated if the only important thing is function.

-Chris

Chris,

I was not trying to convince you otherwise, I simply pointed out that if one is after the high end class of gear, is reasonably proficient with soldering and is willing to invest some time, one CAN end up with a true high end device for a fraction of its ready-made cost.

As you say, one can pick up a nice piece of gear for even small money, that's true enough, but you invariably end up with a second hand product of unknown history, no matter what anyone says. And real high end gear isn't around every day, and when it is there, it's not exactly cheap. In my view, Adcom is a solid product, but it's hardly exciting in the sound department.

The choices I mentioned are just that, choices - it's good to be able to use them, but does not mean you HAVE to use them straight out. They refer more to a feeling of freedom, of not being boxed into a once-and-for-all-times project.

And unlike what you buy ready-made, they allow you to start from basic and later on, move upwards. Try that with a ready-made unit.

Ultimately, why does anyone get into DIY? I think it's always, in some part, for the fun of participating in your own audio system as something more than the financial officer. And the higher up you aim, the more economic stimulation you receive in money saved and quality uncompromised.

Cheers,
DVV

 

[Rob Babcock]

Long time no see, Dejan- haven't seen you on any of the boards. Where you been hiding?

 

[DVV]

Long time no see, Dejan- haven't seen you on any of the boards. Where you been hiding?

Hey there Rob, you ol' pirate! So this is where you have been all this time!

To answer your question, I've had some really bad time this year. On January 8, my sister by my uncle died at 57, while her husband was having a liver transplant in Italy. On February 1, my mother died - 8 days' waiting before a free time to cremate her. This was done on February 8, and the next day, the said brother-in-law died in Italy. 3 deaths in a month and a half.

All this while, my dad was, and still is, in the hopsital. Alzheimier plus methastasis of his prostate cancer. The old boy is still fighting, but he's all gone, he doesn't even recognize me any more, and his leaving us can happen literally any minute.

That's where I was, Rob, running around, doing legal work, so many papers that have to be taken care of, plus dad in the hospital. All my plans were sunk and I am something like 6 months late in everything. I wish I could have said something more cheerful, but that's what it was.

Anyway, you know me, I just don't give up, and Dan Banquer told me (several times!) that I really should be here, so here I am. For better or for worse.

Good seeing you here, Rob, I mean that.

Cheers,
DVV

 

[Rob Babcock]

Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck. Sometimes things just go like that. I hope things are looking up.

Anyway, I sort of divide my time between here and AC. I haven't been online as much lately- new job and everything. And of course, summer has finally come to the Dakotas! I try to get out and enjoy it since we have about 8 months of winter per year!

 

[DVV]

My calculations show that using local prices (Belgrade, Serbia) I can produce a 2x70/140W into 8/4 ohms amp for about 250 euros, or about $310. That's a classic design, using classic techniques. To give an idea of local prices, a custom made 500 VA toroid costs 22 euros, or about $30.

If I want an extra beefed up power supply, meaning 60,000uF per channel, and using high quality German made capacitors (Fischer & Tausche), this would increase the cost to about $380-400, also using one full wave bridge rectifier for each power supply line, and with electronically stabilized (virtual battery) supply line for voltage gain and predriver stages.

If I want full voltage regulation - dual (separate for voltage gain and predrived and driver and output stages) - that jacks the price up to about $580-600, mostly because I have to use two cases rather than one, and four heavy duty Fischer SK56/100 (German made) heat sinks rather than two.

Say $600 - who can show me a similarly powered, similarly constructed amp on the market? And trust me on this, full regulation is awesome sound.

Cheers,
DVV