It's not a gainclone, but it is a chip amp, so I am posting here. It is a CMoy headphone amp, built around the Burr-Brown 2132 opamp. (The 3875-based) gainclone is already underway....
Way beneath most of you guys. But it is the first amp I ever built, so I thought it deserved a decent DIY'd case.
Alas, a tree had to die. I used a small board of red oak, cut into three pieces. The first two had a space cut out with a drill and jigsaw, then I glued them together for the box look.
Still had to shave the middle piece down to get about 1/8" wall for mounting the Pansonic pot and the LED. Used a Dremel for that.
I love the sound, even though I have heard the better-rated META42 design I am recasing in an old cigar box. (Maybe it sounds better because I built it...) That project is on hold, however, as I have the bug bad enuf now to be doing a GainClone.
I finished this a month ago, but had been waiting for the next incoming Digikey order for a better nob. The tiny one I had just didn't look right.
There is some sloppiness inside (and some outside!) so please be gentle with the comments....
Thanks to all for your ongoing help!
GnD
Way beneath most of you guys. But it is the first amp I ever built, so I thought it deserved a decent DIY'd case.
Alas, a tree had to die. I used a small board of red oak, cut into three pieces. The first two had a space cut out with a drill and jigsaw, then I glued them together for the box look.
Still had to shave the middle piece down to get about 1/8" wall for mounting the Pansonic pot and the LED. Used a Dremel for that.
I love the sound, even though I have heard the better-rated META42 design I am recasing in an old cigar box. (Maybe it sounds better because I built it...) That project is on hold, however, as I have the bug bad enuf now to be doing a GainClone.
I finished this a month ago, but had been waiting for the next incoming Digikey order for a better nob. The tiny one I had just didn't look right.
There is some sloppiness inside (and some outside!) so please be gentle with the comments....
Thanks to all for your ongoing help!
GnD
Attachments
...and the circuit board close-up.
Way more info available on this very easy first DIY project at www.head-fi.org.
Also, a complete tutorial on the circuit at www.tangetsoft.net, under audiologica.
GnD
Way more info available on this very easy first DIY project at www.head-fi.org.
Also, a complete tutorial on the circuit at www.tangetsoft.net, under audiologica.
GnD
Attachments
You have style, taste, nice pictures and a good camera.
Oops, and Guts too 🙂
Veeeeeerrrry nice wooden box.
/Hugo 😎
Oops, and Guts too 🙂
Veeeeeerrrry nice wooden box.
/Hugo 😎
Ooohhhhhh .... I'm completely in love with this beautiful piece of work ... Howabout a small BJT to buffer the poor opamp output.. If you build something like that with a bit more audiophile guts it would be a niceeeeeeee hi-end product...
regrads,
Thijs
regrads,
Thijs
The Woodwright
Sweet!
A box that Roy Underhill himself would be proud of (http://www.pbs.org/wws/program/index.html), assuming that none of those Norm Abrams power things were used.
How long does the battery last?
-Dave
Sweet!
A box that Roy Underhill himself would be proud of (http://www.pbs.org/wws/program/index.html), assuming that none of those Norm Abrams power things were used.
How long does the battery last?
-Dave
Thanks!
Battery lasts about 50 hours at pretty decent volume. Very simple, with nice, clean DC.
I am thinking of a similar case, albeit larger, for the gainclone I am building.
Roy would frown on my jigsaw and palm sander. Not to mention the Dremel...
GnD
Battery lasts about 50 hours at pretty decent volume. Very simple, with nice, clean DC.
I am thinking of a similar case, albeit larger, for the gainclone I am building.
Roy would frown on my jigsaw and palm sander. Not to mention the Dremel...
GnD
tschrama-
It was my very first DIY project. The guts had to be pretty simple. Nevr underestimate the depth of my incomprehension....
🙂
It was my very first DIY project. The guts had to be pretty simple. Nevr underestimate the depth of my incomprehension....
🙂
So long as you heat the tip of your soldering iron over an open fire, Roy will still approve...
BTW, you take picture like a pro! (yup, read your bio)
Yes, nothing wrong with that for a first creation, it looks very nice too.
You should'nt have much trouble doing a Gainclone if you work to that sort of standard and if the GC doesn't work, you can always use the box to keep tea in! 😉
You should'nt have much trouble doing a Gainclone if you work to that sort of standard and if the GC doesn't work, you can always use the box to keep tea in! 😉
Geee my first GC was mounted on a pine 2x4 and looked like it was soldered by a spastic monkey.
ron
ron
Drop the humility for this one. Class act! I think your suggestion for laminating multiple pieces of solid hardwood will make it into a future project of mine, even if the results aren't as good for me. I completely agree with Netlist in his comments.
Look forward to seeing your next project. And given your credentials, let the creativity loose and the pics fly. That alone is a valuable resource for both existing and aspiring DIY'ers.
I have an idea for a screwless chassis myself, but it is sure not to be realized for many, many months, due to work and home projects abounding.
A+ for effort and execution, Graham!
Sandy.
Look forward to seeing your next project. And given your credentials, let the creativity loose and the pics fly. That alone is a valuable resource for both existing and aspiring DIY'ers.
I have an idea for a screwless chassis myself, but it is sure not to be realized for many, many months, due to work and home projects abounding.
A+ for effort and execution, Graham!
Sandy.
Sandy-
I don't hold a candle to most of you guys, electronics-wise. But I am an enthusiastic (and hopefully fast) learner.
However, I have always been ready to think outside the box. That is the fun part, IMO.
To that end, I think I have a decent idea for a cheap, electrically sound solution for mouting my opamps in the IGC I am building.
What do you think of the idea in Post #19 in the linked thread?
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18743
I just built my MUR860 bridge like that, and it looks like a phone line switching station from the 1930's!
GnD
I don't hold a candle to most of you guys, electronics-wise. But I am an enthusiastic (and hopefully fast) learner.
However, I have always been ready to think outside the box. That is the fun part, IMO.
To that end, I think I have a decent idea for a cheap, electrically sound solution for mouting my opamps in the IGC I am building.
What do you think of the idea in Post #19 in the linked thread?
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18743
I just built my MUR860 bridge like that, and it looks like a phone line switching station from the 1930's!
GnD
A clever idea, but there are some possible problems.
Heat doesn't transfer well between two pieces if they aren't in perfect contact, which they never are. At the least, put heatsink grease between each washer. scrape them with a sandpaper block to flatten them wher they touch
Also steel is a poor conductor of heat compared to aluminum or copper. Now copper or brass washers soldered together-that might work!
After discussing copper tubes as heatsinks with Peter, I looked in the 1 1/2" copper waste pipe fittings bins at Home Depot.
Lots of possibilities there....
Heat doesn't transfer well between two pieces if they aren't in perfect contact, which they never are. At the least, put heatsink grease between each washer. scrape them with a sandpaper block to flatten them wher they touch
Also steel is a poor conductor of heat compared to aluminum or copper. Now copper or brass washers soldered together-that might work!
After discussing copper tubes as heatsinks with Peter, I looked in the 1 1/2" copper waste pipe fittings bins at Home Depot.
Lots of possibilities there....
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