Led always on
Jan just sent out an update to his instructions for his Amp6. The FETs on his board are installed 180 degrees out of position. His new instructions state that the FETs need to be reoriented.
Instead of the flat side facing the edge of the board as is painted on his PCB; the FETs should be flipped such that the flat side is facing in the the opposite direction of the painting on his PCB.
The round side of The FETs should be facing the narrow edge of the PCB and the flat side should be oriented towards the coils.
If you need a copy of the new instructions and schematic email me.
Jan just sent out an update to his instructions for his Amp6. The FETs on his board are installed 180 degrees out of position. His new instructions state that the FETs need to be reoriented.
Instead of the flat side facing the edge of the board as is painted on his PCB; the FETs should be flipped such that the flat side is facing in the the opposite direction of the painting on his PCB.
The round side of The FETs should be facing the narrow edge of the PCB and the flat side should be oriented towards the coils.
If you need a copy of the new instructions and schematic email me.
Here's a closer shot of the amp. Note the single 14V regulator whose output splits into three traces. An 820uF Panasonic FM cap is connected to a ferrite chip inductor that's connected to another 820uF Panasonic FM cap that's connected to the chip's supply pins for each channel; as well as a ferrite chip inductor connected to a 68uF Panasonic FM cap for the 14V driver input section.
The 5V supply uses an onboard low noise Micrel 5209 5V regulator with a 2.2uF ceramic cap on its input and a 120uF Panasonic FC cap on its output.
The inductors are the same as the ones used on the 41Hz amp3 and amp6 and the output filter caps are polypropylene film types. I used Auricaps as my off-board input coupling caps.
The input side of the board remains the same, although the PCB is slightly smaller and everything is quite snug. The sound is on par if not better than v1.0 even though the power supply and board layout are quite different.
The 5V supply uses an onboard low noise Micrel 5209 5V regulator with a 2.2uF ceramic cap on its input and a 120uF Panasonic FC cap on its output.
The inductors are the same as the ones used on the 41Hz amp3 and amp6 and the output filter caps are polypropylene film types. I used Auricaps as my off-board input coupling caps.
The input side of the board remains the same, although the PCB is slightly smaller and everything is quite snug. The sound is on par if not better than v1.0 even though the power supply and board layout are quite different.
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theAnonymous1 said:Beautiful!!! Where do I submit my order?
Thanks! I actually have two other boards almost complete that will be sent out to a couple people to demo before I do any sort of small production run. If their opinion of the amp is positive then I'll take the next step and see about pricing if I have about 50-100 made.
If you REALLY want one I can build one up for you because I have three boards left. BUT it will take me some time to get one built because I'd need to order more parts and find time to build them. Email me if you're seriously interested in one of these boards - an approximate price for one of my three remaining boards would be $120.
Tripath Hiss ????
Please, explain.
I have used stock SI amps with batteries, wall warts, and linear power supplies; and I don't get hiss that I discern.
I have used a portable CD player powered by a wall wart for a source and I get exceptionally low level hiss when nothing is playing and the volume on the CD player is maxed out. Even then it is at such a low level you have to put your head right next to the speakers.
I also use a tube preamp, and A heavily modified CD player for source material. The modified CD player has the Auricap PS mods and is plugged into a Jon Risch Power line Conditioner. When the CD player is connected directly to the SIs and Amp6 it is dead quiet. The Amp6 has a 120 VAC 15 volt torroid trans for a power supply.
The tube preamp raises the noise floor somewhat when material is run through it into the Tripaths, but not a hiss.
Maybe the hiss is there and I am just not hearing it. Could you be more definitive as to the circumstance that brings on the hiss.
Please, explain.
I have used stock SI amps with batteries, wall warts, and linear power supplies; and I don't get hiss that I discern.
I have used a portable CD player powered by a wall wart for a source and I get exceptionally low level hiss when nothing is playing and the volume on the CD player is maxed out. Even then it is at such a low level you have to put your head right next to the speakers.
I also use a tube preamp, and A heavily modified CD player for source material. The modified CD player has the Auricap PS mods and is plugged into a Jon Risch Power line Conditioner. When the CD player is connected directly to the SIs and Amp6 it is dead quiet. The Amp6 has a 120 VAC 15 volt torroid trans for a power supply.
The tube preamp raises the noise floor somewhat when material is run through it into the Tripaths, but not a hiss.
Maybe the hiss is there and I am just not hearing it. Could you be more definitive as to the circumstance that brings on the hiss.
theAnonymous1 said:
Hiss is not a problem I've had with the Tripath stuff. We shall see if the Ref-T has that problem - I doubt it will.
One expection was a batch of Fenice boards I got once. Bad hiss. Turns out they were missing the bias cap on pin 16.
Some other venders sold a few boards with this problem, luckily I spotted it right away. It was hard to miss - hissssssss. WIth a cap on 16, no more hiss.
I have read about hiss problems with the AMP1, but I've never built one. None of the small chips hiss when in a good circuit, AFAIK. OK, if I put my ear right up to the 107dB horn, there is a faint hiss, but what amp could do better?
There's certainly no hiss with the Ref-T... I sit less than three feet away from my 90dB@1W/1m speakers and can't hear anything. And the amp is just sitting on my desk with wires strewn about! Any noise you hear from your speakers is most likely coming from your source. It may also be a ground loop issue.
I didn't mean to imply a noticable hiss from afar. More like with your ear next to the tweeter. I have heard plenty of SI's, the AMP1-B's I built, and an AMP1 that all have this hiss.
Maybe I'm expecting too much from these amps, but from what I've read about the ucd modules, they are completely silent.
EDIT: Forgot to mention this was with no source connected and the inputs shorted.
Maybe I'm expecting too much from these amps, but from what I've read about the ucd modules, they are completely silent.
EDIT: Forgot to mention this was with no source connected and the inputs shorted.
Well, I think you can keep the name
Well, so as not to keep everyone in suspense for too long, I will say that Im quite impressed with Brians design. Ive not done near enough listening to give any concrete discriptions yet, but I will say that my initial observations are that this is really an excellent sounding amp, with the best LF response Ive heard from a Tripath yet. The separate 5V supply completely eliminates the thump on problems and so far, it may have the best 3-D soundstage Ive heard. Very low noise it appears. Most notable is the detail in very complex compositions. The separation of instruments and the decay of strings is wonderfull!!
But I dont want to commit to too much until Ive really put in some time with this amp and have a better handle on its exact performance qualities. Being giddy with new toys can sometimes steal away ones objectivity.
Michael, you'll be in paradise soon! Oops, forgot you alreally are:^)
BTW Brian, the SMD LED on the board is a nice touch. Nice to know theres DC on the board once the PS is turned on.
Stay tuned.
amt
Well, so as not to keep everyone in suspense for too long, I will say that Im quite impressed with Brians design. Ive not done near enough listening to give any concrete discriptions yet, but I will say that my initial observations are that this is really an excellent sounding amp, with the best LF response Ive heard from a Tripath yet. The separate 5V supply completely eliminates the thump on problems and so far, it may have the best 3-D soundstage Ive heard. Very low noise it appears. Most notable is the detail in very complex compositions. The separation of instruments and the decay of strings is wonderfull!!
But I dont want to commit to too much until Ive really put in some time with this amp and have a better handle on its exact performance qualities. Being giddy with new toys can sometimes steal away ones objectivity.
Michael, you'll be in paradise soon! Oops, forgot you alreally are:^)
BTW Brian, the SMD LED on the board is a nice touch. Nice to know theres DC on the board once the PS is turned on.
Stay tuned.
amt
AMT, your observations are as I suspected for Brian's separate supply design. Several months ago I installed a second Charlize in my system, giving a dual mono (separate supply) system. The differences I heard were what you say: detail, bass, separation, decay, soundstage. The more "separate supply"d the better, ey?
Got the amp today, am listening to it now - Steely Dan.
Well.... This ain't your grandmother's Sonic Impact!
Very strong, good bass, lots of low mid. Plus all the detail of the Tripath chip. It sounds as good on Latin music too.
Good work BWRX!
What 1st impressed me about the amp board was how well it is made. Beautiful work. From now on we will just refer to BWRX as "the Robot". No human should be able to solder SMD that well. It just isn't possible. And those inductors!
I'll be listening to it more over a couple of weeks- unless Brian wants to sell it. Will give my impression vs. other t-amps. So far, I agree with AMT above. Sounds as strong as an AMP6 with maybe more channel seperation.
Measurements will come, too, of course.
Well.... This ain't your grandmother's Sonic Impact!
Very strong, good bass, lots of low mid. Plus all the detail of the Tripath chip. It sounds as good on Latin music too.
Good work BWRX!
What 1st impressed me about the amp board was how well it is made. Beautiful work. From now on we will just refer to BWRX as "the Robot". No human should be able to solder SMD that well. It just isn't possible. And those inductors!
I'll be listening to it more over a couple of weeks- unless Brian wants to sell it. Will give my impression vs. other t-amps. So far, I agree with AMT above. Sounds as strong as an AMP6 with maybe more channel seperation.
Measurements will come, too, of course.
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