High Power Chip Amp

[star882]

Originally Posted by AndrewT

I too have a comprehensive parts box(room), probably >20,000 components.
I await this simple to construct and cheap to build and good to listen to design that Star may be able to provide.

http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folder...t/tas5630.html
Good for up to 600w per chip. It's SMD but don't let that scare you.

[AndrewT]

Originally Posted by pacificblue

Depends on the enthusiast whether it does, but at least it has the potential to teach a beginner,
- what AC coupling and DC coupling are, and why one is preferable over the other.
- how to build a power supply.
- how to avoid ground loops.
- how to choose RF filters.
- how to choose the DC blocking caps or the DC servo plus DC protection.
- which protection systems are necessary.
- why heatsinks are needed and how big they must be.
- whether the "peanut power a single chip affords" is sufficient for his demands or not.
- if swapping components like capacitors for others improves the sound and how.
- how to mechanically lay out an amplifier so that different signals don't couple into each other.
- how little you gain with a better or more powerful amplifier, when you compare it to the gain you get from better speakers.
- etc.

learning depends on the learner and the contribution they are prepared to make.
If one refuses to do their homework then little learning will be done.

I'll paraphrase something I said a couple of years ago.
For the uninterested non learner:- copy an existing proven circuit.
For the real DIYer who is not prepared to do the arithmetic:- modify an existing proven circuit and hope that it works.
For the learner:- do the sums and predict (model) the behaviour of any working circuit, change what seems to need changing to suit the user. expect success.

There is an enormous range of learning experiences starting with something that is, on the face of it, simple.
Dip that toe and start learning.

[Mark Allen]

Sangran,

I happen to also run Dynaudios here as well (Audience 9s) and I agree they need plenty of current available to get the most out of them!!

Good for up to 600w per chip. It's SMD but don't let that scare you.

I will check it out and don't worry I;ve been soldering SMD since 1978!! I used to repair cameras at Canon USA and they were all SMD back then.... they still are of course.

For the real DIYer who is not prepared to do the arithmetic:- modify an existing proven circuit and hope that it works.

And thus you have described me. Although I have several decades experience as a bench and field tech and I understand how circuits work I have not the time nor the inclination to do the math. My enjoyment comes from the construction and then the modifications to get to Rome (ok, in my case the Tetons) and to try to get the most out of the circuit.

[sangram]

Mark, I saw you had said Dynaudio, and that's why I chipped (pun intended) in. About 100 watts would be enough for the 9s. I heard the 52SE driven with some 90 watt tube monos and it was more power than they needed to be maxed out.

[adason]

"Is there a design here for a high power Chip Amp? Say three or four chips in parallel. "

this might be of some iterest:
http://www.shine7.com/audio/jeff.htm

ed

[AndrewT]

Originally Posted by Mark Allen

I have not the time nor the inclination to do the math.

and hope that it works.

some arithmetic can be completed in as little as ten seconds, at other times a whole minute.
Time, or lack of it, can never be used as an excuse.
How long does it take to unsolder a pair of components (for two channels) and replace with another guessed value and hope one hears a change?

[Mark Allen]

Time, or lack of it, can never be used as an excuse.

Of course there is some quick simple math envolved in all this... thats sort of a Duh-ah kind of thing for those into any aspect of electronics. What I am referring to is designing circuits from the ground up. Lots of math and then modeling it on capable software and if you don't have capable software even more time re-calculating and looking for your mistakes. I have way too many things in the fire already to have that amount of time. My enjoyment has always been to construct gear which seems to offer worthy performance and modify if and where possible (yes, using math at times) And I generally have three or four projects going on at one time. The spare time I have is directed more at listening to music both live (Utah Symphony and other local things) and reproduced which is really what all this is about in the first place.

Mark, I saw you had said Dynaudio, and that's why I chipped (pun intended) in. About 100 watts would be enough for the 9s.

Exactly! I've had so many different 100 watt and under amplifiers on these speakers you would never believe it. I could write a book or others on these threads that have come over to listen to many of them could tell you. It's time to build something quite a bit different than past projects and with with a bit more power as well...

Mark

[AndrewT]

Originally Posted by Mark Allen

I've had so many different 100 watt and under amplifiers on these speakers............It's time to build something quite a bit different than past projects and with with a bit more power as well...

more power or more current?

[Mark Allen]

more power or more current?

I have several up projects I am working on but does it really matter to you which type I build? To me the important aspect is the end result... the sound!!! The best sounding amp I've had on the 9's so far is without a doubt the BAT VK-60, neither powerful or high current yet capable of incredible dynamics. I would hardly consider any of the chip amps to be a high current amp, on the other hand I can scale one any way I like up to 150 watts per board or bridge em for even more.... At the other end of the spectrum the prototype KSA-100 I built several years back IS very definitely a high current capable amp and fairly good sounding, I still like the Aleph 30 I just completed with Peter Daniels boards better though... If I could justify another VK-60 there would be one sitting here although I'd still be building different pieces of gear for the enjoyment of doing so and for friends that haven't the ability...

Mark

P.S. On the VK-60 the other interesting thing is that I wouldn't even consider it a high voltage amp... There was no 450 to 550 volts or more you find on the plates in many exotic toobe amps, there was only something like 200 volts on the plates of the 6C33s. BAT sure got alot out of those 200 volts!!

[peranders]

Mark, notice that the LM3886 is protected against high temperature and if you have insufficient cooling it will only sound bad when the protection circuits work. If you plan to have your amp at home you will most likely do with LM3886TF. Remember that the LM3886 only consumes 50 mA at idle state.