Great work Cowanrg,
Good looking case is always a great asset. You could easily switch from Class D to Class A at your will. Honestly how much work is to build a great looking case? A lot, so than if you decide to change what is inside doesn't necceserly mean that you have to change the case. With that toroid size, and big caps housed any other amp will do.
For people that are not in the know, as far as I remember these heatsinks and face plates were part of Cowanrg's mega Aleph project. It is great that you have been able to reuse faceplate and heatsinks. That much great work that you have put in and exceptional results would be really bad not to put in use.
Any reason that you chose powercoating instead of anodizing?
Stay well
AR2
Good looking case is always a great asset. You could easily switch from Class D to Class A at your will. Honestly how much work is to build a great looking case? A lot, so than if you decide to change what is inside doesn't necceserly mean that you have to change the case. With that toroid size, and big caps housed any other amp will do.
For people that are not in the know, as far as I remember these heatsinks and face plates were part of Cowanrg's mega Aleph project. It is great that you have been able to reuse faceplate and heatsinks. That much great work that you have put in and exceptional results would be really bad not to put in use.
Any reason that you chose powercoating instead of anodizing?
Stay well
AR2
AR2 said:
I'm always interested in which amp designs people have chosen as their reference. I just sold my Aleph30 to make way for more UCD. I'm afraid that none of the low power Aleph's have the bass control that the UCD gives me. In the end I decided that the UCD's were better amps than the Aleph series. (Haven't listened to the AlephJ or F3 which might be better).
I never had opportunity to hear UCD amp, but I am trilled with my Aleph30 for the top end where I am using it in my 3 way active set up with Aurus Cantum ribbons. For the mids I have Cary Audio vacuum tube 2A3 amps with PHL mids. Bottom is driven by various AB amps. I did a lots of changes and come to conclusion that is hard to ask one amp to do everything. Also there is a taste issue, so certain caracteristics of an amp could be deciding factor. There is nothing like tube fot the mid range, and not even Aleph could compite with that, altough it comes close. I see many people are building UCD amps - it must be good.
maxlorenz said:
Yeah!...very well done cowanrg
Appart the MACHO look, the thieves will think twice before pulling it up
You sure about Mauricio? They will think they are lifting an XA-100 from Pass-Labs!
Greetings, Harry
P.S., I even have heatsinks on my power center. But that is just so it stays put when I plug power connectors.
well, im working on finishing up the meters right now. they are nothing special, just a dc meter that measures voltage at the outputs (has a small rectifier on it for ac/dc), nothing special and can be switched in and out of circuit).
but the cases are actually kinda interesting (i think so). the case is more of a chassis in that it can accommodate anything. there is only one (1) hole in the entire case that isnt for actually holding the case together. that one hole is for the transformer. everything else is mounted on the rails that attach to the heatsink screws. so, if i want to swap out the guts, the case wouldnt have any extra holes or anything. it has dual 12v triggers on the back (one in and one out) which also accommodate mini toggle switches. there is already one mini toggle switch on there already. so, the case could have a 12v trigger plus, 2 mini toggles, 3 mini toggles, etc. and the guts can be changed just by sliding out the rails and putting new ones in.
it took me awhile to plan out, because i didnt want to drill a ton of holes all over the case to mount stuff. i know how DIY is, i might want a new amp as soon as im finished with this one, and i didnt want to have a case that looked like swiss cheese.
but the cases are actually kinda interesting (i think so). the case is more of a chassis in that it can accommodate anything. there is only one (1) hole in the entire case that isnt for actually holding the case together. that one hole is for the transformer. everything else is mounted on the rails that attach to the heatsink screws. so, if i want to swap out the guts, the case wouldnt have any extra holes or anything. it has dual 12v triggers on the back (one in and one out) which also accommodate mini toggle switches. there is already one mini toggle switch on there already. so, the case could have a 12v trigger plus, 2 mini toggles, 3 mini toggles, etc. and the guts can be changed just by sliding out the rails and putting new ones in.
it took me awhile to plan out, because i didnt want to drill a ton of holes all over the case to mount stuff. i know how DIY is, i might want a new amp as soon as im finished with this one, and i didnt want to have a case that looked like swiss cheese.
JoshK said:I think you did a damn good job....to heck with the naysayers.
You were wise to plan for the future and you can do what you want with the case. I wish I had such mechanical aptitude.
thanks!
i was sort of suprised to see so many negative comments. i knew it would happen when i switched to class D. however, most people havent even heard class D stuff to form an accurate opinion. but thats how it goes.
i would get emails all the time from people asking about the progress on the amps. when i finally post them here, it took almost a day to get a comment. strange. people really are THAT opposed to class D.
im actually looking into making a simpler soft-start circuit (not necessarily for these amps, but just in general). people keep asking for them and always have problems finding a good one. there are some out there, but ~$40-$50 is too much in my opinion for such a simple circuit. im working with a friend of mine to make a really simple one that can be made cheap and be flexible.
maxlorenz said:
Mine costs US$3 but is ugly and non-elegant from an intelectual point of view. Doesn't matter, I keep the PS "ON" all the time.
Two power rails in parallel, each one with its own interruptor. One has a resistor and the other has not
I do the smart counting...
i actually keep my amp on all the time too. the modules themselves have a 12v trigger signal from the processor to turn them on and off, but the power supply always remains on. however, i like to have it just because its a better design.
so, you have two sets of rails, one with a resistor (for "soft-start" and one without? do you use a DPDT switch or something to switch between them or something?
Wouldn't it be possible to use a 220V (or 110V if you're on the other side of the pond) relay for that switching, and just connect the relay coil to the transformer primaries? That way, the power resistor would let the primary voltage rise slowly, and as it comes to ~200V, the relay kicks in and switches to "direct drive". A little resistor on the relay coil might be necessary for tuning the kick-in voltage, though.
maxlorenz said:
Mine costs US$3 but is ugly and non-elegant from an intelectual point of view. Doesn't matter, I keep the PS "ON" all the time.
Two power rails in parallel, each one with its own interruptor. One has a resistor and the other has not
I do the smart counting...
I assume you mean two mains input
a power rail would imply DC
Hi Novec,
A guess, as I know nothing about electric stuff, is that power R limits max current but I believe V will rise fast anyway, tiggering the relay.
(I'll measure it)
Any comments welcome.
Some mechanical or electronic counter could trigger the switch to select direct mains path instead of
R-path.
M
A guess, as I know nothing about electric stuff, is that power R limits max current but I believe V will rise fast anyway, tiggering the relay.
(I'll measure it)
Any comments welcome.
Some mechanical or electronic counter could trigger the switch to select direct mains path instead of
R-path.
M
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