Hi
I apologise in advance if this is too much of newbie question
My idea is to find a cool-looking cheap vintage amplifier on eBay or somewhere, and then put a d-class amplifier into it
I have seen that Hypex kits have good reviews are quite affordable but they are maybe too powerful for home use so are the kits at 41hz.com a good alternative ?
and, although the kit companies also sell the power supplies required, they don't have any way to change the sound - this might sound really stupid to audio experts but I really like the way that old amps (and maybe new ones too, I don't know) had just volume, bass and treble knobs to change the sound quality and i would like to do that here - so the amp would have just 4 knobs : volume, bass & treble and a sound source selector
so ... is there a kit of some sort that i could use with a class D kit to give me simple volume, bass and treble controls ? I've tried to find some info about this and it's all a bit confusing, so could someone point me in the right direction ? I suppose what i need is an all-in-one kit that contains everything i need to make a working amp
thanks for any help you can give me on this - I'm raring to go but i don't want to make any stupid mistakes
thanks
I apologise in advance if this is too much of newbie question
My idea is to find a cool-looking cheap vintage amplifier on eBay or somewhere, and then put a d-class amplifier into it
I have seen that Hypex kits have good reviews are quite affordable but they are maybe too powerful for home use so are the kits at 41hz.com a good alternative ?
and, although the kit companies also sell the power supplies required, they don't have any way to change the sound - this might sound really stupid to audio experts but I really like the way that old amps (and maybe new ones too, I don't know) had just volume, bass and treble knobs to change the sound quality and i would like to do that here - so the amp would have just 4 knobs : volume, bass & treble and a sound source selector
so ... is there a kit of some sort that i could use with a class D kit to give me simple volume, bass and treble controls ? I've tried to find some info about this and it's all a bit confusing, so could someone point me in the right direction ? I suppose what i need is an all-in-one kit that contains everything i need to make a working amp
thanks for any help you can give me on this - I'm raring to go but i don't want to make any stupid mistakes
thanks
Hi,
I've built two 41Hz kits, modded a couple of pre-builts and still consider myself a complete newb at this, but in all my googling and reading hither and thither I have never seen tone controls.
Volume and selector are fairly simple to implement however.
I recommend trying a 41Hz Amp6 Basic, add volume and selector and see how you get on with the sound, I'm certainly not missing my tone controls. I have used a Subline from www.audiomagus.com to give me a sub-out though.
Cheers
Chris
I've built two 41Hz kits, modded a couple of pre-builts and still consider myself a complete newb at this, but in all my googling and reading hither and thither I have never seen tone controls.
Volume and selector are fairly simple to implement however.
I recommend trying a 41Hz Amp6 Basic, add volume and selector and see how you get on with the sound, I'm certainly not missing my tone controls. I have used a Subline from www.audiomagus.com to give me a sub-out though.
Cheers
Chris
Hi,
The 41Hz Amp6 sounds very good and is well praised.
My recommendation would be to buy a kit from 41Hz and add the following IC from National Semiconductor;
LM1036 - Dual DC Operated Tone/Volume/Balance Circuit
I have tried both the Amp6 and LM1036 and both IC work very well.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Eric
The 41Hz Amp6 sounds very good and is well praised.
My recommendation would be to buy a kit from 41Hz and add the following IC from National Semiconductor;
LM1036 - Dual DC Operated Tone/Volume/Balance Circuit
I have tried both the Amp6 and LM1036 and both IC work very well.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Eric
See if this is what you are looking for. I am using one and am very happy with it.
http://www.vellemanusa.com/us/enu/product/view/?id=523679
They can be purchased here.
http://store.tequipment.net/index.asp?PageAction=CARTDETAILS
http://www.vellemanusa.com/us/enu/product/view/?id=523679
They can be purchased here.
http://store.tequipment.net/index.asp?PageAction=CARTDETAILS
thanks for all your replies to my questions
well ..... I don't know. 700w seems to be a lot to me - on the 41hz site their Amp6 kit is 2x25W RMS - or maybe there's a big difference between these kits - is there something I haven't understood here ??
The Velleman preamp kit looks like just what i need. Would it be acceptable practice to not solder the potentiometers directly onto the board as the holes in the amplifier box probably won't be in the right place ??
thanks again
Workhorse said:
UCD700 is high power amplifier for you???
well ..... I don't know. 700w seems to be a lot to me - on the 41hz site their Amp6 kit is 2x25W RMS - or maybe there's a big difference between these kits - is there something I haven't understood here ??
The Velleman preamp kit looks like just what i need. Would it be acceptable practice to not solder the potentiometers directly onto the board as the holes in the amplifier box probably won't be in the right place ??
thanks again
Bump.
I have a similar question to the OP, but since the since the forum software won't allow me to create a new thread (something about searching), I'll just tack it on to the end of this thread:
I've got sort of a two pronged question. I'm trying to put together some class-D kits, but these are a bit of a nightmare. First, what are some good quality class-d amps; second, what are some tried and true soldering techniques for soldering very small surface mount components.
I started with a Ramsey kit, but ruined it when I accidentally brushed the soldering iron along the pins of the amp chip, shorting out about 6 pins. I then started work on a kit from 47Hz, but that one required you to solder on the amp chip, unlike the Ramsey which already has the amp chip installed. I've basically made a mess of it.
The problem with the 47Hz kit is that the chip pins are so small and close together that it is near impossible to solder. I'm using a Weller WES51 with a very sharp ETS 0.01" x 0.4 mm tip and 0.15 dia. silver solder. The board is on a third-hand stand with a magnifying glass. The only way I could solder the pins of the chip (a TA2021B) is by getting a tiny bead of solder on the tip of the iron and applying it to the pins. However, the bead wants to sit halfway up the tip which is too far back from the end for effective application. Also, even the very sharp ETS tip is huge compared to the size of the pins. Getting solder on adjacent pins is very likely and difficult to fix. It is exceptionally difficult to get a good solder joint on the TA2021B.
The surface mount resistors and capacitors are harder than through hole mount components, but fairly easy if I take my time. So, those are not an issue. Its just the surface mount 2021 (or other similar chip amps).
Anyway, I'm looking for some good chip amp kits and any tips on soldering super small surface mount pins.
Any ideas?
Edit: I checked out Charlize. Too expensive and too temperamental for what I am doing.
I have a similar question to the OP, but since the since the forum software won't allow me to create a new thread (something about searching), I'll just tack it on to the end of this thread:
I've got sort of a two pronged question. I'm trying to put together some class-D kits, but these are a bit of a nightmare. First, what are some good quality class-d amps; second, what are some tried and true soldering techniques for soldering very small surface mount components.
I started with a Ramsey kit, but ruined it when I accidentally brushed the soldering iron along the pins of the amp chip, shorting out about 6 pins. I then started work on a kit from 47Hz, but that one required you to solder on the amp chip, unlike the Ramsey which already has the amp chip installed. I've basically made a mess of it.
The problem with the 47Hz kit is that the chip pins are so small and close together that it is near impossible to solder. I'm using a Weller WES51 with a very sharp ETS 0.01" x 0.4 mm tip and 0.15 dia. silver solder. The board is on a third-hand stand with a magnifying glass. The only way I could solder the pins of the chip (a TA2021B) is by getting a tiny bead of solder on the tip of the iron and applying it to the pins. However, the bead wants to sit halfway up the tip which is too far back from the end for effective application. Also, even the very sharp ETS tip is huge compared to the size of the pins. Getting solder on adjacent pins is very likely and difficult to fix. It is exceptionally difficult to get a good solder joint on the TA2021B.
The surface mount resistors and capacitors are harder than through hole mount components, but fairly easy if I take my time. So, those are not an issue. Its just the surface mount 2021 (or other similar chip amps).
Anyway, I'm looking for some good chip amp kits and any tips on soldering super small surface mount pins.
Any ideas?
Edit: I checked out Charlize. Too expensive and too temperamental for what I am doing.
Bane2871 said:
The Amp6-BASIC is an excellent piece of kit. Super easy, though not a 100% ideal absolute first kit. Edit: Excepting fully built boards, it's the esiest Class D kit you'll get.
Also, don't worry too much about surface mount. Once you get the hang of it, many find the surface mount to be less tedious than through-hole!
Here are some EXCELLENT videos, covering almost everything, from DIY guru Tangent:
http://tangentsoft.net/elec/movies/ - Tangent Tutorials
kristleifur said:
I actually just ordered the AMP6-Basic.
It baffles me how anyone would even want to solder a 2021. And I'm not a novice with the soldering iron. Sound quality aside, I like how Ramsey does it, the chip amp is already installed on the PCB.
The rest of the components are pretty straight forward. A magnifying glass still helps, but I agree that in some ways the surface mount stuff is easier to build than through-hole.
To Bane 2871:
I just about made a complete muckle of an Amp 32 kit (all surface mount) trying to use silver solder. Then, I found out this is just about impossible to use for this. Doh!
I globbed together a bunch of pins and in the end I used a magnifying glass and a very sharp X-acto knife to cut away the solder bridges and I did get the thing to sing. NOT the recommended way to go.
People who seem to know a lot more than I think the benefits of silver solder is way overstated (if any at all), so get a good eutectic lead/tin alloy and have at it. It has a lower melting point and higher surface tension, both very helpful qualities.
A couple of hints I learned. A flux pen is helpful to make sure there is always plenty of flux available, even if using flux-core solder. The best technique I've found for resistors, etc, is to barely wet one of the board tabs with the tiniest drop of solder. Hold the part in place with tweezers, and place the iron tip right where the chip joins the board and wait a second or so until it sticks--it doesn't have to be all the way flat Then, solder the other end, and if necessary, come back and reheat the first end and push it down flush with the board. Awkward at first, but you'll get the hang of it. It takes very little solder and heat to do this. A good magnifying glass is very helpful, This is microsurgery.
Check around this forum and the 41hz forums for more hints. Someone out there on the internet has a nice video tutorial on surface-mount soldering.
I can recommend the Amp 6, as the sound quality is very good and there are only a few, large surface-mount components.
Rock on!
--Buckapound
I just about made a complete muckle of an Amp 32 kit (all surface mount) trying to use silver solder. Then, I found out this is just about impossible to use for this. Doh!
I globbed together a bunch of pins and in the end I used a magnifying glass and a very sharp X-acto knife to cut away the solder bridges and I did get the thing to sing. NOT the recommended way to go.
People who seem to know a lot more than I think the benefits of silver solder is way overstated (if any at all), so get a good eutectic lead/tin alloy and have at it. It has a lower melting point and higher surface tension, both very helpful qualities.
A couple of hints I learned. A flux pen is helpful to make sure there is always plenty of flux available, even if using flux-core solder. The best technique I've found for resistors, etc, is to barely wet one of the board tabs with the tiniest drop of solder. Hold the part in place with tweezers, and place the iron tip right where the chip joins the board and wait a second or so until it sticks--it doesn't have to be all the way flat Then, solder the other end, and if necessary, come back and reheat the first end and push it down flush with the board. Awkward at first, but you'll get the hang of it. It takes very little solder and heat to do this. A good magnifying glass is very helpful, This is microsurgery.
Check around this forum and the 41hz forums for more hints. Someone out there on the internet has a nice video tutorial on surface-mount soldering.
I can recommend the Amp 6, as the sound quality is very good and there are only a few, large surface-mount components.
Rock on!
--Buckapound
Hi, Back to the origonal posters question.
If you can find an old intergrated amplifer (i.e one with a preamplifer, volume control, source selector, tone controls and an amplifier built in) then you could use the pre amplifer section and just replace the old amplifer which is the most likely part to have failed.
This would retain some of the old sound of the amplifer as well as the tone controls you wanted and alow you to try out a class D amp as the main power stage.
Andrew
If you can find an old intergrated amplifer (i.e one with a preamplifer, volume control, source selector, tone controls and an amplifier built in) then you could use the pre amplifer section and just replace the old amplifer which is the most likely part to have failed.
This would retain some of the old sound of the amplifer as well as the tone controls you wanted and alow you to try out a class D amp as the main power stage.
Andrew
Hi again
gfiandy - that's kind of what I was thinking of doing, but replacing all the stuff inside with better quality/newer electronics - still, it may be a better doing it in several steps, like you suggest, replacing the main amplifier first and then if the sound isn't good I can replace the rest too
Arjen - what's the difference between TA2020 and TA2024 ? would you object if I email you for paypal details ?
gfiandy - that's kind of what I was thinking of doing, but replacing all the stuff inside with better quality/newer electronics - still, it may be a better doing it in several steps, like you suggest, replacing the main amplifier first and then if the sound isn't good I can replace the rest too
Arjen - what's the difference between TA2020 and TA2024 ? would you object if I email you for paypal details ?
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