wood sounds so much better
with a chassis that beautiful, the amp must sound good! i'm sure some people have their preferences, but i seriously doubt there would be noticeable sonic differences in chassis made out of metal or wood, as long as both were good quality construction. I do like the looks of wood though.
Austin
with a chassis that beautiful, the amp must sound good! i'm sure some people have their preferences, but i seriously doubt there would be noticeable sonic differences in chassis made out of metal or wood, as long as both were good quality construction. I do like the looks of wood though.
Austin
Re: wood sounds so much better
I would be willing to bet that some people here would disagree with this. With a high resolution system, everything seems to come into play for sonics. I don't know how much, but I remember Peter commenting on how his cd player sounded better when he removed the wooden panel from one side of his cd player (the other side wouldn't come off) and also he commented on how the sound changes when he stacks more then 3 cd cases on top of his cd player...
With my system, the only thing that I can tell a difference with is if I swap my cd players entirely. I like my sony scd-ce775 better.
--
Brian
Austin said:
I would be willing to bet that some people here would disagree with this. With a high resolution system, everything seems to come into play for sonics. I don't know how much, but I remember Peter commenting on how his cd player sounded better when he removed the wooden panel from one side of his cd player (the other side wouldn't come off) and also he commented on how the sound changes when he stacks more then 3 cd cases on top of his cd player...
With my system, the only thing that I can tell a difference with is if I swap my cd players entirely. I like my sony scd-ce775 better.
--
Brian
I wouldn't be surprised if a wooden case sounded better. I'll be investigating it myself. Just use good quality wood, like maple.
Imagine, if shelving makes so much difference (at least in my setup), the chassis material has to influence the sound as well.
That's what they say, aluminum sounds like an empty Coke can.
Imagine, if shelving makes so much difference (at least in my setup), the chassis material has to influence the sound as well.
That's what they say, aluminum sounds like an empty Coke can.
Thomas B said:
Very beautiful!
You haven't got a real closeup of your wood work? Are they nice inside?It's usually a good idea to have a metal cage around electronics, especially these days with mobile phones, remote controls etc. The best technically is to metal around but it's no harm to have something else outside (wood, marble, concrete etc.).
Shelving does make a big difference! I believe it was my acoustics professor who said, "the acoustics of a bookshelf are unknown to man." He was refering to the unpredictable nature of shelving in relation to room acoustics.
If you do not isolate your equipment from the sound field, it very well could have an effect on the sound in the room. However, in a listening test of two identical amps varying only in chassis material and which are not in the listening area, there should be no audible difference.
If you have it on display in your listening room, I agree that wood would sound better. Probably because it absorbs more of the sound than the metal would. The reflections from the metal could slightly color the sound. The more sturdy the metal chassis, the less effect it would probably have. It would take some serious SPL to vibrate 1/2" think aluminum like Brian is using on his new project! I still prefer wood, just for the looks though!
Austin
If you do not isolate your equipment from the sound field, it very well could have an effect on the sound in the room. However, in a listening test of two identical amps varying only in chassis material and which are not in the listening area, there should be no audible difference.
If you have it on display in your listening room, I agree that wood would sound better. Probably because it absorbs more of the sound than the metal would. The reflections from the metal could slightly color the sound. The more sturdy the metal chassis, the less effect it would probably have. It would take some serious SPL to vibrate 1/2" think aluminum like Brian is using on his new project! I still prefer wood, just for the looks though!
Austin
Unfortunately I am not the builder of these beautiful amps. You can find more photos on www.passdiy.com in the gallery.
Thomas B
Thomas B
Orgonom said:Hallo all,it`s my amp.
Look here Link
Wood isn`t magnetic.
Microphonie is much better then 2mm aluminium.
Wood is cheap also.
It looks nice also.
And most important --- you can work it easily!!!!
Andreas.
Wood has advantages: Non-conducting and easy to drill holes and attach things.
Microphonie??? I came in contact with tube tranciever RA200 in the military service, this apparatus had microphonie! Just knock on the case.
Do we talk about the same thing. Knock on the case and you can actually hear it in the loudspeakers???
I think a magnetic case has advantage: Can sheild against low frequency magnetic fields.
I looked at the pictures in the other thread. Nice inside, very! I like it. Have you publish it at www.passdiy.com?
Being a chippie at heart I have to go for wood as well,as long as it comes from sustainable sources of course...
If you have screening problems just make a cage from copper sheet, or if thats too expensive, unetched pcb material.
Nelson, how was your weekend at CES, and what was the mystery product?
If you have screening problems just make a cage from copper sheet, or if thats too expensive, unetched pcb material.
Nelson, how was your weekend at CES, and what was the mystery product?
they have a case
No connections with the lads, but welborne labs sells
their boxes (wood, 2 kinds of wood and 3 sizes) for a good price.
It looks that they are well made and they come with a top and
bottom. No link here because you have to look for it yourself.
(welbornelabs)
Bas, these are my new cases for the pre-amp.
I do like your case two.
No connections with the lads, but welborne labs sells
their boxes (wood, 2 kinds of wood and 3 sizes) for a good price.
It looks that they are well made and they come with a top and
bottom. No link here because you have to look for it yourself.
(welbornelabs)
Bas, these are my new cases for the pre-amp.
I do like your case two.
Peter Daniel said:I wouldn't be surprised if a wooden case sounded better. I'll be investigating it myself. Just use good quality wood, like maple.
Imagine, if shelving makes so much difference (at least in my setup), the chassis material has to influence the sound as well.
That's what they say, aluminum sounds like an empty Coke can.
I have some woodworking skills behind me and I'm thinking of putting some beautiful mahogany veneer on some 2" thick MDF. MDF is fairly inert and easily worked with. Two sides made of the aforementioned should contrast beautifully with black heatsinks.
Regards
Dan
Your decision depends largely on if (and this is a big if) you can make a circuit that is resistant to RF.
If no, definitely use a metal chassis. If yes, the overall sound will most likely be better with a wood cabinet instead of a metal one.
BTW, I don't mean to imply that you should make a bandwidth-choked circuit if you want to use a wooden chassis. My amplifier products are all extremely wide-bandwidth designs, but do just fine with a wooden cabinet as standard choice. We offer an optional machined aluminum cabinet, but this is purely a cosmetic choice, rather than being functionally necessary.
As an aside, for long-term longevity (particularly if you live in a humid environment, and/or your circuit runs hot) it isn't a good idea to make the wooden portions of your cabinet serve as structural members, or tie them tightly to the metal parts. The differences in thermal expansion between the wood parts and the metal parts will cause the wood to swell, distort and eventually crack.
I would design the chassis so that the metal serves as the primary structural support, with some type of floating mount system for the wood, so that the wood can stretch, twist and contract without being constrained by the metal.
hth, jonathan carr
If no, definitely use a metal chassis. If yes, the overall sound will most likely be better with a wood cabinet instead of a metal one.
BTW, I don't mean to imply that you should make a bandwidth-choked circuit if you want to use a wooden chassis. My amplifier products are all extremely wide-bandwidth designs, but do just fine with a wooden cabinet as standard choice. We offer an optional machined aluminum cabinet, but this is purely a cosmetic choice, rather than being functionally necessary.
As an aside, for long-term longevity (particularly if you live in a humid environment, and/or your circuit runs hot) it isn't a good idea to make the wooden portions of your cabinet serve as structural members, or tie them tightly to the metal parts. The differences in thermal expansion between the wood parts and the metal parts will cause the wood to swell, distort and eventually crack.
I would design the chassis so that the metal serves as the primary structural support, with some type of floating mount system for the wood, so that the wood can stretch, twist and contract without being constrained by the metal.
hth, jonathan carr
No one asked what the toddler in the picture thought. But seriously, capacitors can explode and the wood might catch fire. If you don't belive me, look at biaxial capacitor, the ones that look like a can with both leads on the same side. The top has an X indented. That is there so that if it explodes, it will explode out of the top. Since some people leave their amps turned on, a fire could start when no one is at home.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.