Thanks Adn6244.
Another update that I forgot to mention.
Another update that I forgot to mention.
Turbon - 1 board and 2 sets matched FETs - SHIPPED
Schlomoff - 1 built and tested board and 4 SMT populated boards with matched FETs - DELIVERED Mar 11 (per tracking no.)
pranavkr - 1 board - SHIPPED
Potatowedge - 2 boards and 1 set of matched FETs - RECEIVED
pcgab - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
bogde - 4 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
adn6244 - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
tcpoint - 2 boards - SHIPPED
funch - 2 boards and 2 matched sets of FETs - RECEIVED
Wanfai - 1 board and 1 matched sets of FETs - SHIPPED
883bkong - 2 boards - SHIPPED
Kylej1015 - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
Jammer55 - 4 boards - SHIPPED
Tupam - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
aud1out - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
tommylck - 2 boards & 2 sets of matched FETs - SHIPPED
slaterlovesspam (Head-Fi.org) - 1 PCB and 1 special parts kit - RECEIVED
drpro - 1 board & 1 set of FETs - SHIPPED
mds2004 (head-fi.org) - 4 boards & 4 sets of FETs - RECEIVED
Gikigill (head-fi.org) - 1 fully built NHB amp with desktop convertible option - SHIPPED
not sure if it helps either, but on a few occasions i managed to have the seller on aliexpress send a smaller quantity, you could contact them and see if they are willing to send you 10 or 20 connectors. this seems to be the same thing: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/250...-nut-PCB-Panel-Mount-Chassis/32312797163.html -- larger qty, smaller price -- you could try contacting both.
Hey guys, I just ran across Norah Jones' new album - Daybreaks on Amazon Prime. Superb recordings that sound very nice on this amp and show off the texture, nuances, dynamic range, detail, imaging, soundstage,.... might be one of my new favorite albums for testing the sound quality of my amps.
Check it out...
Sleeping Wild, Burn, Then there was you, Carry On
One of the nicest recording/mastering jobs I have heard since Anne Bisson's Blue album and with Norah Jones' wonderful voice - now a bit more mature sounding.
Check it out...
Sleeping Wild, Burn, Then there was you, Carry On
One of the nicest recording/mastering jobs I have heard since Anne Bisson's Blue album and with Norah Jones' wonderful voice - now a bit more mature sounding.
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Hey guys, I just ran across Norah Jones' new album - Daybreaks on Amazon Prime. Superb recordings that sound very nice on this amp and show off the texture, nuances, dynamic range, detail, imaging, soundstage,.... might be one of my new favorite albums for testing the sound quality of my amps.
Check it out...
Completely agree. I picked it up on cd a few months ago, and it has been spinning around the house quite a bit ever since.
GB2 Update:
Turbon - 1 board and 2 sets matched FETs - RECEIVED
Schlomoff - 1 built and tested board and 4 SMT populated boards with matched FETs - DELIVERED Mar 11 (per tracking no.)
pranavkr - 1 board - SHIPPED
Potatowedge - 2 boards and 1 set of matched FETs - RECEIVED
pcgab - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
bogde - 4 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
adn6244 - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
tcpoint - 2 boards - SHIPPED
funch - 2 boards and 2 matched sets of FETs - RECEIVED
Wanfai - 1 board and 1 matched sets of FETs - SHIPPED
883bkong - 2 boards - RECEIVED
Kylej1015 - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
Jammer55 - 4 boards - SHIPPED
Tupam - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
aud1out - 2 boards - SHIPPED - RECEIVED
tommylck - 2 boards & 2 sets of matched FETs - RECEIVED
slaterlovesspam (Head-Fi.org) - 1 PCB and 1 special parts kit - RECEIVED
drpro - 1 board & 1 set of FETs - RECEIVED
mds2004 (head-fi.org) - 4 boards & 4 sets of FETs - RECEIVED
Gikigill (head-fi.org) - 1 fully built NHB amp with desktop convertible option - SHIPPED
I've been rocking mine in the tin for several days now. Love the sound!
Last pic shows my new portable stack. I mounted my board upside down in the tin so that the input jack would align with the line out jack of my DAP.
I'm expecting some much nicer 9V batteries in the mail any day now. They will charge via micro USB through holes in the side of the tin. I'll post more pics when I do that upgrade.
Right now I'm running mine with no bypass cap on the output. The Nichicon KA series have good treble by themselves. But I'll soon be auditioning several different bypass cap options, in search of the best synergy with my 50 ohm Sennheiser 598 cans. My impressions of different caps tried so far are here, for those interested.
X, thanks for an awesome design.
Last pic shows my new portable stack. I mounted my board upside down in the tin so that the input jack would align with the line out jack of my DAP.
I'm expecting some much nicer 9V batteries in the mail any day now. They will charge via micro USB through holes in the side of the tin. I'll post more pics when I do that upgrade.
Right now I'm running mine with no bypass cap on the output. The Nichicon KA series have good treble by themselves. But I'll soon be auditioning several different bypass cap options, in search of the best synergy with my 50 ohm Sennheiser 598 cans. My impressions of different caps tried so far are here, for those interested.
X, thanks for an awesome design.
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Progress on big desktop amp
I managed to make a first sound prototype of the big 4w into 50ohm Class A amp design that Hugh gave me. It's sitting in a cardboard box now awaiting a big toroidal trafo power supply. However, doing some tests with a SMPS to get some sound out. Very promising so far. A lot of heat though (notice the god size fan).
So far, I have tested it with 8 ohm full range speakers, 60 ohm cans, and 250 ohm cans. All sound great. Very powerful dynamics and bass slam. Musicality and usual SE Class A listener engagement, are excellent.
StellarE will like this: output coupler constists of 1000uF 100v Nichicon, 100uF 16v Elna Silmic II, and Wima 1uF 100v MKS. Input cap is simply 2.2uF 50v Wima MKS.
It's running a single 32v supply and output is centered at 16v so the Silmic is running right at its limit.
Norah Jones' Day Breaks album sounds quite nice in pseudo stereo as I only have one channel built.
I managed to make a first sound prototype of the big 4w into 50ohm Class A amp design that Hugh gave me. It's sitting in a cardboard box now awaiting a big toroidal trafo power supply. However, doing some tests with a SMPS to get some sound out. Very promising so far. A lot of heat though (notice the god size fan).
So far, I have tested it with 8 ohm full range speakers, 60 ohm cans, and 250 ohm cans. All sound great. Very powerful dynamics and bass slam. Musicality and usual SE Class A listener engagement, are excellent.
StellarE will like this: output coupler constists of 1000uF 100v Nichicon, 100uF 16v Elna Silmic II, and Wima 1uF 100v MKS. Input cap is simply 2.2uF 50v Wima MKS.
It's running a single 32v supply and output is centered at 16v so the Silmic is running right at its limit.
Norah Jones' Day Breaks album sounds quite nice in pseudo stereo as I only have one channel built.
Attachments
Now that I've got mine cased up, I figure its a good time to share.
First off, thanks to everyone on this thread (especially xrk971) for all of the tips and support on the build. For my first SMT, things went pretty smoothly. I used a heat gun to flow the solder paste, only took about a minute to do. I suspended the board in my third hand and heated the underside of the board to prevent disturbing the components.
At first, the amp didn't turn on, so I touched up all of the solder joints with my iron and all was good after that!
First listen on apple earbuds was pretty awesome. This is my first Class A amp, so I didn't really know what to expect. The separation is incredible!.
Now listening to Tidal through my JDSLabs ODAC and ath-m50s. I plan on trying a couple different caps and adding a power jack in the coming weeks. I have the 470uf on output right now with the stock wima's in the other positions. Any direct recommendations from anyone?
One question, I am having an issue where it only turns on about every other time I click the knob. It always comes on and works eventually. I'm not running the power LED in the circuit. Would this have anything to do with it?
First off, thanks to everyone on this thread (especially xrk971) for all of the tips and support on the build. For my first SMT, things went pretty smoothly. I used a heat gun to flow the solder paste, only took about a minute to do. I suspended the board in my third hand and heated the underside of the board to prevent disturbing the components.
At first, the amp didn't turn on, so I touched up all of the solder joints with my iron and all was good after that!
First listen on apple earbuds was pretty awesome. This is my first Class A amp, so I didn't really know what to expect. The separation is incredible!.
Now listening to Tidal through my JDSLabs ODAC and ath-m50s. I plan on trying a couple different caps and adding a power jack in the coming weeks. I have the 470uf on output right now with the stock wima's in the other positions. Any direct recommendations from anyone?
One question, I am having an issue where it only turns on about every other time I click the knob. It always comes on and works eventually. I'm not running the power LED in the circuit. Would this have anything to do with it?
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One question, I am having an issue where it only turns on about every other time I click the knob. It always comes on and works eventually. I'm not running the power LED in the circuit. Would this have anything to do with it?
This is is the turn on current surge to fill the empty rail caps and cause the battery smart protection to kick in. Turn off resets battery and cap is still partially charged, so second time always turns on. This was very disconcerting until I figured it out. If you have alkaline cells, it should not happen.
Nice build Potatowedge! Very clean solder joints via hot air! You pretty much have the best combo of caps IMO. I tried the Silmics and was not impressed - especially since it was 100uF max.
:cheeers:
I just spent some time listening with my low impedance MEE M21 dynamic IEM's. These are 16ohms and only 92dB. A real demanding drive compared to my DT880-250. Still sounds great and a back and forth with my A5 shows a definite improvement in sound quality with the Pocket Class A.
I am going to try these IEM's with the big desktop amp currently under development.
I am going to try these IEM's with the big desktop amp currently under development.
Good news - mds2004 over in head-fi.org just got his working.
New DIY Altoids Tin Amp - The Class A "Wintergreen Handwarmer" by xrk971 - Page 11
New DIY Altoids Tin Amp - The Class A "Wintergreen Handwarmer" by xrk971 - Page 11
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Hey guys, I just ran across Norah Jones' new album - Daybreaks on Amazon Prime. Superb recordings that sound very nice on this amp and show off the texture, nuances, dynamic range, detail, imaging, soundstage,.... might be one of my new favorite albums for testing the sound quality of my amps.
Check it out...
Sleeping Wild, Burn, Then there was you, Carry On
One of the nicest recording/mastering jobs I have heard since Anne Bisson's Blue album and with Norah Jones' wonderful voice - now a bit more mature sounding.
Downloaded this yesterday. Great music!
Sounds like tubes and tape...
I am waiting for my CD to arrive soon but in mean time listening to the mp3's on Amazon Prime - pretty good for now. I just built a new amp, all stock parts but with one upgrade to 1000uF 16v OSCONs on output so it can handle slightly lower impedance cans better.
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