Newer = Better?

Mart541 · 7th October 2011, 02:04 AM

I've been searching for a high quality amp design/kit for my first project and I've been wondering... Does newer mean better? It seems to me that the class A designs from 1995 should be just about as good as the class A designs from 2011. From what I've read, hardware tolerances may have improved but the nuts and bolts of designing an amp have pretty much stayed the same. Can I also apply that theory to the realm of commercial amps? Is there any reason to think that ultra low distortion class A monoblocks from 20 years ago are any worse than the stuff people are pumping out today?

Bonsai · 7th October 2011, 04:56 AM

Some of the stuff back then was pretty good. I think a good classic design stands the test of time, so you should be good to go.

digits · 7th October 2011, 05:41 AM

There are very few corners you can cut in class A and hope to retain an enjoyable amp. With other classes these days, in commercial gear I'm afraid the accountants too often overide the engineers.

ingenieus · 7th October 2011, 08:22 AM

Not a great deal has changed since 1995, although a lot of refinements are now used that were not common then. The components have improved a bit. You may find when building an old design that the parts are hard to find. Unles you have a specific design in mind with specific reasons to build it, newer is better.

For a new project, you might as well use a modern design with modern components. It is not a trivial undertaking, especially in Class A. The actual circuit board is just the start. The heatsinks, case, transformer adds up to quite a pile of cash.

digits · 7th October 2011, 03:59 PM

Too true, I am building an aleph mini which is about a 10 watter, and it costs quite a bit more than a gainclone or the average 50W class ab.

AndrewT · 8th October 2011, 01:52 PM

Some of PASS designs are still alive and being built from before 1995.
Self's Blameless dates from about the same time.
When did Cordell design his 50W FET amp?

Design does change that much over 16years.

BTW,
the PCB might account for <5% of the amp cost.
The amp itself maybe another 5%.
The big costs are Case/chassis (~30%), PSU (~30%) heatsinks & hardware (~30%) if you are buying everything new.

7th October 2011, 02:04 AM	#1
Mart541 diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2011	Newer = Better? I've been searching for a high quality amp design/kit for my first project and I've been wondering... Does newer mean better? It seems to me that the class A designs from 1995 should be just about as good as the class A designs from 2011. From what I've read, hardware tolerances may have improved but the nuts and bolts of designing an amp have pretty much stayed the same. Can I also apply that theory to the realm of commercial amps? Is there any reason to think that ultra low distortion class A monoblocks from 20 years ago are any worse than the stuff people are pumping out today?

7th October 2011, 04:56 AM	#2
Bonsai diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Taipei, Taiwan	Some of the stuff back then was pretty good. I think a good classic design stands the test of time, so you should be good to go. __________________ bonsai http://www.hifisonix.com/

8th October 2011, 01:52 PM	#6
AndrewT diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Scottish Borders	Some of PASS designs are still alive and being built from before 1995. Self's Blameless dates from about the same time. When did Cordell design his 50W FET amp? Design does change that much over 16years. BTW, the PCB might account for <5% of the amp cost. The amp itself maybe another 5%. The big costs are Case/chassis (~30%), PSU (~30%) heatsinks & hardware (~30%) if you are buying everything new. __________________ regards Andrew T.

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7th October 2011, 05:41 AM	#3
digits diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2011	There are very few corners you can cut in class A and hope to retain an enjoyable amp. With other classes these days, in commercial gear I'm afraid the accountants too often overide the engineers.

7th October 2011, 08:22 AM	#4
ingenieus diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2011	Not a great deal has changed since 1995, although a lot of refinements are now used that were not common then. The components have improved a bit. You may find when building an old design that the parts are hard to find. Unles you have a specific design in mind with specific reasons to build it, newer is better. For a new project, you might as well use a modern design with modern components. It is not a trivial undertaking, especially in Class A. The actual circuit board is just the start. The heatsinks, case, transformer adds up to quite a pile of cash.

7th October 2011, 03:59 PM	#5
digits diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2011	Too true, I am building an aleph mini which is about a 10 watter, and it costs quite a bit more than a gainclone or the average 50W class ab.

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