Hello everyone,
I'm finally building my very own boominator. I have just about everything planned and ready to go. My only doubt right now is what amplifier I should use to get the absolute best sound out of my boominator.
I was dead certain that amp6-basic was the only way to go up until lately. As I've now seen that the new "maxamp-20" is around.
I already have both a amp6-basic and a very modified Lepai 2020+ that I've tested with my speakers.. 4 HP-10w and 4 piezos WITH 47 ohm resistors on.
To be honest my Lepai amp sounds ALOT better, at least at lower volumes.. The amp6-basic is in my ears lacking a tremendous amount of bass. (The HP-10w elements are barely moving moving)
But I STILL don't feel comfortable with using the lepai as it seems veeery unstable (Especially after all my mods hehe...)
So that's why i'm now looking into getting the maxamp amplifier. But is it really a lot better? Do you think it will improve my bass? I've seen people using two of them, is that something maybe?
I also have two VERY BIG Obbligato 4,7uf input caps that I could try to swap on the amp6 basic, that might help too...
But I'm unsure and that's why i'm reaching out for help here among all of you very experienced boominator people.
Any ideas or suggestions are much appreciated, I really want this to as good as it can be now that i've spent all this money
Cheers,
Pom
I'm finally building my very own boominator. I have just about everything planned and ready to go. My only doubt right now is what amplifier I should use to get the absolute best sound out of my boominator.
I was dead certain that amp6-basic was the only way to go up until lately. As I've now seen that the new "maxamp-20" is around.
I already have both a amp6-basic and a very modified Lepai 2020+ that I've tested with my speakers.. 4 HP-10w and 4 piezos WITH 47 ohm resistors on.
To be honest my Lepai amp sounds ALOT better, at least at lower volumes.. The amp6-basic is in my ears lacking a tremendous amount of bass. (The HP-10w elements are barely moving moving)
But I STILL don't feel comfortable with using the lepai as it seems veeery unstable (Especially after all my mods hehe...)
So that's why i'm now looking into getting the maxamp amplifier. But is it really a lot better? Do you think it will improve my bass? I've seen people using two of them, is that something maybe?
I also have two VERY BIG Obbligato 4,7uf input caps that I could try to swap on the amp6 basic, that might help too...
But I'm unsure and that's why i'm reaching out for help here among all of you very experienced boominator people.
Any ideas or suggestions are much appreciated, I really want this to as good as it can be now that i've spent all this money
Cheers,
Pom
Maybe i'm just expecting too much out of these small amps..
The Amp6b gets more bass if I use an equalizer on my phone, but it's still not at the same levels as the lepai with its on-board EQ knobs. BUT the bass on the amp6b is better if I don't use the EQ on the lepai.
Also, I'm guessing it will greatly improve once everything is in a sealed box.
Still interested in this maxamp though.. Would it be worth a try you think?
The Amp6b gets more bass if I use an equalizer on my phone, but it's still not at the same levels as the lepai with its on-board EQ knobs. BUT the bass on the amp6b is better if I don't use the EQ on the lepai.
Also, I'm guessing it will greatly improve once everything is in a sealed box.
Still interested in this maxamp though.. Would it be worth a try you think?
Aha, you interpret very much bass and treble as 'good'. You probably like beats by dre too (no offense). Low and high dominates, that's not what the music is intended to sound like but you can like the sound. What you do with the tone control on the lepai, you can do with the EQ on your mobile phone.
There would not be much improvement from using a TPA3116/8 amp except as very small increase in efficiency as we're limited by the battery voltage for output power.
If better audio quality is desired I suggest the maxamp20 with the max9744 chip which I find better than the TPA3116/8 and with the same efficiency. Only if even higher output power is needed and you invest in 6 lifepo4 batteries for 19.2V nominal is the TPA3116/8 a good choice as you can get double the output power which will give you a +3dB. Alright, it's only barely noticeably louder but still.
I'm also hesitant to promote TPA3116/8 based amps as these aren't automotive environment qualified. TPA3132 on the other hand (if there were any amps available with that chip) I'd have no qualms about recommending as (almost) on par with the max9744. The max9744 however is still preferable due to the built-in digital volume control and, most importantly, the open op-amp input, ie. the feedback loop, which makes it possible to design a simple single op-amp filter with no additional external op-amps.
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Many thanks for the tips!
I've ordered a maxamp20 now. It also that gives me an easy way to attach a volume knob on the outside, which seemed a bit too complicated for me with the amp6b.
Can't wait to get my box together so I really can test with all the amps and see if I notice a difference.
On a side note, how would you guys suggest me to mount a amp like the amp6b or maxamp inside the electronics compartment? I know there is a nice little metal case that you can use for the amp6b, but is there something similar for the maxamp? Maybe I don't even need a case at all and can just mount it straight on the inner walls with something to dampen the vibrations.
I've ordered a maxamp20 now. It also that gives me an easy way to attach a volume knob on the outside, which seemed a bit too complicated for me with the amp6b.
Can't wait to get my box together so I really can test with all the amps and see if I notice a difference.
On a side note, how would you guys suggest me to mount a amp like the amp6b or maxamp inside the electronics compartment? I know there is a nice little metal case that you can use for the amp6b, but is there something similar for the maxamp? Maybe I don't even need a case at all and can just mount it straight on the inner walls with something to dampen the vibrations.
I'd strongly advice you put it in a closed alu case with at least some effort made to make it water proof. Either the same or a similar case to the one used for an amp6b. if you're playing a late night/early morning during the summer the dew can visibly condense on the amp and drip off if not in a case. You'll want to avoid that.
I can add, if you are limited to a standard 12V supply and you want more bass/sub pwr, then use the TPA3116 in PBTL mode and choose a 2 ohm sub load, using either a single 2-ohm, or a dual vc or 2 of 4-ohm drivers in parallel. Then watch your battery start to drain a lot faster.
MAX9744 is fine, but it is limited in supply V (16V max) and can not function in PBTL(mono) mode. The volume control feature is great for this application.
MAX98400A-MAX98400B has a wider op V but does not have the v control. It does operate in PBTL(mono) mode.
Both TI and Maxim make some really nice components.
I have fixed/modified friends old boom-boxes, some took 9 "D" cells and did not operate off of a car battery, so I made a small DC-> DC to boost the V (12->14V) for them. I used a National buck/boost chip, real easy, the pcb's are even available for some designs.
MAX9744 is fine, but it is limited in supply V (16V max) and can not function in PBTL(mono) mode. The volume control feature is great for this application.
MAX98400A-MAX98400B has a wider op V but does not have the v control. It does operate in PBTL(mono) mode.
Both TI and Maxim make some really nice components.
I have fixed/modified friends old boom-boxes, some took 9 "D" cells and did not operate off of a car battery, so I made a small DC-> DC to boost the V (12->14V) for them. I used a National buck/boost chip, real easy, the pcb's are even available for some designs.
Well, if we're talking 2 ohm drivers on a 12V battery then the amp6b is actually better as the TA2020 can handle 2 ohm loads in stereo as long as battery voltage is 13.2V or less (which it normally would be).
Max98400A/B unfortunately have differential inputs so it's not as flexible as the max9744.
Max98400A/B unfortunately have differential inputs so it's not as flexible as the max9744.
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Hey everybody!
I'm in the middle of assembling my very first AMP6, but I am not sure about the direction of the schottky diode for reverse voltage protection, that goes onto D1 on the board.
Is the direction according to my picture correct?
Also, does the rest look OK so far?
Thanks a lot, guys
I'm in the middle of assembling my very first AMP6, but I am not sure about the direction of the schottky diode for reverse voltage protection, that goes onto D1 on the board.
Is the direction according to my picture correct?
Also, does the rest look OK so far?
Thanks a lot, guys
Yeah, I found out that's quite obvious when trying to turn it on - I was a little too fast to ask question, I guess!
But luckily, it's playing on my pair of Dali 450 (just used for testing at low-mid volume), and very well I must say
!Only detail is, when I got my mini jack cable plugged into the socket, the speakers make quite a lot of a ZZzzzzZZZZzzZZ noise
This happens whether or not a device is plugged to the other end of the jack cable (in this case a Nexus 4), and disappears as soon as the device starts playing.
Any idea what might cause this, and is there a well-known way to fix it?
I recorded a video of the noise, and how it changes when i touch the 3,3uF 50V input caps. I am planning to change these to WIMA 0,47uF caps on friday.
Will this have any effect on the hizzzzing?
Sorry for all the questions, but if it's an easy fix, I might as well ask
Video link: AMP6 Hizzing sound - YouTube
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Yup. Get another source. The buzzing noise of the Nexus 4 is a commonly known problem.