Complete newbie

lpoht · 6th December 2001, 01:51 AM

Hi, I've been reading the site for a while, just trying to see what people have been up to as far as DIY audio. Lately, I've been idly thinking about building a subwoofer cabinet (easy) and a monoblock amplifier (hard) for my car. I figure that the amp doesn't have to be of the absolute highest quality, so this ought to be a good way to get started in DIY. Anyway, I was wondering how difficult and expensive building a 400-500 Watt amplifier would be. I'm going to start working on electronics, and I thought this would be a good project, if its not too expensive. This question may seem a little mundane, but thanks for your help.

-Davis

Æ · 6th December 2001, 07:47 AM

Don't bite off more than you can chew, unless you can find a kit somewhere.
Why do you need 500 watts?
Do you know how to solder? Do you know how to use a voltmeter? Do you know how to read schematics? Do you know resistor color code? Can you identify all the different components? Do you understand all the markings? Do you know the difference between voltage and current? Do you know the difference between impedance and resistance?

leroy · 6th December 2001, 11:41 AM

A 500W amplifier will need a switched power supply,
I suggest: start building something else because this will end up in a complete disaster.

P.Lacombe · 6th December 2001, 12:02 PM

Davis,

A 500 W amplifier with 12 V dc supply is a complex appliance, which can be build only by experienced technicians, using generators, oscilloscopes, etc...

Regards, P.Lacombe.

AudioFreak · 6th December 2001, 12:03 PM

Switching power supplies otherwise known as PWM or Switching Mode Power Supplies are wonderful things but are not for a beginner ..... consider this ..... if you use the wrong coil the power supply usually self destructs often in an explosive manner.

Kilowatt · 6th December 2001, 08:30 PM

Car amp power supplies are not worth building. I've all but given up making a 600W (200 x 3) car amp, even though the amps would be easy to build, because of the switching supply. Getting a supply for a 500W amp from 12V DC is no easy task, I must warn you. If you can get at least the power supply in a kit or something, you'd be good from then on. You can probably find a 500W amp project somewhere on the internet. Tripath has powerful integrated amplifiers (up to a few 100 watts on a chip) and class T drivers for projects up to 1kW. (fancy digital amps)

I'm doing better on my 7200W amp that plugs into AC. It's easier to do even that than a switching supply for a beginner.

[Edited by Kilowatt on 12-06-2001 at 03:32 PM]

6th December 2001, 07:47 AM	#2
Æ diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2001	Much easier to buy subwoofer amplifier Don't bite off more than you can chew, unless you can find a kit somewhere. Why do you need 500 watts? Do you know how to solder? Do you know how to use a voltmeter? Do you know how to read schematics? Do you know resistor color code? Can you identify all the different components? Do you understand all the markings? Do you know the difference between voltage and current? Do you know the difference between impedance and resistance?

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6th December 2001, 01:51 AM	#1
lpoht diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2001	Hi, I've been reading the site for a while, just trying to see what people have been up to as far as DIY audio. Lately, I've been idly thinking about building a subwoofer cabinet (easy) and a monoblock amplifier (hard) for my car. I figure that the amp doesn't have to be of the absolute highest quality, so this ought to be a good way to get started in DIY. Anyway, I was wondering how difficult and expensive building a 400-500 Watt amplifier would be. I'm going to start working on electronics, and I thought this would be a good project, if its not too expensive. This question may seem a little mundane, but thanks for your help. -Davis

6th December 2001, 11:41 AM	#3
leroy diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2001	A 500W amplifier will need a switched power supply, I suggest: start building something else because this will end up in a complete disaster.

6th December 2001, 12:02 PM	#4
P.Lacombe diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Orleans, France	Davis, A 500 W amplifier with 12 V dc supply is a complex appliance, which can be build only by experienced technicians, using generators, oscilloscopes, etc... Regards, P.Lacombe.

6th December 2001, 12:03 PM	#5
AudioFreak Warp Engineer On Holiday Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Queensland, Australia	Switching power supplies otherwise known as PWM or Switching Mode Power Supplies are wonderful things but are not for a beginner ..... consider this ..... if you use the wrong coil the power supply usually self destructs often in an explosive manner.

6th December 2001, 08:30 PM	#6
Kilowatt diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Harlowton, MT, USA	Car amp power supplies are not worth building. I've all but given up making a 600W (200 x 3) car amp, even though the amps would be easy to build, because of the switching supply. Getting a supply for a 500W amp from 12V DC is no easy task, I must warn you. If you can get at least the power supply in a kit or something, you'd be good from then on. You can probably find a 500W amp project somewhere on the internet. Tripath has powerful integrated amplifiers (up to a few 100 watts on a chip) and class T drivers for projects up to 1kW. (fancy digital amps) I'm doing better on my 7200W amp that plugs into AC. It's easier to do even that than a switching supply for a beginner. [Edited by Kilowatt on 12-06-2001 at 03:32 PM]

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