DIY Amp for my Home Theater

ccarrigan · 19th November 2002, 04:21 PM

I am looking at building an amp for my HT. I have looked and searched this forum and come up with this thread

6ch amp help ?

which deals with the 6 channel 300W amp for the aussie site. But I believe it has said "coming soon" for a while. Does anyone know when it will be available? Are there any other solutions that are fairly straight-forward? I am thinking roughly 150wpc and 5-7 channels. I am new at this but have done some DIY in the past and feel comfortable that I can do anything I put my mind to.

Thanks for your help.

Craig Carrigan

tiroth · 19th November 2002, 05:39 PM

Consider building 3 2-channel amps. It seems like a lot less work to build one 6-channel, but it creates as many problems as it solves.

ccarrigan · 19th November 2002, 05:41 PM

Any suggestions on the type of amp? Any models or sites I can go to? I was hoping that this would be fun and interesting but 3 amps is quite a challenge. How about 2 3 channel amps? Any ideas on that?

Thanks,
Craig

tiroth · 19th November 2002, 05:49 PM

I built the Elliot P3A and was very happy with the amps (and Rod's boards)

I think it is harder to build multiple channels because you have to pay a lot more attention to routing power, signal, ground wiring, and probably more compromises are required. Also, if you are like me the design keeps evolving so if you build 3 amps, you have a progression instead of 3 rebuilds of one amp.

Just food for thought.

For home theater a good class AB amp is the way to go. AKSA is well-recieved around here as well.

Rod's site is here: http://sound.westhost.com/index.html
I have some pages as well on my site.

sam9 · 19th November 2002, 06:50 PM

For the power level specified (150W/ch), the Elliot 3A may fall a little short. I don't know if you are thinking of making your own boards or not.

If you want to buy a board already made or even that plus a package of parts, you might look at www.marchand.com. The form factor is quite compact which is a plus for HT. You will find a couple of possabilities there.

You could also look at www.sealelectronics.com although in my opinion the size and performance of designs may be overkill for HT, especially for surround channels.

ccarrigan · 19th November 2002, 07:05 PM

Does anyone have any knowledge of these two?

http://www.marchandelec.com/pm124.htm

or

http://www.marchandelec.com/pm224.htm

I was thinking maybe two seperate amps with three of these inside each. I hope that came across correctly.

Thanks,
Craig

tiroth · 19th November 2002, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sam9
For the power level specified (150W/ch), the Elliot 3A may fall a little short.

150W vs 100W is only 3.5dB. Thought I'd mention P3A since a lot of new folks seem to consider 100W the point of departure, when the comparison may be to mass-market "100W" amps.

HT is the one place though that more power /might/ be of value for the stereo pair. I can't see it being necessary for most center/surrounds.

Austin · 19th November 2002, 09:21 PM

You will find that 150 Watts from a good amplifier will be very loud! If you have reasonably efficient speakers you shouldn't rule out the less powerful amps like the P3A or AKSA. Another alternative is the Leach amp. I have heard the Leach and it can get very loud. My HT setup runs at 40W/ch. and it's more than adequate for an average sized room.

I agree with putting 2 channels per chassis as well. My Leach has 3 channels in the chassis, and entirely too much wiring! There are some redesigns of the leach out there with TO3P devices that require much less wiring. If you do go with more than 2 channels in a single chassis, I recommend using these devices. Good luck,

Austin

ccarrigan · 20th November 2002, 12:24 AM

My speakers are all B&W 600 series with dipole surrounds. I just wanted to make sure and exceed their power handling because currently with 125w marantz monoblocks I don't seem to get the sound I am looking for. Maybe that will help with the suggestions now that you know my setup a bit more. Also my room size is 12' by 24'

Craig

Vigier · 20th November 2002, 08:53 AM

Hi,

I had the same idea 2 years ago and started building a 9 channel amp
5x Frontleft, FrontRight, Center, RearLeft, RearRight
2x FronteffectLeft, FrontEffect Right
2x Subchannel.

I've used Elektor designs and changed them (you DON'T want to use them as they are). The designs are:
5x IGBT Power Amplifer
2x HEXFET Amplifier
2x IGBT-sub amp (used in 'Active Subwoofer').

Every amp has it's own supply using a toroid, double bridges, and filtering by tnt-audio.com
The IGBT has 60.000µF buffering, the hexfet 30.000µF and the Sub amp 80.000µF for each.

It will be finished at the end of this year (I only need the frames for the cases, the amps are all finished and tested).

Maybe this is something for you???

Grtz, Joris

19th November 2002, 04:21 PM	#1
ccarrigan diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Hilton Head, SC	DIY Amp for my Home Theater I am looking at building an amp for my HT. I have looked and searched this forum and come up with this thread 6ch amp help ? which deals with the 6 channel 300W amp for the aussie site. But I believe it has said "coming soon" for a while. Does anyone know when it will be available? Are there any other solutions that are fairly straight-forward? I am thinking roughly 150wpc and 5-7 channels. I am new at this but have done some DIY in the past and feel comfortable that I can do anything I put my mind to. Thanks for your help. Craig Carrigan

19th November 2002, 09:21 PM	#8
Austin diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA	power level You will find that 150 Watts from a good amplifier will be very loud! If you have reasonably efficient speakers you shouldn't rule out the less powerful amps like the P3A or AKSA. Another alternative is the Leach amp. I have heard the Leach and it can get very loud. My HT setup runs at 40W/ch. and it's more than adequate for an average sized room. I agree with putting 2 channels per chassis as well. My Leach has 3 channels in the chassis, and entirely too much wiring! There are some redesigns of the leach out there with TO3P devices that require much less wiring. If you do go with more than 2 channels in a single chassis, I recommend using these devices. Good luck, Austin

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19th November 2002, 05:39 PM	#2
tiroth diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA	Consider building 3 2-channel amps. It seems like a lot less work to build one 6-channel, but it creates as many problems as it solves.

19th November 2002, 05:41 PM	#3
ccarrigan diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Hilton Head, SC	Any suggestions on the type of amp? Any models or sites I can go to? I was hoping that this would be fun and interesting but 3 amps is quite a challenge. How about 2 3 channel amps? Any ideas on that? Thanks, Craig

19th November 2002, 05:49 PM	#4
tiroth diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA	I built the Elliot P3A and was very happy with the amps (and Rod's boards) I think it is harder to build multiple channels because you have to pay a lot more attention to routing power, signal, ground wiring, and probably more compromises are required. Also, if you are like me the design keeps evolving so if you build 3 amps, you have a progression instead of 3 rebuilds of one amp. Just food for thought. For home theater a good class AB amp is the way to go. AKSA is well-recieved around here as well. Rod's site is here: http://sound.westhost.com/index.html I have some pages as well on my site.

19th November 2002, 06:50 PM	#5
sam9 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Left Coast	For the power level specified (150W/ch), the Elliot 3A may fall a little short. I don't know if you are thinking of making your own boards or not. If you want to buy a board already made or even that plus a package of parts, you might look at www.marchand.com. The form factor is quite compact which is a plus for HT. You will find a couple of possabilities there. You could also look at www.sealelectronics.com although in my opinion the size and performance of designs may be overkill for HT, especially for surround channels.

19th November 2002, 07:05 PM	#6
ccarrigan diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Hilton Head, SC	Does anyone have any knowledge of these two? http://www.marchandelec.com/pm124.htm or http://www.marchandelec.com/pm224.htm I was thinking maybe two seperate amps with three of these inside each. I hope that came across correctly. Thanks, Craig

20th November 2002, 12:24 AM	#9
ccarrigan diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Hilton Head, SC	My speakers are all B&W 600 series with dipole surrounds. I just wanted to make sure and exceed their power handling because currently with 125w marantz monoblocks I don't seem to get the sound I am looking for. Maybe that will help with the suggestions now that you know my setup a bit more. Also my room size is 12' by 24' Craig

20th November 2002, 08:53 AM	#10
Vigier diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Netherlands	Hi, I had the same idea 2 years ago and started building a 9 channel amp 5x Frontleft, FrontRight, Center, RearLeft, RearRight 2x FronteffectLeft, FrontEffect Right 2x Subchannel. I've used Elektor designs and changed them (you DON'T want to use them as they are). The designs are: 5x IGBT Power Amplifer 2x HEXFET Amplifier 2x IGBT-sub amp (used in 'Active Subwoofer'). Every amp has it's own supply using a toroid, double bridges, and filtering by tnt-audio.com The IGBT has 60.000µF buffering, the hexfet 30.000µF and the Sub amp 80.000µF for each. It will be finished at the end of this year (I only need the frames for the cases, the amps are all finished and tested). Maybe this is something for you??? Grtz, Joris

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