Well, the Zen amp was my first try at DIY some years a go. But i
failed miserably (this Forum wasn't here!).
So the parts have been sitting around mocking me for all these
years. Finally i etched the PCB and ordered a few extra parts
that i needed and finally finished!
I've attached a pic of the amp being tested... now to build a
chasis (the hardest thing for me to do!) The amp is built as the
article instructs. No additions or subtractions.
Oh yeah, it sounds lovely on my Paradigm Titans... it's playing
some Beck as i type
thanks again to Nelson Pass and his DIY gang
failed miserably (this Forum wasn't here!).
So the parts have been sitting around mocking me for all these
years. Finally i etched the PCB and ordered a few extra parts
that i needed and finally finished!
I've attached a pic of the amp being tested... now to build a
chasis (the hardest thing for me to do!) The amp is built as the
article instructs. No additions or subtractions.
Oh yeah, it sounds lovely on my Paradigm Titans... it's playing
some Beck as i type
thanks again to Nelson Pass and his DIY gang
Attachments
The heat sink is the R-Theta from the group Aleph X buy.
It's 11"x11". So yeah, it's getting hot, but not out of
control... i can put my hand on it for 2 seconds or so
i think it can handle the 140 watts or so that the Zen is dissipating...
it seems to be a tad hotter than what my production
Aleph 3 runs at.
It's 11"x11". So yeah, it's getting hot, but not out of
control... i can put my hand on it for 2 seconds or so
i think it can handle the 140 watts or so that the Zen is dissipating...
it seems to be a tad hotter than what my production
Aleph 3 runs at.
"why not space out those fets????"
because i'm a "fearless diy-er"
(like Nelson says)
and i have replacement fets
(actually that's the spacing of the line art from the original article.
Spacing them out would require running wire to the PCB, which i
didn't want to do.)
((i suppose the PCB was designed to place the board between
two heatsinks, not for use on one))
the amp does have a bit of hum with the power supply as is. But
it sounds very nice, it's amazing what you can get out of 1 gain
stage. I'm not comparing it to other amps - just taking it for what
it is. It does sound better than my Onkyo TX-SV919-THX home
theatre receiver. it's easy to listen to.
because i'm a "fearless diy-er"
(like Nelson says)and i have replacement fets
(actually that's the spacing of the line art from the original article.
Spacing them out would require running wire to the PCB, which i
didn't want to do.)
((i suppose the PCB was designed to place the board between
two heatsinks, not for use on one))
the amp does have a bit of hum with the power supply as is. But
it sounds very nice, it's amazing what you can get out of 1 gain
stage. I'm not comparing it to other amps - just taking it for what
it is. It does sound better than my Onkyo TX-SV919-THX home
theatre receiver. it's easy to listen to.
The caps are just the Panasonics with the part numbers from the
original Zen article. I peeled them one night just for looks. I have
no comment on wether they make the amp sound better.
I'm trying to make myself promise to completely finish this amp
and get it in a nice chasis. I would like to add a C and L before
the caps on the board to see if i can quiet the hum a little bit. I
don't want it to get out of hand because i really like the simplicity
of this amp.
i need to finish my 10 watt SOZ so that i can compare the two.
thanks for putting up with my half finished projects.
moe29
------------------------------------
there's always a siren
singing you to shipwreck
stay away from these rocks
we'd be a walking disaster
original Zen article. I peeled them one night just for looks. I have
no comment on wether they make the amp sound better.
I'm trying to make myself promise to completely finish this amp
and get it in a nice chasis. I would like to add a C and L before
the caps on the board to see if i can quiet the hum a little bit. I
don't want it to get out of hand because i really like the simplicity
of this amp.
i need to finish my 10 watt SOZ so that i can compare the two.
thanks for putting up with my half finished projects.
moe29
------------------------------------
there's always a siren
singing you to shipwreck
stay away from these rocks
we'd be a walking disaster
Hi JH,
so you feel the hum is more of a grounding issue than a
power supply one? I was thinking i would add a capacitor and
inductor in front of the caps on the PCB to see what effect that
has. If the hum remains i could modify the PCB to your scheme
and see how that works. Thanks for the suggestion!
m.
so you feel the hum is more of a grounding issue than a
power supply one? I was thinking i would add a capacitor and
inductor in front of the caps on the PCB to see what effect that
has. If the hum remains i could modify the PCB to your scheme
and see how that works. Thanks for the suggestion!
m.
just thought i'd update this project.
today i finally got around to modding the Zen's power supply a
little. I added two 10,000uf caps and a 2mH inductor, for a
C - L - C arrangement. The amp is dead quiet now!
i've been using the 2mH inductors that you can get from MCM...
i've read where people have slagged them for being cheap, but
they seem to do the job in the power supplies i've made so far...
they get barely warm in this application.
i'm not sure why this arrangement get's rid of the hum in the
unmodified Zen version. I guess the extra capacitence and the
inductor smooth things out...
(i think someone needs to read more about PSU's !)
now to put this baby in a nice chasis (the hardest part)
m.
today i finally got around to modding the Zen's power supply a
little. I added two 10,000uf caps and a 2mH inductor, for a
C - L - C arrangement. The amp is dead quiet now!
i've been using the 2mH inductors that you can get from MCM...
i've read where people have slagged them for being cheap, but
they seem to do the job in the power supplies i've made so far...
they get barely warm in this application.
i'm not sure why this arrangement get's rid of the hum in the
unmodified Zen version. I guess the extra capacitence and the
inductor smooth things out...
(i think someone needs to read more about PSU's !)
now to put this baby in a nice chasis (the hardest part)
m.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.