to new posters in the future 
Hey Richard! very nice job doing it point to point wired. Most people do not go this way, because:
a- it is not easy to build.
b- it does not look good or neat as PCBs.
c- easy to make "ground loops" and other mistakes.
d- back noise...
But, to me it is an awesome job! and if it sounds good and there is no back noise...you should be very proud.
I can tell you one thing for sure, I am afraid to build an amplifier hardwired, Why? Because for the reasons already mentioned.
a- it is not easy to build.
b- it does not look good or neat as PCBs.
c- easy to make "ground loops" and other mistakes.
d- back noise...
But, to me it is an awesome job! and if it sounds good and there is no back noise...you should be very proud.
I can tell you one thing for sure, I am afraid to build an amplifier hardwired, Why? Because for the reasons already mentioned.
HI AndrewT and others.
Justin, the proud owner of the "Quasimodo" amp has also bought another 80 watt per channel version to use with his Sonus Faber speakers. The second one has an improved power supply feeding the single transistor preamp stage (a single 2sc3425 Toshiba with zero feedback!) and is deathly quiet and suffers absolutely no r.f. pickup and absolutely no hum until pegged to 5 o'clock, and then only with one's ear almost touching the woofer on my 90dB/ watt speakers-good enough for me!
This Quasimodo breaks many engineering "rules" -and deliberately so! Put it this way- I used to build tube amps of all persuasions, bit this thing thrashes 'em all- easily!
I have been into all things audio since 1971, but after all this time, I think I have it nailed- it only took me around 42 years.
Here's something that will "stir the pot"- the entire amp only drags 75mA total current from its power supply, and still sounds much better than my Sugden A21a I used to own around 12 years back.
I personally find class "A" amps seem to lack dynamics somewhat- after all, they are running " flat out" with no signal, so where is the headroom for peaks, eh?
I'm sure many will disagree with my design philosophies, but that's fine with me 'cos it makes for interesting discussions.
I really do like looking at all the rather good photos on this thread, and seeing all the neat work (much better looking than mine!) that all you great enthusiasts have done.
Justin, the proud owner of the "Quasimodo" amp has also bought another 80 watt per channel version to use with his Sonus Faber speakers. The second one has an improved power supply feeding the single transistor preamp stage (a single 2sc3425 Toshiba with zero feedback!) and is deathly quiet and suffers absolutely no r.f. pickup and absolutely no hum until pegged to 5 o'clock, and then only with one's ear almost touching the woofer on my 90dB/ watt speakers-good enough for me!
This Quasimodo breaks many engineering "rules" -and deliberately so! Put it this way- I used to build tube amps of all persuasions, bit this thing thrashes 'em all- easily!
I have been into all things audio since 1971, but after all this time, I think I have it nailed- it only took me around 42 years.
Here's something that will "stir the pot"- the entire amp only drags 75mA total current from its power supply, and still sounds much better than my Sugden A21a I used to own around 12 years back.
I personally find class "A" amps seem to lack dynamics somewhat- after all, they are running " flat out" with no signal, so where is the headroom for peaks, eh?
I'm sure many will disagree with my design philosophies, but that's fine with me 'cos it makes for interesting discussions.
I really do like looking at all the rather good photos on this thread, and seeing all the neat work (much better looking than mine!) that all you great enthusiasts have done.
What a wondrous warm welcome those guys gave you, Richard!
Don't bother, and carry on!
Very nice build. Is there a thread where you share the schematics?
OK, now we heard it from Richard and He said...IT SOUNDS GOOD and it does not have any back noise! and that is what it counts, people
EVERYONE can build an amplifier using PCBs, but not many people can build hardwired point to point amplifiers and get good results. and that is what We can "really" call a DIY amplifier!
EVERYONE can build an amplifier using PCBs, but not many people can build hardwired point to point amplifiers and get good results. and that is what We can "really" call a DIY amplifier!
OK, now we heard it from Richard and He said...IT SOUNDS GOOD and it does not have any back noise! and that is what it counts, people
EVERYONE can build an amplifier using PCBs, but not many people can build hardwired point to point amplifiers and get good results. and that is what We can "really" call a DIY amplifier!
Is it functioning? Is the sound pleasant? Is it beautiful? So, let it go...
DIYA badger amp started out as a hardwired part PCB/ part "point to point" job.
Richard can always rewire as he refines his masterpiece. If it stands the test of time , he can go to the PCB stage.
What counts most is the experience he gained by actually doing it.
Thanks for sharing, Richard.
OS
Richard can always rewire as he refines his masterpiece. If it stands the test of time , he can go to the PCB stage.
What counts most is the experience he gained by actually doing it.
Thanks for sharing, Richard.
OS
Another one!
As this thread is about posting photos of diy solid state builds, here is a photo of an earlier "mini me" Quasimodo amp rated at about 30 watts into 8 oms and nearly 40 into 4. Once again, all hard wired but with just a single input.
The capacitor coupled output stage is half n-channel mosfet and half npn Transistor!
This should put a very large cat among a whole mess of pigeons.
As this thread is about posting photos of diy solid state builds, here is a photo of an earlier "mini me" Quasimodo amp rated at about 30 watts into 8 oms and nearly 40 into 4. Once again, all hard wired but with just a single input.
The capacitor coupled output stage is half n-channel mosfet and half npn Transistor!
This should put a very large cat among a whole mess of pigeons.
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Richard, what you have done is truly amazing, myself is also into point-to-point wiring albeit with tube amps...don't let naysayers stop you from doing what you want as long as you get to your objective...
guys like you are what this board need....
DIYA badger amp started out as a hardwired part PCB/ part "point to point" job.
Richard can always rewire as he refines his masterpiece. If it stands the test of time , he can go to the PCB stage.
What counts most is the experience he gained by actually doing it.
Thanks for sharing, Richard.
OS
Richard can always rewire as he refines his masterpiece. If it stands the test of time , he can go to the PCB stage.
What counts most is the experience he gained by actually doing it.
Thanks for sharing, Richard.
OS
As this thread is about posting photos of diy solid state builds, here is a photo of an earlier "mini me" Quasimodo amp rated at about 30 watts into 8 oms and nearly 40 into 4. Once again, all hard wired but with just a single input.
The capacitor coupled output stage is half n-channel mosfet and half npn Transistor!
This should put a very large cat among a whole mess of pigeons.
I understand you say this works fine though seems only by the input/output wiring arrangement that it will pickup loads of noise from the traffo. May be that wires are strategically routed to minimize induction..
May you put in simple terms the logic behind a semi fet/bjt output stage?
O.k., this answer may upset a few folks, but here goes...! The dissimilar fet/bjt output stage is all about emulating the even order distortion artifacts as generated by many highly regarded single ended triode amps. Now I have built several tube amps over the years, and the Quasimodo has all the sonic characteristics of the best of them, but with much better bass slam and control, along with miniscule power consumption at idle.
I must confess that I am almost a total subjectivist when it comes to amp design. All I use is a multimeter and my ears, plus years and years of mad, crazy experimentation. This plus quite a bit of good input from one Hugh Dean of Aspen Amplifiers fame- he who designed the AKSA 55, NAKSA 70 and 80 modules which, incidentally are some of the very best sounding circuit board mounted amp modules anywhere!
And another thing. Hard wiring always improves the subjective sound quality of ANY given circuit design! How do I know? I built up a tag strip mounted version of Hugh's original AKSA 55 amp many years ago, and did an a / b listening test between it and the pcb mounted version- it was no contest, as the hard wired variant was hugely better! So now it's tag strip mounting from now on for me. Ain't this fun, folks?!
I must confess that I am almost a total subjectivist when it comes to amp design. All I use is a multimeter and my ears, plus years and years of mad, crazy experimentation. This plus quite a bit of good input from one Hugh Dean of Aspen Amplifiers fame- he who designed the AKSA 55, NAKSA 70 and 80 modules which, incidentally are some of the very best sounding circuit board mounted amp modules anywhere!
And another thing. Hard wiring always improves the subjective sound quality of ANY given circuit design! How do I know? I built up a tag strip mounted version of Hugh's original AKSA 55 amp many years ago, and did an a / b listening test between it and the pcb mounted version- it was no contest, as the hard wired variant was hugely better! So now it's tag strip mounting from now on for me. Ain't this fun, folks?!
your way of thinking reminds me of when I was young
but you don't sound young to me ?
but it looks like I made a mistake if your are selling this as a 'commercial affair'
Old "young" guy!
Well Mr. Tinitus, I am a fully paid up "old codger" having just turned 60
My first ever "real" amplifier was ye olde classic Marantz 1030 bought new back when "Hi Fi" was as high tech as you could go in a domestic situation.
I have included photo of a very early AKSA 55 using the prototype boards that I threw together back quite some time ago. It has since come back a couple of years back, been tweaked up with some circuit changes and then resold to a Quasimodo owner who wanted a separate amp for his "man cave" a.k.a "shed" in the Aussie vernacular!
Well Mr. Tinitus, I am a fully paid up "old codger" having just turned 60
My first ever "real" amplifier was ye olde classic Marantz 1030 bought new back when "Hi Fi" was as high tech as you could go in a domestic situation.
I have included photo of a very early AKSA 55 using the prototype boards that I threw together back quite some time ago. It has since come back a couple of years back, been tweaked up with some circuit changes and then resold to a Quasimodo owner who wanted a separate amp for his "man cave" a.k.a "shed" in the Aussie vernacular!
Attachments
Magic ??
Objectively , you are substituting the very small capacitance's of the copper-FR4 interface with the phenolic strip - air (insulation) scheme of point to point wiring.
As far as PCB's being inferior .... ???? Nah. A asymmetrical layout with few or no parallel traces in strategic areas can match point to point.
I do agree with your take on even order harmonics , but this would take us into the realm of purists (amps with no coloration) versus the ones who like an amp to ADD even order distortion (a subjective preference).
OS
this is a DIY thread and members here share information about their builds, if you are here trying to promote your creation as a commercial item, then better post in the vendor bazaar instead.