New to Gainclones: please advise!

[Zemo]

Hello all! I ran a few searches, but I couldn't find anything relevant (that I could really understand).

I'm a VERY big fan of high quality sound, and as such, I've been very much into hi-fi headphones for quite a while. I have expereince building my own headphone amplifiers and the like, so I know my way around a soldering iron ok, but that doesn't mean I know electronics that well...

I decided to go ahead and start speaker shopping, but I know I'll need a nice amp to power them. My love for DIY has led me here, and I hope some of you can be of assistance!

Can someone give me some reccomendation on what exactly I should be looking to build, and possibly point me to a guide on how to do it? Looking around, it seems like there are at least 4 major designs.... I also don't understand the difference between inverting and noninverting amps.

I want to build the best possible amp that I can, can someone show me the way?

In case this helps, eventually I'll be running a NAD c542 CD player > self built cables > gainclone amp > Green Mountain Audio Europa V2s.

help? Thanks!

[Kekkonen]

Try LM3875 it should be enough easy for first Gainclone.
You will find lots of info from this forum.

have nice time with your project!!

[Zemo]

See, that's the thing, I don't want EASY...I want the best sounding that I can get. It's ok if it's difficult and takes me some time to get right.

And I browsed the forum for a while...I found brians PCBs....but I was thinking a monobloc configuration might sound better...can that be done with brian's PCBs? I also found a schematic for the "ultimate gainclone"....is that truely the best there is? what about buffering outputs?

The part that I need the most help in is the powersupply, as I havn't built these before. Any reccomendations for the best parts out there? schematics? maybe some design tweaks for monoblocs?

[jeff mai]

Originally posted by Zemo
I want to build the best possible amp that I can, can someone show me the way?

Forget about building the "best possible". You can't do it first try. Give yourself a brief and finite amount of time to choose and then build it.

I'd suggest using the non-inverting configuration LM3875. Many people seem to like this. Is it the "best possible"? Who knows?

Study the datasheet for the chip. It's available from the National Semiconductor web site. You can use the circuit from the datasheet or one found here at this forum.

Jeff

[Zemo]

Will do. How will I include a volume pot? now, about the power section....

The difference between mono blocks and a normal configuration is that they each have their own power section (and rectifier), correct? Can someone point me to which parts I'll need for a power section? I found Brian's PCB for the rectifier....but I still need some sort of torroid...and I have no idea what to do with a torroid at all..... I'm sorry for the noobish questions, but that's what I am! Thank you for your understanding!

[lilolee]

I would go with Brians board's which are based on a design by Peter Daniel. Just look through all of the threads on Brian's boards and you will find lots of discussion about them and going monoblock etc.

I changed from Inverted to NI and am very happy with the results. I can't wait for Brian to offer the premium packs and plan on monoblocking.

About the only real discussion going on know is about the PSU. Whether to go fully regulated, battery or whether to drop the voltage. I'm currently running 32v into the chips, but have enough room to regulate this and have variable voltage so I can hear what might be best for me.

As for buffer/pre, well Peter appears to be a huge fan of transformer volume controls (TVC) and I have a feeling I may be going in that direction, having heard some myself.

[Nuuk]

Zemo, this would be a good starting point.

[BrianGT]

I am offering a kit for the LM3875, and I have a user's manual on my website:
http://www.briangt.com

Order page for the basic kits:
http://www.briangt.com/order/

--
Brian

[Zemo]

Heh, I've seen it! So, how's this look for a powersupply? I'm thinking this might perform better than the standard one that's out there (the addition of the rectifiers). The only question I have, since I don't know much about this stuff, what is a goot amperage rating for the rectifiers? the ones I picked have 1A...is that enough? more? less?



Of course, I'll throw a fuse in there.

[Zemo]

BrianGT - your kits sound like what I want. I'd like to make two mono blocks...so order the kit plus the monoblock kit? Is EVERYTHING included? If everything is, is it possible to omit certain items? I have a bunch of appropriate rectifier diodes.... Hmmm.... YGEM.