| ronjodu |
My son recently asked me if I could build him an amplifier for his Ipod. Is this possible with a chipamp kit?If so, how would I go about it?
I dabble in microcontrollers and programming as a hobby and know some about basic electronics but nothing about audio.
Thanks to anyone pointing me in the right direction. |
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| BWRX |
Hi Ron.
I deleted your other thread since it contained the exact some post.
As far as your question goes, are you looking to build a headphone amp or a speaker amp? If it's a speaker amp, what sort of output power did you have in mind? There are lots of options available, including a number of kits offered by different people: www.chipamp.com, www.audiosector.com, www.madaboutsound.com, www.tech-diy.com, www.sound.westhost.com, and whatever else you can find through this forum. |
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| ronjodu |
Sorry about the other post, I didn't think it went through.
I'd like to build a speaker amp. He has a 4 ohm subwoofer, 50 watt input, 100 watt max by Acoustic design with matching 8 ohm speakers, 20 watt nominal, 40 watt max also by Acoustic design.
This would be for his dorm room so the small speakers will be fine for now but a speaker upgrade is probably in his future.
Thanks for any help. |
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| sansbury |
This is sort of the same need that got me into this, though since getting started I'm now hooked and working my way into a more hi-fi approach. 99% of my listening today is iTunes/MP3s and I live in a studio apartment so neither want nor can handle something too big.
I have recently finished a chipamp.com kit and a pair of Studio One Pi speakers (which are 8" drivers in cabinets about the size of a desktop PC case) and am in the process of making it all work together nicely. The chipamp kits are not all inclusive but the remaining parts are easily sourced and go together mostly easily if you don't get too fancy with the chassis, or if you're patient enough in case you need to re-solder everything eighteen times like I've had to. They can also take an input directly from a source like a typical MP3 player, as I think most gainclone designs can. The opinion however seems to be that a buffer or other preamp stage can improve the sound significantly in some applications.
In terms of raw power, in my apartment the system reaches call-the-cops volume at what feels like 50% of what it can do. Your son's current speakers are probably less sensitive than the Pi's, but I doubt he'll complain of a lack of power.
The one caution I'd give you is that the finished amp may end up costing a bit mroe than you expect. A good transformer, new, for instance, will set you back around $50 shipped, and the chassis could be the same, and then you've got all your connectors... In my case I bought everything new from Parts Express and company, and would guess I have $150 in "incidentals" on top of a $90 amp kit.
The alternative to this is to scrounge away, and if you have the time to do so, you can get away a lot cheaper. I'm sure my next rig, for instance, will cost at least $50 less. Still, I'm not unhappy at all as $250 is hardly a high price to pay for sound that makes people go "I never heard that before" when listening to a song they've heard a thousand times through a $200 Aiwa boombox. |
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| ronjodu |
I just purchased the LM3886DM PCB set, consisting of 2 amplifier and 2 power supply boards from chipamp.com.
I don't think I'll have the solder problem as I've done alot of this on PCB'c for micros in the past. I use a 60/40 .032. Is this good or should I use something better? Many other questions to follow I'm sure. I'm off to try to search for answers now. This forum is fantastic.......Ok, where was that Torroid thread I was reading????????? |
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