How should I build the Son Of Zen. Hardwired or using PCBs?

[Erik Johansson]

I´m thinking of building a Son Of Zen amp but I haven´t found any PCB layouts for it yet. Are people building these simple things hardwired or what? Or does someone have a pcb layout for it?

/Erik

[till]

I´m not very experienced and i built ZEN variation 2 and bride of ZEN handwired.

build SOZ handwired! you won´t need much more that the Mosfets , some wire, and a very very big heatsink to mount everything on it.

[Erik Johansson]

Originally posted by till
I´m not very experienced and i built ZEN variation 2 and bride of ZEN handwired.

build SOZ handwired! you won´t need much more that the Mosfets , some wire, and a very very big heatsink to mount everything on it.

Yes there are very few components. Also, I just found a guy selling 10000uF/63V Rifa PEH169 caps cheap, these should work well in the SOZ psu right?

Also, how powerful must the transformer be for 2x10W or 2x15W output and what voltage should it be for those outputs?

/Erik

[AudioFreak]

Originally posted by Erik Johansson
Also, how powerful must the transformer be for 2x10W or 2x15W output and what voltage should it be for those outputs?

Minimum Safe Ratings are as follows
Assuming standard transformer --> bridge --> caps bank type power supply.

2x10W = 900VA @ 2 x 22V
2x15W = 1.3kVa @ 2 x 27V

[Erik Johansson]

Originally posted by AudioFreak


Minimum Safe Ratings are as follows
Assuming standard transformer --> bridge --> caps bank type power supply.

2x10W = 900VA @ 2 x 22V
2x15W = 1.3kVa @ 2 x 27V

900VA for 10W? Oh I said 2x10W... does that mean you meant a single transformer for both channels? Or is it THAT power hungry? I think I saw someone in the gallery having built a 2x5W SOZ using a single 250VA 2x12V transformer and he was planning on building a 2x15W version using dual 600VA 2x25V transformers.

What kind of power can I get using a 600VA transformer? That´s the largest ones I can source locally and they come in 2x12V, 2x18V and 2x24V versions.

/Erik

[AudioFreak]

Originally posted by Erik Johansson


900VA for 10W? Oh I said 2x10W... does that mean you meant a single transformer for both channels? Or is it THAT power hungry? I think I saw someone in the gallery having built a 2x5W SOZ using a single 250VA 2x12V transformer and he was planning on building a 2x15W version using dual 600VA 2x25V transformers.

What kind of power can I get using a 600VA transformer? That´s the largest ones I can source locally and they come in 2x12V, 2x18V and 2x24V versions.

/Erik

I quoted total for stereo so if you are building mono blocks 1/2 the VA rating for each channel

for 600VA you can get about 13.5W mono using 2 x 24V.

[Erik Johansson]

Originally posted by AudioFreak

for 600VA you can get about 13.5W mono using 2 x 24V.

How do I calculate the transformer requirements? 13.5W monoblocks would be awsome though. Although I have now found much cheaper 500VA/2x25V units on-line.

Would 10000uF/63V Rifa PEH169 caps be sufficiant for the PSU? I can get a good price ($85) on 10 of those.

/Erik

[AudioFreak]

To calculate the transformer rating, look at the total power draw of the circuit then divide by 0.62 to get minimum total VA rating. Those caps should be fine I think but you'll need more than 10 of them for a stereo pair.

[Erik Johansson]

Originally posted by AudioFreak
To calculate the transformer rating, look at the total power draw of the circuit then divide by 0.62 to get minimum total VA rating. Those caps should be fine I think but you'll need more than 10 of them for a stereo pair.

Reading the papers I just printed from www.passdiy.com about the Zen and SOZ I just can decide which of the two to build. The SOZ is soooo simple and I love it for it, but the Zen is designed for unbalanced use (I don´t run balanced) and doesn´t seem to need as big transformers, although it is more complicated to build.

What I really like about the SOZ is the simplicity and that everyone seem to love it.

/Erik

[swede]

I'm currently building an Aleph30, which will do good for me. I also buy my stuff mainly in Gothenburg.

I usually buy my stuff at Tema Elektronik, but they are closed for the next couple of weeks (the guy owning the store is on vacation). He has reasonable prices for most of the stuff you need; transformers, caps and rectifiers. Usually he has all transistors as well.

Where in Gothenburg do you usually buy your stuff? Elfa (=expensive but good)?

Best regards,
//magnus