Building the ultimate DIY power amp

[K-amps]

JCX,

To that thought, remember the Speaker grill color tests done in the 80's. (If memory serves)

The same speaker was places behind different shaped and colored Grills and people had statistically significantly different perceptions of the sound from the same speaker placed in the same position.

If I remember correctly, brown and black grills got the comment, "Dull and boring" from more than one test subject.

I am not implying aesthetics are the dominant variable, but it does skew perceptions.

K-

[tcpip]

Originally posted by K-amps
The same speaker was places behind different shaped and colored Grills and people had statistically significantly different perceptions of the sound from the same speaker placed in the same position.

Gooroo Angshoo always says that if a system looks sexy, it'll sound good. With 35 years of diy audio experience under his belt, he knows at least this part of the subject inside out.

That's why I've decided to take his sage advice and whenever I make anything for either my friends (i.e. their wives SAF) or myself (i.e. my own SAF), I intend to spare no effort on the veneer on the speaker enclosures and the multi-layered PU coats. Who needs accurate xo after that?

This probably also explains why the Krells and Halcros sound better in the amps department? You need to be a Peter Daniel to do a good job on metalwork as a diyer, I guess...

[tcpip]

Originally posted by K-amps
TCPIP, Disagree with you on this, have you compared various Krells to the Aleph-X's/ Hiraga's/ JLH's personally?

You misunderstood. I didn't mean to say that line was my opinion. I only meant that I was expecting diyers to say things like that, to defend the best diy designs against commercial competition.

[dexx]

Originally posted by traderbam
This is not to say that you cannot build something better yourself... In principle, you you can make something that sounds as good or better than a Krell at under $300 parts cost. But you need to be wickedly cunning.

I dont understand this. I thought the original poster to be asking for a top quality DIY design. I didnt think he was suggesting that he is going to research and design an amp himself. He wants to make a proven design. Why reinvent the wheel?

Are all the best designs already copyrighted? Surely audio isnt such an inexact science that a carefully constructed premium design using optimal components may not sound great? As to the Ferrari analogy - the difference is that Ferrari make all their own parts in a factory. Whereas (i'd expect) an amp would be contructed of components available to all.

[analog_sa]

Surely audio isnt such an inexact science that a carefully constructed premium design using optimal components may not sound great?

Unfortunately it is. It may very well sound like a POS.

[nonik]

May i suggest you take a look at this one:

http://www.hilberink.nl/amps/amps5.htm

This amplifier has been published in a special
publication of Elektor. A smaller version was
in the magazine.
There might even be PCBś available at Elektor
( http://www.elektor-electronics.co.uk )
But please dont contact the owner of the site !!!

Andre Schmeets

[carlosfm]

People keep making confusion with power and quality.
What's one thing got to do with the other?
Do you need a 1kwatt amp?
If so, buy a PA system.

Why the example of the Ferrari?
Is it the best car in the world?
Actually they have fame of being unreliable, you have to spend plenty of money to keep a car like this.
Porsche is quite the opposite.
But ultimately, it is very subjective, as Audio is: what's the best car in the world? Ferrari? Rolls-Royce?
It depends on what are your parameters to evaluate a good car, but I would say the Rolls.

Electricity is expensive here.
Even not talking of the price of the products, I don't have the money to drive a Ferrari, I don't have the money to keep a big class-A amp always on, but there are always market for this and people who like this things, even if it's just to impress the friends, or to get some girls.

[traderbam]

I dont understand this. I thought the original poster to be asking for a top quality DIY design. I didnt think he was suggesting that he is going to research and design an amp himself. He wants to make a proven design. Why reinvent the wheel?

The original post implied a desire to find a cheap way to get Krell sound, and had a premise that there were DIY designs that would chieve this. My opinion is that they won't. Re-inventing the wheel is what this whole foum is about, isn't it?

Ferrari make their own parts because they need precision. Some audio mfrs do this to. Some have bespoke transistors made for them. Most screen parts against strict specifications. The trouble with DIY designs is that they usually specify only to a schematic and part number level. This is no where near specific enough to get audiophile sound, in my opinion.

[Nelson Pass]

Originally posted by traderbam
[BFerrari make their own parts because they need precision. Some audio mfrs do this to. Some have bespoke transistors made for them. Most screen parts against strict specifications. The trouble with DIY designs is that they usually specify only to a schematic and part number level. This is no where near specific enough to get audiophile sound, in my opinion. [/B]

I have yet to see actual evidence that any audio manufacturer
has actually had custom transistors made for them. They
simply seem to have re-labeled them. None of the fabrication
houses are going to tool up for the volume of a high-end
company, and Harmon, who could conceivably command such
a service, apparently chooses not to.

While the quality of the parts is important, what you do with
them is of far greater interest and consequence.

[Magura]

Originally posted by traderbam



Ferrari make their own parts because they need precision. Some audio mfrs do this to. Some have bespoke transistors made for them. Most screen parts against strict specifications. The trouble with DIY designs is that they usually specify only to a schematic and part number level. This is no where near specific enough to get audiophile sound, in my opinion.

Hmm, not a good example, or maybe it is actually a very good example, as it backs up NP's statement.

If you take a closer look at a ferrari testarossa, you will find that a huge number of the parts are actually standard Fiat parts.....

Magura