SOoooooo, which of the cheaper kits would you guys recommend. or is there a public PCB layout that I can use (local makerspace has a pcb mill)
I want to do this quite low budget and the chipamp.com kit is surely going to result in tremendous import fees so I would like to avoid that. I want to use a single transformer for the same reason.
I want to do this quite low budget and the chipamp.com kit is surely going to result in tremendous import fees so I would like to avoid that. I want to use a single transformer for the same reason.
How much power do you need ?
Maybe LM3875 is enough :
Non-Inverting LM3875 Stereo Kit | Chipamp Electronics
Phil.
Maybe LM3875 is enough :
Non-Inverting LM3875 Stereo Kit | Chipamp Electronics
Phil.
Last time I ordered something from the US it was 21% of the items value plus a fee of 20 euro for the post office because they had to do the work with customs and stuff.
In that case I paid 27 euro extra on a 35 euro item... it pissed me off quite a bit and now I always keep things under 25 euro which is the limit to avoid import duties.
EDIT: *apply head to desk at high speed* I completely missed that they sell the pcb's for 6 dollar a piece... i'll just get the parts locally. I've seen some big *** 22000 uf capacitors for not much money to stuff in the power supply
In that case I paid 27 euro extra on a 35 euro item... it pissed me off quite a bit and now I always keep things under 25 euro which is the limit to avoid import duties.
EDIT: *apply head to desk at high speed* I completely missed that they sell the pcb's for 6 dollar a piece... i'll just get the parts locally. I've seen some big *** 22000 uf capacitors for not much money to stuff in the power supply
Last edited:
Bare,
don't buy your capacitors and semiconductors from China, nor over Ebay from unknown suppliers.
It is fairly safe buying cheap PCBs. The copper to substrate is the only thing that can let down a substandard PCB, but if you are careful even these can allow a few component changes without stripping pads.
But components and kits seem to always include some fakes to get the price down.
don't buy your capacitors and semiconductors from China, nor over Ebay from unknown suppliers.
It is fairly safe buying cheap PCBs. The copper to substrate is the only thing that can let down a substandard PCB, but if you are careful even these can allow a few component changes without stripping pads.
But components and kits seem to always include some fakes to get the price down.
Two pcb's and two lm3886 will cost me 23 dollar, which is 21 euro from chipamp.com. anything above 22 euro is taxed at the moment, i just checked it and it got even worse now; 3% of the value of the product, plus 21% of the value plus 30 euro for the paperwork... so I will avoid all these stupid fees
I will source the rest of the components locally, nice wima caps, big fat 225VA toroid for not too much, saw some (surplus) screw terminal 22000uf caps for 10 euro a piece (will have to check if they fit my chassis) etcetera.
So no ebay kits for me
I will source the rest of the components locally, nice wima caps, big fat 225VA toroid for not too much, saw some (surplus) screw terminal 22000uf caps for 10 euro a piece (will have to check if they fit my chassis) etcetera.
So no ebay kits for me
All imports from within the EU are treated as if they are all internal and attract no extra taxes/fees.
All imports from outwith the EU are either exempt because they fall below a certain value or attract import tax and/or VAT and/or Fees for handling the package.
And the handler assesses the value. They even guess at a value including post and packing to make sure they get above the exempt limit and thereby earn their handling fee on top of their payment for bringing the package from supplier to customer.
It seems wrong that the carrier gets paid EXTRA for an International and then gets a FEE on top because it is international !
All imports from outwith the EU are either exempt because they fall below a certain value or attract import tax and/or VAT and/or Fees for handling the package.
And the handler assesses the value. They even guess at a value including post and packing to make sure they get above the exempt limit and thereby earn their handling fee on top of their payment for bringing the package from supplier to customer.
It seems wrong that the carrier gets paid EXTRA for an International and then gets a FEE on top because it is international !
Well that is how it is for both the Netherlands and Belgium (officially live in Belgium at the moment)
Within the EU you can ship whatever you want, but if it comes from outside the EU and costs more than 22 euro you will have to pay the taxes. Normally the postal services pay the taxes up front and do the paperwork for you but they do charge you for it. I do notice that the dutch postal services charge you less for the paperwork though...
you can play a bit with this one to see it. bestelbedrag = value of the package, verzendkosten = shipping costs, inklaringskosten varies with the company and is apparently cheaper than belgium, BTW is the salestax and inklaringskosten is the amount extra that they charge you for products outside of the EU.
Invoercalculator | Bereken invoerrechten en inklaringskosten bij het importeren
I am not going to give them that money so I'll just buy the PCBs and LM3886 off chipamp.com and get the rest locally
Within the EU you can ship whatever you want, but if it comes from outside the EU and costs more than 22 euro you will have to pay the taxes. Normally the postal services pay the taxes up front and do the paperwork for you but they do charge you for it. I do notice that the dutch postal services charge you less for the paperwork though...
you can play a bit with this one to see it. bestelbedrag = value of the package, verzendkosten = shipping costs, inklaringskosten varies with the company and is apparently cheaper than belgium, BTW is the salestax and inklaringskosten is the amount extra that they charge you for products outside of the EU.
Invoercalculator | Bereken invoerrechten en inklaringskosten bij het importeren
I am not going to give them that money so I'll just buy the PCBs and LM3886 off chipamp.com and get the rest locally
Hi Andrew. Been reading your advices for years now. Thanks. Unfortunately my little pee of a brain doesn't really understand it all.
And sorry but I do not fully understand your question, I'm not sure what the input components are..Ok ...there is the story....
I've recently added the Octal Aikido cathode follower and it came out superb, no hum, no buzz, I was amazed that I cannot hear anything bad even with my ear right by the speaker and the pot fully open....
But it is lacking a little bass, just a touch.
I was hoping that knowing input impedance I will be able to calculate the Aikido's output cap.
At the moment it's 2uf.
Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
And sorry but I do not fully understand your question, I'm not sure what the input components are..Ok ...there is the story....
I've recently added the Octal Aikido cathode follower and it came out superb, no hum, no buzz, I was amazed that I cannot hear anything bad even with my ear right by the speaker and the pot fully open....
But it is lacking a little bass, just a touch.
I was hoping that knowing input impedance I will be able to calculate the Aikido's output cap.
At the moment it's 2uf.
Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
Where are the input components of the XY amplifier you are asking about?
Interesting threat guys, thanks for sharing knowledge. I bought the XY-PCB’s as well and recently completed it. I’ve red the threat through and was actually quite surprised to observe that people were struggling with potential groundloops which made them to cut traces. I found it a bit more logical to first build the kit, test it in a controlled environment and assess how it performs. It have to say that it actually performs already quite well without any of the suggested modifications. I have not experienced any hum, or hiss with and without connected cables. On the oscilloscope can no oscillations or ringing, even when injecting square waves, be noticed. Of course, a proper layout is essential and for example using a toroidal transformer could possibly already help a lot to prevent coupling of the magnetic field into your audio signal. In addition, I clearly remembered; thou shalt twist wires ;-). Since it already performed properly, I have not used shielded cables, or COAX for the interconnects. What I really like about these PCB’s, next to their simplicity and low price, is that the PCB that harbours the PSU capacitors, has two solder points below that enables one to connect the circuit ground with the chassis. I have not used a resistor to limit the ground loop current, although I have added the chassis to the safety GND as well.
However, although performing well, I have added some extra bits. To prevent interference from my amateur radio transmitter :-D, I decoupled both (V+ and V-) supply lines with a 100 nf cap. In addition I have added the 220 pF filter cap across the 22k Ohm resistor as suggested here, so high frequencies are filtered off. Although the LM3886 chip harbours some protection circuits as well, I have added a DC protection circuit. I am thinking of adding a Zobel/Thiele network; athough my speakers are not that complex, it can’t do harm.
I am really surprised with how well it performs. It is unbelievable how good such a simple amplifier can sound. In this case the less is more philosophy really applies. My goal is getting maximum results with the least amount of money possible. Even the power button is salvaged from an old, broken Sony tc-k15 cassette deck that fitted quite nice with the cabinet.
Well pictures say more than words:
However, although performing well, I have added some extra bits. To prevent interference from my amateur radio transmitter :-D, I decoupled both (V+ and V-) supply lines with a 100 nf cap. In addition I have added the 220 pF filter cap across the 22k Ohm resistor as suggested here, so high frequencies are filtered off. Although the LM3886 chip harbours some protection circuits as well, I have added a DC protection circuit. I am thinking of adding a Zobel/Thiele network; athough my speakers are not that complex, it can’t do harm.
I am really surprised with how well it performs. It is unbelievable how good such a simple amplifier can sound. In this case the less is more philosophy really applies. My goal is getting maximum results with the least amount of money possible. Even the power button is salvaged from an old, broken Sony tc-k15 cassette deck that fitted quite nice with the cabinet.
Well pictures say more than words: