Coulomb said:I can't help but think of the Emperor's new clothes every time someone say's Chip Amp or Gain Clone.
Maybe it's just me but I was under whelmed with the one I finished, courtesy of some boards from BrianGT. God bless him and hopefully he returns to the land of the manly amps soon.
Mind you I used Black and White wire, I understand that using Red and Green wire really improves the sound stage and viceral impact of the mid to upper registers. Something to do with the dye color at the atomic level and the coherency of the molecules effecting the spin rate of electrons passing through the space between the copper conductor and the insulation.
Anthony
Well, your little experiment clearly shows that it takes much more than just a board (and a circuit) to built a good sounding amp. While you played with color of the wire, you probably neglected some other areas of much greater importance
Peter Daniel said:
Well, your little experiment clearly shows that it takes much more than just a board (and a circuit) to built a good sounding amp. While you played with color of the wire, you probably neglected some other areas of much greater importance
Well it is true that I did not put it in a chassiss and then leave the cover off to make it sound more open, but my Aelph 5 board wired up in much the same way sounds so far superior, I have to wonder who is fooling who or themselves for that matter.
BTW Peter are you going to pick up your boards or do you want me to mail them to you?
Anthony
Peter Daniel said:I think it's better to mail them, as you might eventually convince me that chip amps are no good. Send me the payment info
You already paid for them schmuck..
I hope my indifference to the less than manly, nay dainty chip amps, does not offend you Peter. Your always welcome here for a pint of Irish Ale.
Regards
Anthony
Banned
Joined 2002
Not so fast! Are you sure that they don't represent the port and starboard halves of the supply?
and... Peter:
No, my previous comment was WRT Coulomb's comments. Not really the content, just the cleverness. I have no experience with chip amps, but have been exposed to some hype at one time or another. I think he was making fun (truly, fun) of hype.
A story about color and subjective/objective points of view:
My second job was at a newspaper; in the building, not out delivering papers. It was well known to anyone who actually used the rubber bands to hold papers together that the red (or green, I forget now which was which) was far, far more prone to breaking than the green. Now, considering that the delivery guys had to buy their rubber bands, it was wasted money if they ended up with the ones that broke. As a result, there was always a mad scramble when a new shipment of rubber bands came in--everyone was grabbing for the better, more reliable, color.
The circulation manager would argue till he was blue in the face that the rubber bands were the same, that neither color broke easier than the other, that he ordered them from the same source, etc. etc. etc. But the people who actually used them knew better.
Due to this and a few other experiences, I was well prepared when the time came to take my audio to the next level. There are unexpected things in life. Sometimes the only reasonable approach is to shrug and say,"It makes a difference," and go on to the next thing.
I realize that the wire color posts are tongue in cheek...but you never know when life is going to throw you another curve ball.
Grey
My second job was at a newspaper; in the building, not out delivering papers. It was well known to anyone who actually used the rubber bands to hold papers together that the red (or green, I forget now which was which) was far, far more prone to breaking than the green. Now, considering that the delivery guys had to buy their rubber bands, it was wasted money if they ended up with the ones that broke. As a result, there was always a mad scramble when a new shipment of rubber bands came in--everyone was grabbing for the better, more reliable, color.
The circulation manager would argue till he was blue in the face that the rubber bands were the same, that neither color broke easier than the other, that he ordered them from the same source, etc. etc. etc. But the people who actually used them knew better.
Due to this and a few other experiences, I was well prepared when the time came to take my audio to the next level. There are unexpected things in life. Sometimes the only reasonable approach is to shrug and say,"It makes a difference," and go on to the next thing.
I realize that the wire color posts are tongue in cheek...but you never know when life is going to throw you another curve ball.
Grey
zygibajt said:
The biggest version is the revamped Claw, each of which is
a 30 Hz taper and a 30 sq ft mouth.
In general, we seem to be getting down to around the resonant
frequency of these things, rear horn or not. The advantage of
the horn is simply that (like with the J-Low) we find ourselves
with an over-abundance of bottom end, and by applying a high
pass filter in front of the amps, we put it back in line and also
reduce the excursion dramatically, so we can play it a lot louder
with low distortion.
There are some other interesting things going on, which will
get some serious disclosure in a few days, as the F1 (the first
First Watt) is specifically tailored to the Lowthers / Fostex and
other efficient drivers, including horn loaded compression types.
Nelson, nice to see you back on the forum with a vengeance.
My Zen headphone amp really impressed the "H E double hockey sticks out of me", so I ordered some he-man heatsinks from Coulomb to build an Aleph 5. While waiting for the heatsinks Peter and Brian got under my skin with the Gainclone, so for $35 I ordered their kit. Now you are planning something with chips, which I am sure I will not be able to resist.
I started into this originally because I wanted ONE audiophile grade amplifier but couldn't really afford it yet, so I thought I would try building one on the cheap. So far I have a headphone amp, parts on the way for two more amps, and now you have me drooling over new ideas you haven't even revealed yet! So much for my intention to save money!
Oh well, I needed the headphone amp, the Gainclone will make a great amplifier for my office, the Aleph will be perfect for my stereo listening, and I have always had a plan for a home theatre ... so I guess it isn't too bad. Besides, I'll have a great line up to be able to compare the different designs. Maybe I'll be able to settle the ol' "which amp is better" debate. (Or at least throw more fuel on the fire! )
My Zen headphone amp really impressed the "H E double hockey sticks out of me", so I ordered some he-man heatsinks from Coulomb to build an Aleph 5. While waiting for the heatsinks Peter and Brian got under my skin with the Gainclone, so for $35 I ordered their kit. Now you are planning something with chips, which I am sure I will not be able to resist.
I started into this originally because I wanted ONE audiophile grade amplifier but couldn't really afford it yet, so I thought I would try building one on the cheap. So far I have a headphone amp, parts on the way for two more amps, and now you have me drooling over new ideas you haven't even revealed yet! So much for my intention to save money!
Oh well, I needed the headphone amp, the Gainclone will make a great amplifier for my office, the Aleph will be perfect for my stereo listening, and I have always had a plan for a home theatre ... so I guess it isn't too bad. Besides, I'll have a great line up to be able to compare the different designs. Maybe I'll be able to settle the ol' "which amp is better" debate. (Or at least throw more fuel on the fire!
)
I must confess. I'm planning to build a 10 channel gain clone to run all of the ceiling speakers in my house. I'll run them full time wide open and use attenuators in the room the speakers are in. Ill put one of those juke box type cd players with this amp in the laundry room. But you won't catch me scratching my goattee (which I don't have) talking about how it sounds better with one of those silly rocks on top of it.
