This is not just another gainclone

TheFettler · 2003-03-28 11:09 am

When will I find time to listen to music? Sometimes I find I am doing more listening trials than just enjoying the music.Anyone
thinking the same?

I don't think I could get quite so involved in the search for the 'ideal' sound for 2 reasons:

1) I have (relatively) 'cloth' ears. golden they aint..
2) my preferences change from day to day.

something that sounds 'spot on' on one day might feel too laid back the next , or too vibrant and in-your-face. Some days I want a lazy warm laid back sound, other times I want in-yer-face forward sounds.

whats a guy to do?? make a bunch of 'clones and grade them like wine, so I can select the right one for my mood ??

hell, they're cheap enough , unlike the Lab47 ones...

ray

monguz · 2003-03-28 12:38 pm

Nuuk said:
In a review of capacitors in the Electronics World magazine, Cyril Bateman found that for some values, two non-polarised capacitors used in series measured less distortion than a Black Gate!

etc.

Nuuk,

Is this review available on the net? Made me curious to read it. Google did not help, everyone is just referring to the original series of articles (Capacitor Sound if my memory works correctly), but no luck.

Thank you, regards

monguz

Nuuk · 2003-03-28 1:04 pm

Well I tried battery power today with two 12v .I had no volume problems with this set up.I noticed better soundstaging , more "air", and very natural sounding upper registers.Sound was a little bit more laid back and further back in soundstage but with excellent definition and no problems in the bass.AC sounds louder and more up front and dynamic but with less layering and separation.

That's interesting Protos as it agrees very closely (if my memory serves me correctly) with Hi-Fi World's description of the Final Analysis Music5/Music 6 combination.

I'll have to dig out the article and re-read it.

And if we can get away with a couple of 12v batteries and a charger, that's not too much more outlay than the transformer and the diodes.

Matttcattt · 2003-03-28 2:53 pm

if i was going to make a gainclone powered from batteries, should i use sealed lead acid batteries or car batteries.

Pan · 2003-03-28 3:51 pm

protos,

what was the size of your batteries and what type?

Mattcatt,

you can use as good as any type of batteries.
I thought car batteries was sealed these days??

Also, these sealed types (I think) has "safety valves".

/Peter

Matttcattt · 2003-03-28 3:57 pm

arnt car batteries different? yes they have safety valves, you wouldnt want hot acid exploding out of them if you short them

.

Olle Bard · 2003-03-28 6:13 pm

what happens if you remove the cap that is placed right after the auttenator in your gainclone-schematics? and: do you have to change any values if using a lm-3886(optimal sound quality not important)?

Peter Daniel · 2003-03-28 6:43 pm

If your source doesn't pass any DC content you can remove the coupling cap, depending on the type you use, you might see big or small improvement in sonics.

Olle Bard · 2003-03-29 12:46 am

ok, so if i have a "reliable" source i dont really need it.
i was shopping components for it yesterday and the guy in the shop said it would cost 4$ and thats more than i paid for the ic so.

how do you make sure the source doesn´t produce any DC?

jleaman · 2003-03-29 12:51 am

Olle Bard said:
ok, so if i have a "reliable" source i dont really need it.
i was shopping components for it yesterday and the guy in the shop said it would cost 4$ and thats more than i paid for the ic so.

how do you make sure the source doesn´t produce any DC?

4$ each that is cheap i paied 12.00 each for my caps for my preamp.

vic2 · 2003-03-29 1:10 am

batteries

How does one connect the batteries so that the amp doesn't get fried? Wouldn't the current need to be regulated? Car batteries can put out lots of juice.

Vic

Peter Daniel · 2003-03-29 2:08 am

JasonL said:
4$ each that is cheap i paied 12.00 each for my caps for my preamp.

Not everybody wants to use top notch parts like you

So you spend something like $200 just for the caps?

Peter Daniel · 2003-03-29 2:09 am

Olle Bard said:
how do you make sure the source doesn´t produce any DC?

Check with a meter on the output jacks.

Steve Eddy · 2003-03-29 2:43 am

Re: batteries

vic said:
How does one connect the batteries so that the amp doesn't get fried? Wouldn't the current need to be regulated? Car batteries can put out lots of juice.

You're not going to fry the amp. While car batteries can put out a lot of current, any voltage source only outputs current based on the load that it's feeding. You're worst case scenario would be if the amplifier were full on and if it's connected to an 8 ohm load, you're talking a whopping 1.5 amps.

se

vic2 · 2003-03-29 9:19 pm

battery power

Thanks for the reply.

So let me ask. Why don't more people use battery power? You can get decent car batteries at Sears for say $50 apiece. Use 4 of them giving 24 volt rails per side. Use a trickle charger to charge them between usage. I have a nice charger that I bought at Cosco for about $30. I'm sure others have thought of this. I'd like to hear if people are making automatic charging units, etc..

vic

Steve Eddy · 2003-03-29 10:18 pm

Re: battery power

vic said:
So let me ask. Why don't more people use battery power? You can get decent car batteries at Sears for say $50 apiece. Use 4 of them giving 24 volt rails per side. Use a trickle charger to charge them between usage. I have a nice charger that I bought at Cosco for about $30. I'm sure others have thought of this. I'd like to hear if people are making automatic charging units, etc..

I've no idea why more don't use battery power. Particularly with Gainclones as it's natural for it.

And you don't need to use huge car batteries. Not with a realtively low power class A/B amplifier. 10 or 12 Amphour SLAs will work just fine. As for chargers, while a simple trickle charger will ultimately work, a bit more sophisticated "intelligent" charger will get more performance from the batteries.

In the meantime...

<center>
<img src="http://www.q-audio.com/images/noac2.jpg">
</center>

se

jleaman · 2003-03-29 11:19 pm

Peter Daniel said:
Not everybody wants to use top notch parts like you So you spend something like $200 just for the caps?

Yes actualy i did because i wanted the best pre amp that i could build and i said to my self why put crap parts in it now and then change them later when i can do it all right now.

fedde · 2003-03-29 11:51 pm

JasonL said:
Yes actualy i did because i wanted the best pre amp that i could build and i said to my self why put crap parts in it now and then change them later when i can do it all right now.

For that money I would have tried volume transformers (passive)... :idea:

Fedde

Peter Daniel · 2003-03-30 12:44 am

Steve,

Do you recharge ea. battery separately or you have some setup to do all of them at once? I assume you use at least 24V rails.

jleaman · 2003-03-30 12:55 am

true. but i wanted to do it all right. : I )

This is not just another gainclone

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