Zen V4: Could it be my first amp?

porfi4ever · 11th February 2003, 09:50 AM

HI!!!! everybody this is my first post and Am too nervous to ask this dumb question: I want to build the Zen V4 because it looks easy (think so!!!) and everyone says it sound very good, marvelous. Please I'd like to know more about the case(size) and where to get the heatsinks!!!!Also please tell me everything you can say, I'm all ears.Thanks in advance(and wait for more questions!!!!!!) Rommel.-

Jay · 11th February 2003, 10:54 AM

Hi,

This is also my first day of posting onto this forum.

Building is certainly easier than designing. The hardest part of building a Zen will be constructing for the heat dissipation.

Searching for a suitable heatsink is still my problem. Search for zen or aleph images on the net, that is the size!

I use a very minimum size of heatsink. Twice of a video tape size. I reduce the bias current a bit (but cannot help with the rail voltage), expose the heatsink to a fan.

Tried to switched off the fan once, the MOSFET burnt after less than 2 hours. Anyhow, with the fan, I got no problem. When the MOSFET failed, the speakers would still be safe.

Per Nielsen · 11th February 2003, 11:29 AM

Welcome to the forum!!

There is a lot of nice pictures of zen v4 cases at www.passdiy.com

Karen · 11th February 2003, 03:43 PM

You may also email yours truly for assistance.

Help@passdiy.com

Hanzwillem · 11th February 2003, 05:23 PM

Zen was my first poweramp for me as well after completing my BOZ.

It is quite easy to assemble. If you do something wrong or the heatsinks arent big enough it'll only blow the 2 mosfets and perhaps the bias resistor, so just replace them and you're good to go again. No real damage done...
My zens are dissipating 75W per channel and have 0.3K/W sinks, this is perfect, they run hot, but i can touch the sinks for quite some time. Just make sure the heatsinks are some centimeters above the ground.

Good luck,
Hans-Willem

porfi4ever · 12th February 2003, 12:50 AM

Thanks for your reply, but you did not tell me about the sound: is good, very good or excellent. Also in the part list there are some caps that don't say the volts and what about the power supply caps, and if you think that worth to get better components please tell the brand name. thanks

Hanzwillem · 12th February 2003, 09:13 AM

I think the sound is very good, but it depends on the speakers, I tried my Zens with some B&W 602 s2 but i thought the sound was too sweet. It lacked punch to play rock or pop music. With my own JMLab cobalt 815 they sound great with very good stereo imaging. When watching movies people always think there is sound coming from the tv, but there isn't.
This amp plays almost everything, but shines at acoustical music I think.
As I am a student I got all parts as cheap as possible. Just normal WIMA MKP for the input and output cap. The rest just simple electrolitics and metalfilm resistors. Only the bias resistor I use a 25W type since I blew up quite some mosfets in the first week trying how high the bias could get and i found out the 25W types would last long enough for the fuse to blow so that saved me something (and also they look cooler

).
Internal wiring is also with very cheap wire. So I guess you can get better sound with exotic parts if you have the cash, but if you use cheap parts you will never get 'bad' sound...

Hans-Willem

porfi4ever · 13th February 2003, 10:21 PM

Thanks Hans for your reply, I think this amp is going to be perfect for me, because my main listening is jazz .

11th February 2003, 09:50 AM	#1
porfi4ever diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Providence,R.I	Zen V4: Could it be my first amp? HI!!!! everybody this is my first post and Am too nervous to ask this dumb question: I want to build the Zen V4 because it looks easy (think so!!!) and everyone says it sound very good, marvelous. Please I'd like to know more about the case(size) and where to get the heatsinks!!!!Also please tell me everything you can say, I'm all ears.Thanks in advance(and wait for more questions!!!!!!) Rommel.-

11th February 2003, 03:43 PM	#4
Karen diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Foresthill, CA	You may also email yours truly for assistance. Help@passdiy.com __________________ ..K

12th February 2003, 12:50 AM	#6
porfi4ever diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Providence,R.I	How is the sound of zen v4 Thanks for your reply, but you did not tell me about the sound: is good, very good or excellent. Also in the part list there are some caps that don't say the volts and what about the power supply caps, and if you think that worth to get better components please tell the brand name. thanks

13th February 2003, 10:21 PM	#8
porfi4ever diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Providence,R.I	iT'S going to be perfect!! Thanks Hans for your reply, I think this amp is going to be perfect for me, because my main listening is jazz .

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11th February 2003, 10:54 AM	#2
Jay diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Jakarta	Hi, This is also my first day of posting onto this forum. Building is certainly easier than designing. The hardest part of building a Zen will be constructing for the heat dissipation. Searching for a suitable heatsink is still my problem. Search for zen or aleph images on the net, that is the size! I use a very minimum size of heatsink. Twice of a video tape size. I reduce the bias current a bit (but cannot help with the rail voltage), expose the heatsink to a fan. Tried to switched off the fan once, the MOSFET burnt after less than 2 hours. Anyhow, with the fan, I got no problem. When the MOSFET failed, the speakers would still be safe.

11th February 2003, 11:29 AM	#3
Per Nielsen diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Aalborg, Denmark	Welcome to the forum!! There is a lot of nice pictures of zen v4 cases at www.passdiy.com

11th February 2003, 05:23 PM	#5
Hanzwillem diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Hengelo, The Netherlands	Zen was my first poweramp for me as well after completing my BOZ. It is quite easy to assemble. If you do something wrong or the heatsinks arent big enough it'll only blow the 2 mosfets and perhaps the bias resistor, so just replace them and you're good to go again. No real damage done... My zens are dissipating 75W per channel and have 0.3K/W sinks, this is perfect, they run hot, but i can touch the sinks for quite some time. Just make sure the heatsinks are some centimeters above the ground. Good luck, Hans-Willem

12th February 2003, 09:13 AM	#7
Hanzwillem diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Hengelo, The Netherlands	I think the sound is very good, but it depends on the speakers, I tried my Zens with some B&W 602 s2 but i thought the sound was too sweet. It lacked punch to play rock or pop music. With my own JMLab cobalt 815 they sound great with very good stereo imaging. When watching movies people always think there is sound coming from the tv, but there isn't. This amp plays almost everything, but shines at acoustical music I think. As I am a student I got all parts as cheap as possible. Just normal WIMA MKP for the input and output cap. The rest just simple electrolitics and metalfilm resistors. Only the bias resistor I use a 25W type since I blew up quite some mosfets in the first week trying how high the bias could get and i found out the 25W types would last long enough for the fuse to blow so that saved me something (and also they look cooler ). Internal wiring is also with very cheap wire. So I guess you can get better sound with exotic parts if you have the cash, but if you use cheap parts you will never get 'bad' sound... Hans-Willem

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