*** UPDATE (Sept 3) ***
Group buy is now closed. I'm no longer taking orders for fully assembled cards, however I will continue to take orders for bare PCBs and microcontrollers. PM me if you want some.
I've ordered parts to build a few extra cards, just in case I don't hit a 100% yield on these things - assuming everything goes OK I'll have a few extra cards to sell also. I'll sell these when they're built and working.
Thanks everyone!
*** UPDATE (July 23) ***
Group buy is on! PCBs are ordered, they're be here early-mid August. I'm taking orders until then and will close the buy when they arrive.
Pricing (all prices $CAD):
PBTL version:
- Fully assembled and tested card: $105. Specify 2, 4, 6, 8 or 16 ohm load impedance when you order.
- Filter kit (includes 2nd set of inductors, and all caps required to reconfigure board for 4/6/8 ohm operation) = add $20
- Bare card: $8
- Add a programmed microcontroller: Add $2, specify whether you want it installed or bagged separate. I highly recommend buying this unless you've got Atmel AVR programming tools.
- Add a soldered on TPA3118: Add $15.
Stereo version:
- Fully assembled/tested card: $100. Specify 6 ohm, 8 ohm or 16 ohm load impedance. 4 ohms currently unavailable (***see below)
- Filter kit: Add $15.
- Bare card: $8.
- Add programmed microcontroller: $2
- Add soldered on TPA: $15
Shipping to the USA or international: $15 CAD flat rate, using Canada Post "Small Packet Air" service and padded envelopes.
Shipping within Canada: PM me for a quote with your address.
If you're interested, my Paypal address is:
[REMOVED - GROUP BUY CLOSED
I highly suggest PMing me with your order, and I'll confirm the payment amount.
***Due to the unavailability of 10uH inductors, 4 ohm stereo Wieners are not going to be available, other than 3 boards going to people that have already expressed interest - this is because it's not worth paying $50 in shipping/duty/customs to get only a small handful of Sagami inductors shipped over from Hong Kong. A 6 ohm configuration will be available, but will use a 15uH inductor instead of 10uH inductor. 8 ohm and 16 ohm configurations are still available.
...original post....
So with DUG concluding his PBTL amplifier card group buy, and a couple people suggesting that I do this, I've now got a PBTL monoblock version of the Wiener card created.
== What's a Wiener? ==
The goal of the Wiener card is to create the best possible "host platform" for a TPA3118 chip. The TPA is provided with clean power rails that have a low impedance over a wide frequency bandwidth, a tight PCB layout designed to minimize parasitic effects, a very linear output reconstruction filter, and low leakage film input coupling capacitors. Nothing in the card design itself should limit the performance of the TPA.
Additionally, every configurable aspect of the TPA chip (gain selection, master/slave synchronization, switching frequency adjustment, BD/SPW modulation mode) can be easily adjusted with DIP switches.
Lastly, a microcontroller is used to control turn-on/turn-off muting, so this amp does not pop.
== TPA3118? ==
The TPA3118 is the same IC as the TPA3116, but with the thermal pad facing down instead of up. In this design, the TPA3118 is heatsinked to a large, largely unbroken ground plane - this provides cooling performance greater than the majority of TPA3116 cards out there, and allows decoupling capacitors to be placed close to the TPA3118 without worrying about contact with a heatsink.
== PBTL card design ==
Front of PCB:
Back of PCB:
Schematic:
== Features ==
- Small size (5x10cm)
- Everything is easily and quickly configurable - AMx and MODE pin settings, gain setting and master/slave mode can all be set with DIP switches, and a trimmer pot is provided to allow PLIMIT voltage adjustment.
- Microprocessor controlled power-on/power-off sequencing, to eliminate turn-on/turn-off pops. A pot is provided permitting adjustment of the unmute delay from 0.25 to 5 seconds.
- Connections provided for a power LED and a standby switch.
- Audio inputs easily configurable for either single ended or differential input.
- Good quality 2.2uF film capacitors provided for input audio coupling.
- "Wideband" PVCC decoupling, using multiple capacitors chosen to provide a low PVCC impedance from low audio frequencies well up into VHF. The decoupling capacitor stack uses UCC KZE electrolytics, Panasonic SEPF OSCONs, and three different values of MLCC ceramic capacitors.
- Filtered power supply is provided for the TPA's AVCC pin.
- Snubbers provided before and after the output filter to mitigate HF switching noise.
- "deliciously overkill", very linear output filter. Output filter inductors are Coilcraft VER2923, a very large inductor which has a flat inductance well up into the tens of amps - the TPA will go into current limiting long before any significant inductance droop occurs. Output filter capacitors are Epcos B32529 film, two per inductor, providing very low ESR and negligible voltage coefficient.
- Output filter configurations available for 2 ohm, 4 ohm, 6 ohm, 8 ohm and 16 ohm loads.
== Cost ==
All prices are Canadian dollars.
Bare PBTL cards go for $8/pop. A programmed ATTiny13 microcontroller is an extra $2, and is available either loose or soldered onto the PCB. Add $15 for a soldered on TPA3118 IC. Assembled boards will be $100/pop. Filter kits, allowing the card to be reconfigured between 4/6/8 ohm configurations, will be an additional $20.
Shipping for up to 2 cards is $15 CAD to the USA or international using Canada Post "Small Packet Air" service. Within Canada, contact me for a price.
== Stereo Wiener cards ==
Stereo Wiener cards are up for sale again. The design is described in this thread:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/group-buys/269855-wiener-tpa3118-amplifier-card.html
Card cost is $8 per blank PCB. Add $2 for a programmed microcontroller, provided in a static bag or soldered to the PCB. Add $15 for a soldered on TPA3118 IC. Fully built cards are $100 CAD for 4, 6, 8 and 16 ohm loading. Add $15 for a filter kit, which includes the parts to allow a card to be reconfigured between 4/6/8 ohm configurations.
Shipping for up to 2 cards is $15 CAD to the USA or international using Canada Post "Small Packet Air" service. Within Canada, contact me for a price. Note that Small Packet Air doesn't have any package tracking, if you want something with tracking PM me and I'll arrange something.
4 and 6 ohm build will use Sagami 7G14D-100M inductors, as the 10uH ICE Component inductors are still not available from Mouser and I'm sick of waiting. 8 ohm builds use ICE Components 1D14A-150M inductors.
== How this'll work ==
To make this build worthwhile at the stated price, I need qty 25 of card orders (PBTL and stereo combined), and I'd rather not take money from people if that doesn't happen. So we'll call this the "interest check" stage right now.
If you want a card, post what you're interested in, in this thread - stereo or PBTL, quantity, load impedance, etc. Once the interest level reaches critical mass, I'll post my Paypal address and start taking orders.
Thanks!
Group buy is now closed. I'm no longer taking orders for fully assembled cards, however I will continue to take orders for bare PCBs and microcontrollers. PM me if you want some.
I've ordered parts to build a few extra cards, just in case I don't hit a 100% yield on these things - assuming everything goes OK I'll have a few extra cards to sell also. I'll sell these when they're built and working.
Thanks everyone!
*** UPDATE (July 23) ***
Group buy is on! PCBs are ordered, they're be here early-mid August. I'm taking orders until then and will close the buy when they arrive.
Pricing (all prices $CAD):
PBTL version:
- Fully assembled and tested card: $105. Specify 2, 4, 6, 8 or 16 ohm load impedance when you order.
- Filter kit (includes 2nd set of inductors, and all caps required to reconfigure board for 4/6/8 ohm operation) = add $20
- Bare card: $8
- Add a programmed microcontroller: Add $2, specify whether you want it installed or bagged separate. I highly recommend buying this unless you've got Atmel AVR programming tools.
- Add a soldered on TPA3118: Add $15.
Stereo version:
- Fully assembled/tested card: $100. Specify 6 ohm, 8 ohm or 16 ohm load impedance. 4 ohms currently unavailable (***see below)
- Filter kit: Add $15.
- Bare card: $8.
- Add programmed microcontroller: $2
- Add soldered on TPA: $15
Shipping to the USA or international: $15 CAD flat rate, using Canada Post "Small Packet Air" service and padded envelopes.
Shipping within Canada: PM me for a quote with your address.
If you're interested, my Paypal address is:
[REMOVED - GROUP BUY CLOSED
I highly suggest PMing me with your order, and I'll confirm the payment amount.
***Due to the unavailability of 10uH inductors, 4 ohm stereo Wieners are not going to be available, other than 3 boards going to people that have already expressed interest - this is because it's not worth paying $50 in shipping/duty/customs to get only a small handful of Sagami inductors shipped over from Hong Kong. A 6 ohm configuration will be available, but will use a 15uH inductor instead of 10uH inductor. 8 ohm and 16 ohm configurations are still available.
...original post....
So with DUG concluding his PBTL amplifier card group buy, and a couple people suggesting that I do this, I've now got a PBTL monoblock version of the Wiener card created.
== What's a Wiener? ==
The goal of the Wiener card is to create the best possible "host platform" for a TPA3118 chip. The TPA is provided with clean power rails that have a low impedance over a wide frequency bandwidth, a tight PCB layout designed to minimize parasitic effects, a very linear output reconstruction filter, and low leakage film input coupling capacitors. Nothing in the card design itself should limit the performance of the TPA.
Additionally, every configurable aspect of the TPA chip (gain selection, master/slave synchronization, switching frequency adjustment, BD/SPW modulation mode) can be easily adjusted with DIP switches.
Lastly, a microcontroller is used to control turn-on/turn-off muting, so this amp does not pop.
== TPA3118? ==
The TPA3118 is the same IC as the TPA3116, but with the thermal pad facing down instead of up. In this design, the TPA3118 is heatsinked to a large, largely unbroken ground plane - this provides cooling performance greater than the majority of TPA3116 cards out there, and allows decoupling capacitors to be placed close to the TPA3118 without worrying about contact with a heatsink.
== PBTL card design ==
Front of PCB:
Back of PCB:
Schematic:
== Features ==
- Small size (5x10cm)
- Everything is easily and quickly configurable - AMx and MODE pin settings, gain setting and master/slave mode can all be set with DIP switches, and a trimmer pot is provided to allow PLIMIT voltage adjustment.
- Microprocessor controlled power-on/power-off sequencing, to eliminate turn-on/turn-off pops. A pot is provided permitting adjustment of the unmute delay from 0.25 to 5 seconds.
- Connections provided for a power LED and a standby switch.
- Audio inputs easily configurable for either single ended or differential input.
- Good quality 2.2uF film capacitors provided for input audio coupling.
- "Wideband" PVCC decoupling, using multiple capacitors chosen to provide a low PVCC impedance from low audio frequencies well up into VHF. The decoupling capacitor stack uses UCC KZE electrolytics, Panasonic SEPF OSCONs, and three different values of MLCC ceramic capacitors.
- Filtered power supply is provided for the TPA's AVCC pin.
- Snubbers provided before and after the output filter to mitigate HF switching noise.
- "deliciously overkill", very linear output filter. Output filter inductors are Coilcraft VER2923, a very large inductor which has a flat inductance well up into the tens of amps - the TPA will go into current limiting long before any significant inductance droop occurs. Output filter capacitors are Epcos B32529 film, two per inductor, providing very low ESR and negligible voltage coefficient.
- Output filter configurations available for 2 ohm, 4 ohm, 6 ohm, 8 ohm and 16 ohm loads.
== Cost ==
All prices are Canadian dollars.
Bare PBTL cards go for $8/pop. A programmed ATTiny13 microcontroller is an extra $2, and is available either loose or soldered onto the PCB. Add $15 for a soldered on TPA3118 IC. Assembled boards will be $100/pop. Filter kits, allowing the card to be reconfigured between 4/6/8 ohm configurations, will be an additional $20.
Shipping for up to 2 cards is $15 CAD to the USA or international using Canada Post "Small Packet Air" service. Within Canada, contact me for a price.
== Stereo Wiener cards ==
Stereo Wiener cards are up for sale again. The design is described in this thread:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/group-buys/269855-wiener-tpa3118-amplifier-card.html
Card cost is $8 per blank PCB. Add $2 for a programmed microcontroller, provided in a static bag or soldered to the PCB. Add $15 for a soldered on TPA3118 IC. Fully built cards are $100 CAD for 4, 6, 8 and 16 ohm loading. Add $15 for a filter kit, which includes the parts to allow a card to be reconfigured between 4/6/8 ohm configurations.
Shipping for up to 2 cards is $15 CAD to the USA or international using Canada Post "Small Packet Air" service. Within Canada, contact me for a price. Note that Small Packet Air doesn't have any package tracking, if you want something with tracking PM me and I'll arrange something.
4 and 6 ohm build will use Sagami 7G14D-100M inductors, as the 10uH ICE Component inductors are still not available from Mouser and I'm sick of waiting. 8 ohm builds use ICE Components 1D14A-150M inductors.
== How this'll work ==
To make this build worthwhile at the stated price, I need qty 25 of card orders (PBTL and stereo combined), and I'd rather not take money from people if that doesn't happen. So we'll call this the "interest check" stage right now.
If you want a card, post what you're interested in, in this thread - stereo or PBTL, quantity, load impedance, etc. Once the interest level reaches critical mass, I'll post my Paypal address and start taking orders.
Thanks!
Last edited:
Got it. Card's been sitting on the back seat of my car, was waiting for a day when I leave work before the damn post office closes... I'll pop out of work lunchtime today and mail it.
Updated with my request:
bk856er: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 2 uC's
snake69fast: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 1 stereo PCB + 3 uC's
lostthumb: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 1 stereo PCB + 3 uC's
eplates: 1x fully assembled stereo card with filter kit
Ginum: 1 bare PBTL PCB + 1 stereo PCB + 2 uC's
rhing: Two bare PBTL PCBs + IC's installed and uC's installed
My Weiner 1.0 stereo amp with CineMag input transformers has been sharing power amp duties with my modified Dynakit Stereo 35 tube amp in my system. This is an incredibly musical amp. I will probably end up building a Modulus86 hybrid amp for comparison.
bk856er: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 2 uC's
snake69fast: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 1 stereo PCB + 3 uC's
lostthumb: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 1 stereo PCB + 3 uC's
eplates: 1x fully assembled stereo card with filter kit
Ginum: 1 bare PBTL PCB + 1 stereo PCB + 2 uC's
rhing: Two bare PBTL PCBs + IC's installed and uC's installed
My Weiner 1.0 stereo amp with CineMag input transformers has been sharing power amp duties with my modified Dynakit Stereo 35 tube amp in my system. This is an incredibly musical amp. I will probably end up building a Modulus86 hybrid amp for comparison.
The input transformers convert the single ended output from my tube line stage amp into differential inputs for The Wiener amp. It also reduces noise at the inputs. In my system, the benefits of the sound quality improvements (lower noise, larger and deeper soundstage, greater separation and detail) outweigh the additional cost.
Updated with my request:
bk856er: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 2 uC's
snake69fast: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 1 stereo PCB + 3 uC's
lostthumb: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 1 stereo PCB + 3 uC's
eplates: 1x fully assembled stereo card with filter kit
Ginum: 1 bare PBTL PCB + 1 stereo PCB + 2 uC's
rhing: Two bare PBTL PCBs + IC's installed and uC's installed
bchristmas: Two bare PBTL PCBs + IC's installed and uC's installed
bk856er: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 2 uC's
snake69fast: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 1 stereo PCB + 3 uC's
lostthumb: Two bare PBTL PCBs + 1 stereo PCB + 3 uC's
eplates: 1x fully assembled stereo card with filter kit
Ginum: 1 bare PBTL PCB + 1 stereo PCB + 2 uC's
rhing: Two bare PBTL PCBs + IC's installed and uC's installed
bchristmas: Two bare PBTL PCBs + IC's installed and uC's installed
Please tell me what are the benefits of 2 PBTL amps to one stereo amp? What can I use it for? Is it possible that a PBTL pair would (because of the inductors) sound better than the Stereo Wiener? Will I need a more powerful Power Supply to properly use it than for a single Stereo Card?
I'm trying to convince myself that this is something that's good for me.
I'm trying to convince myself that this is something that's good for me.
Please tell me what are the benefits of 2 PBTL amps to one stereo amp? What can I use it for? Is it possible that a PBTL pair would (because of the inductors) sound better than the Stereo Wiener? Will I need a more powerful Power Supply to properly use it than for a single Stereo Card?
I'm trying to convince myself that this is something that's good for me.
The major benefit is more power. Channel separation would theoretically be better as well, but whether that would be audible... I don't know. The oversized inductors will ensure deep, sturdy bass response at higher output levels. Yes, the dual mono setup will require a more powerful supply, if you plan on driving it near or at its limit.
The Wiener is no slouch. In most average living rooms it will be more than sufficient, even at quite loud SPL. I can easily push my system to SPL in the mid 90dBc range (peaks) and it seems to do so quite effortlessly.
I'm not sure at my education level if the stereo card is OK for me, if I will understand the various hookups.
I have the YJ TPA3116 blue board, easy hookup of course, and what I'm after is an upgrade to that YJ card.
I don't know yet what single ended or differential input means. I don't know what the microprocessor does. I want to use a 19.5 volt laptop power supply, have not chosen speakers yet,
I'm not after an education here in this thread, so feel relieved there. I just want to know if the stereo board will confuse me with the hookups and I should just buzz off...
Thank You for your time
I have the YJ TPA3116 blue board, easy hookup of course, and what I'm after is an upgrade to that YJ card.
I don't know yet what single ended or differential input means. I don't know what the microprocessor does. I want to use a 19.5 volt laptop power supply, have not chosen speakers yet,
I'm not after an education here in this thread, so feel relieved there. I just want to know if the stereo board will confuse me with the hookups and I should just buzz off..
.Thank You for your time
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