To DIY?

bjackson · 24th March 2005, 02:38 AM

I am planning on tri-amping my speakers I am building, and I am wondering if it would be cheaper to build a DIY amp, or buy an off the shelf option.

I am looking at needing 30watts RMS, and 100watts RMS, I already have an amp for the woofers, which is a big pro amp.

I don't have any experiance doing this sort of thing but I am doing FOR the experiance, so I don't mind taking my time, and messing up from time to time.

rayban68 · 24th March 2005, 03:29 AM

Pretty tough to beat the local pawn shop or even a decent sale at the stereo shop for a basic amplifier.

Gainclone will provide the power you need Lm3886 or LM4780. Kit is about 50-75 bux plus the transformer plus case, you are over $200 guaranteed for new parts, obviously less if you are salvaging, but then you also run the risk of having an amplifier that looks salvaged

I would suggest DIY for the fun of it, as well as learning along the way. If you just need an amp, go buy one, else you will be 6 months down the road and constantly modding your homebrew amp.

GregGC · 24th March 2005, 05:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rayban68
Pretty tough to beat the local pawn shop or even a decent sale at the stereo shop for a basic amplifier.

Gainclone will provide the power you need Lm3886 or LM4780. Kit is about 50-75 bux plus the transformer plus case, you are over $200 guaranteed for new parts, obviously less if you are salvaging, but then you also run the risk of having an amplifier that looks salvaged

I would suggest DIY for the fun of it, as well as learning along the way. If you just need an amp, go buy one, else you will be 6 months down the road and constantly modding your homebrew amp.

My 75W Yamaha stereo receiver sounds not as good as my GC though. Plus you don't have to go with premium parts to get verry good sound out of GC.

joensd · 24th March 2005, 09:23 AM

If you don´t mind the time I´d vote for DIYing the amps yourself.
With PCB´s for different gainclones provided there´s not much to do wrong and they aren´t expensive.
A crossover is somewhat different.
Getting a kit, building a regulated supply and implementing everything properly is a bit more difficult and might not be adjustable.
Most important : do you need/want it adjustable?
Then I´d rather go with a Behringer CX-3400/DCX-2496 depending on your budget. A DIY solution, although probably better, can easily get more expensive.
If you know about your crossover frequencies for sure, have a look here : http://sound.westhost.com/project09.htm

greets

kmj · 24th March 2005, 05:23 PM

Quote:

I would suggest DIY for the fun of it, as well as learning along the way. If you just need an amp, go buy one, else you will be 6 months down the road and constantly modding your homebrew amp.

Oh, and here i thought it was possible to "Just build ONE amp"

rayban68 · 24th March 2005, 10:20 PM

Hehehe

yes "just one amplifier"

I swear its an addiction isn't it.

bjackson · 25th March 2005, 03:46 AM

"Hey, I just need these two speakers, and I have some left over speakers, and I can throw together a surround sound system with this old prologic 2 reciever"

"Hey, I need an Onkyo 601 to make this dolby digital"

"I am missing a lot of bass, I need a sub"

"This sub is boomy I need to modify it"

"My mains just arn't that great, I need new towers, besides they are on sale"

"My center and rears need to match"

"These just don't sound awesome on music like the high end store. I need to get some really nice speakers"

"I think I can make something better than what they are selling for the price"

"I need to triamplify my system"

This has literally all happened over a year, but I am not addicted to my audio... OH! I forgot:

"My car doesn't sound as good as it could"

"I think I need a new head unit"

"Maybe some new speakers"

"need to amplify them to really make them sing"

"Just not enough bass"

"Bass is too boomy, need a parametric EQ"

"I need an RTA to measure the sound"

But I swear, I am not an audio addict. Just because I spend more money a week on audio than on food, doesn't mean I am messed up.

I am just going to be tri amplifing some speakers with 2 10" drivers, for my 10" x 12" apartment living room. Oh and now I am talking about audio instead of studying for 2 exams, and doing my homework that's due tomorrow. ...

kmj · 25th March 2005, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Oh and now I am talking about audio instead of studying for 2 exams, and doing my homework that's due tomorrow. ...

Been there, done that

24th March 2005, 02:38 AM	#1
bjackson diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Illinois	To DIY? I am planning on tri-amping my speakers I am building, and I am wondering if it would be cheaper to build a DIY amp, or buy an off the shelf option. I am looking at needing 30watts RMS, and 100watts RMS, I already have an amp for the woofers, which is a big pro amp. I don't have any experiance doing this sort of thing but I am doing FOR the experiance, so I don't mind taking my time, and messing up from time to time.

24th March 2005, 09:23 AM	#4
joensd diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germany	If you don´t mind the time I´d vote for DIYing the amps yourself. With PCB´s for different gainclones provided there´s not much to do wrong and they aren´t expensive. A crossover is somewhat different. Getting a kit, building a regulated supply and implementing everything properly is a bit more difficult and might not be adjustable. Most important : do you need/want it adjustable? Then I´d rather go with a Behringer CX-3400/DCX-2496 depending on your budget. A DIY solution, although probably better, can easily get more expensive. If you know about your crossover frequencies for sure, have a look here : http://sound.westhost.com/project09.htm greets __________________ jens

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24th March 2005, 03:29 AM	#2
rayban68 diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Prince George, BC, Canada	Pretty tough to beat the local pawn shop or even a decent sale at the stereo shop for a basic amplifier. Gainclone will provide the power you need Lm3886 or LM4780. Kit is about 50-75 bux plus the transformer plus case, you are over $200 guaranteed for new parts, obviously less if you are salvaging, but then you also run the risk of having an amplifier that looks salvaged I would suggest DIY for the fun of it, as well as learning along the way. If you just need an amp, go buy one, else you will be 6 months down the road and constantly modding your homebrew amp.

24th March 2005, 10:20 PM	#6
rayban68 diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Prince George, BC, Canada	Hehehe yes "just one amplifier" I swear its an addiction isn't it.

25th March 2005, 03:46 AM	#7
bjackson diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Illinois	"Hey, I just need these two speakers, and I have some left over speakers, and I can throw together a surround sound system with this old prologic 2 reciever" "Hey, I need an Onkyo 601 to make this dolby digital" "I am missing a lot of bass, I need a sub" "This sub is boomy I need to modify it" "My mains just arn't that great, I need new towers, besides they are on sale" "My center and rears need to match" "These just don't sound awesome on music like the high end store. I need to get some really nice speakers" "I think I can make something better than what they are selling for the price" "I need to triamplify my system" This has literally all happened over a year, but I am not addicted to my audio... OH! I forgot: "My car doesn't sound as good as it could" "I think I need a new head unit" "Maybe some new speakers" "need to amplify them to really make them sing" "Just not enough bass" "Bass is too boomy, need a parametric EQ" "I need an RTA to measure the sound" But I swear, I am not an audio addict. Just because I spend more money a week on audio than on food, doesn't mean I am messed up. I am just going to be tri amplifing some speakers with 2 10" drivers, for my 10" x 12" apartment living room. Oh and now I am talking about audio instead of studying for 2 exams, and doing my homework that's due tomorrow. ...