ok so I'm putting together my first (real) speaker setup, and it has to be on a budget (the amp I mean, preferably $200) cause I'm a brokeass college student. I have a source and I bought a pair of the Insignia bookshelves for the speakers. I've abandoned the 41Hz route after reading a few too many bad things about support and problems with getting them to work, which I don't want to deal with, so I've decided to go with a gainclone kit from either chipamp.com or audiosector.com. I know BrianGT runs chipamp.com and Peter Daniel runs audiosector, but why do the sites look so similar? Anyway, a few questions about the amps...
1. Does a snubberized PS make a real (as in verified with A/B testing) audible difference?
2. If so, would it be worth it to get the PS kit from chipamp.com and the amp kit from audiosector?
3. Does dual mono make an audible difference from stereo?
4. Does the premium option make an audible difference on the audiosector kits?
5. Do the full chipamp.com kits come with the snubberized PS? Because the site says "basic power supply components"
6. Are stereo kits available from audiosector?
7. Will a Millett Max (a hybrid headphone amp) make a good preamp for a gainclone?
1. Does a snubberized PS make a real (as in verified with A/B testing) audible difference?
2. If so, would it be worth it to get the PS kit from chipamp.com and the amp kit from audiosector?
3. Does dual mono make an audible difference from stereo?
4. Does the premium option make an audible difference on the audiosector kits?
5. Do the full chipamp.com kits come with the snubberized PS? Because the site says "basic power supply components"
6. Are stereo kits available from audiosector?
7. Will a Millett Max (a hybrid headphone amp) make a good preamp for a gainclone?
I bought parts from Audiosector and Chipamp before the former the service is very good no matter how much you buy, the latter sometimes I receive no response makes you feel you are send messages to a black hole, eventhough I receive the parts I paid for.
I found Audiosector recommendations to be very good, I use their premium parts for the 3875 chipamp, they were spot on. The sound is very good, better than the parts I used in 3886 chipamp, and hence the 3875 sounds better. I fully recommend Audiosector. The parts are not cheap, if you building using minimal parts it is worthwhile.
Cheers Happy building.
I found Audiosector recommendations to be very good, I use their premium parts for the 3875 chipamp, they were spot on. The sound is very good, better than the parts I used in 3886 chipamp, and hence the 3875 sounds better. I fully recommend Audiosector. The parts are not cheap, if you building using minimal parts it is worthwhile.
Cheers Happy building.
pinkfloyd4ever said:
I think they used to be partners.
1. Does a snubberized PS make a real (as in verified with A/B testing) audible difference?
That depends. With lower value caps, you have less inductance and less diode ringing. You use snubbers with larger caps to reduce both. I did a back to back comparison (not quite a A/B) of 15,000 uF snubberized vs 2,200 uF. The 2,200 uF didn't have enough bass (this was in a stereo bridged LM4780 configuration), but was slightly clearer in the mids and highs.
2. If so, would it be worth it to get the PS kit from chipamp.com and the amp kit from audiosector?
I'm using the PS board from audiosector but added extra components to make almost exactly like the PS from chipamp.com. That said, it wasn't that easy getting some of the components in place.
3. Does dual mono make an audible difference from stereo?
I haven't heard the dual mono, but the stereo version has amazing stereo separation.
4. Does the premium option make an audible difference on the audiosector kits?
I would go for it, but that's just me. I hand picked my components using the recommended values. I have extremely low DC offset, and the sound is great (although I have nothing to compare to yet).
5. Do the full chipamp.com kits come with the snubberized PS? Because the site says "basic power supply components"
Good question. If not, there are only 2 resistors and 4 caps you would need, but it would be handy to have it all at once.
6. Are stereo kits available from audiosector?
Email Peter Daniels, he'll likely put whatever you want in the package. All you really need is 1 set of PSU components and boards instead of two. The PSU boards are pretty cheap, I bought two when I only needed one and then I had the ability to try two different configurations.
Thanks, it ships today; assembly info can be found here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=123003&pagenumber=1
awesommee, thanks for all the quick replies guys, especially Peter. I've been a little busy since I first posted or I woulda been back sooner. I'm still trying to decide exactly what I want to build (stereo or dual mono, integrated or power amp), and reading up some more, mainly this
wait, it comes with Blackgates? I thought the site said Panny FCs?Destroyer OS. said:
Dont believe all you hear or read about the 41Hz amps. Ive had good experiences with them. Three amps so far.
True Peter is very good with personal help and his amps are a step up in terms of sophistication (I have 2 amps LM4780 and LM3875) but the power supply is a lot dearer than the amp6 for example because of the higher voltages. My toroid cost me $79.
I get great sound with a cheap 1.5amp 12v wall wart powering an amp6 running my big floorstanding Peerless MTMs.
Having said all that I have bought both and will buy more from Peter (Audiosector) and Jan (41Hz).
So it's your choice. You wont lose whichever way you go as long as your soldering is good and you dont **** up the power connections like I did once.
Good luck
True Peter is very good with personal help and his amps are a step up in terms of sophistication (I have 2 amps LM4780 and LM3875) but the power supply is a lot dearer than the amp6 for example because of the higher voltages. My toroid cost me $79.
I get great sound with a cheap 1.5amp 12v wall wart powering an amp6 running my big floorstanding Peerless MTMs.
Having said all that I have bought both and will buy more from Peter (Audiosector) and Jan (41Hz).
So it's your choice. You wont lose whichever way you go as long as your soldering is good and you dont **** up the power connections like I did once.
Good luck
I believe that chipamp.com sells only LM3886 and LM1875 based kits.
Audiosector.com, on the other hand, sells only LM3875 and LM4780 based kits.
In this way the two companies offer entirely different products, though the PS boards can be mixed and matched.
All these chips sound different and have different operating requirements, so it's up to you to figure out which is best for your needs.
I've bought kits from both Brian and Peter and they're both reliable and a pleasure to do business with.
Peter is very active on the boards and is very generous with his help and advice.
I'll admit that I haven't finished any of the chipamp kits that I bought, yet
, but I do have the 47 Labs Gaincard and it is a fine sounding amp. If you build your LM3875 kit to its potiential, you'll get comparable sound quality for very little relative cost. Quite a deal.
I have also have the diyparadise.com Charlize and like that a lot, but do prefer the Gaincard more.
Best,
KT
Audiosector.com, on the other hand, sells only LM3875 and LM4780 based kits.
In this way the two companies offer entirely different products, though the PS boards can be mixed and matched.
All these chips sound different and have different operating requirements, so it's up to you to figure out which is best for your needs.
I've bought kits from both Brian and Peter and they're both reliable and a pleasure to do business with.
Peter is very active on the boards and is very generous with his help and advice.
I'll admit that I haven't finished any of the chipamp kits that I bought, yet
, but I do have the 47 Labs Gaincard and it is a fine sounding amp. If you build your LM3875 kit to its potiential, you'll get comparable sound quality for very little relative cost. Quite a deal.I have also have the diyparadise.com Charlize and like that a lot, but do prefer the Gaincard more.
Best,
KT
KT said:
I guess I didn't make it clear, but I did know that much, although I'm sure it will be useful for other newbs that may read this
anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with a premium LM3875 kit from audiosector, I'm still trying to figure out if my budget will allow dual mono as opposed to stereo. I know it's not hard to to dual mono in the future. I also may try out a chipamp.com snubberized PS in the future, but for now I'm gonna just use Pete's PS
I'm still debating on volume controls... linear Panasonic EVJ with shunt resistor (cheapest of course), SKA Optivol, or a Nobel 31-pos stepped attenuator
pinkfloyd4ever said:HOLY SH!T for $60 apiece!?!?I think I'll pass on those
Ummm, no. There aren't any that cost that much, and he doesn't use the most expensive ones. I believe he uses 2x 100 uF and 2x 1000 uF per channel. That's $12 x 2 + $14.50 x 2 per channel, or $53 per channel (assuming dual mono). Way too much for caps by my standards (because the rest of my amp isn't up to that quality), but that's an individual opinion.
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