Velleman K4003 using TDA1521, worthwhile upgrades?

[NewVintageNut]

I am thinking of building one of these little amps as a first foray into building chip amps. It looks like it could be built pretty inexpensively. This is a good thing as I find it hard to budget money for stuff like this. I’m also pretty new to trying to build anything electronic. Is this thing at least somewhat worthwhile? Anybody got any recommendations for cheap or easy upgrades? I have a source selector switch from an old receiver and it shows how to add a volume pot so I could make sort of a small integrated amp which is what I want to end up with.

Thanks for any input,
Bryan

 

[jean-paul]

That's a good sounding kit but the quality of the 4700 uF electrolytic caps is under average. I suggest you replace them for quality brand caps ( no need for fancy stuff if your budget does not allow it ). I used Marcon/SME 4700 uF there. Also rectifier diodes can be replaced for fast types as they have quite an impact on the overall result. BYW95Cis what I used as they were in my drawer. I used 1 uF high Q MKT for input caps.

A good kit when the right parts are chosen. However the BrianGT kits with LM3875 are a lot better and cost nearly the same !!

 

[NewVintageNut]

Is that an abbreviation you’re using for the input cap?

Maybe I haven’t had enough coffee yet but what's "high Q MKT"? The reason I'd choose this kit is that I can just go down to a local electronics store and buy one so I don't have to budget out and hold aside money for it, I can just make an impulse decision. As for the larger electrolytic caps, the same shop usually has Nichicon and Wima or Elna. Not to sure the Wima (isn’t that a capacitor brand?). I know that I can get a 1uf cap in the PS series orange drop. I’ve heard that these aren’t that great for audio “unless you like the sound of polyester”. What the heck is polyester supposed to sound like?

Thanks,
Bryan

 

[jean-paul]

I can just make an impulse decision.

I thought that was something for women. "Oh, I love that blue shoes, let's go inside"

Anyhow, if you want to make an impulse decision, go to BrianGTs website and buy that kit as it really is much better for little more money. Why DIYing something average/good when you can build something real fine ?

High Q is short for High Quality in my english. Polyester ( MKT/MKS ) are the lowest on the quality ladder in filmcap-land. Please don't see them as bad but there are better types around for audio. I forgot what type came with the kit but if I used MKT instead I think the originals weren't the best.

 

[jjdche]

That's a good sounding kit but the quality of the 4700 uF electrolytic caps is under average. I suggest you replace them for quality brand caps ( no need for fancy stuff if your budget does not allow it ). I used Marcon/SME 4700 uF there. Also rectifier diodes can be replaced for fast types as they have quite an impact on the overall result. BYW95Cis what I used as they were in my drawer. I used 1 uF high Q MKT for input caps.

I'm actually going to be building this amp to power my computer speakers (TB W3-871s). This will be my first real amp project (I built the Chu Moy a few months ago) and I'll probably be fussing around with different components.

jean-paul, what are some brands/types that you would recommend in terms of replacement caps and diodes? I'm not very familiar with what's out there and what types of mods will have an improvement on the original design.

Any help would be much appreciated!