Hi RyanW,
Well, you have had some great advice here from different viewpoints. I'd say that you should simply choose and build one. The experience is very rewarding by itself.
Also consider building the Symasym later on. It's a smaller amplifier, but it sounds great!
Hugh, thank you for clearing that up. I agree with you and know where you are coming from with regard to the kit market. I own two amplifiers that I consider the best I've heard. Both commercial offerings. One was available as a kit or wired in the late 50's / early 60's.
Fellas, the best never comes cheap. It's always more than the sum of it's parts. That's case and approvals aside.
-Chris
Well, you have had some great advice here from different viewpoints. I'd say that you should simply choose and build one. The experience is very rewarding by itself.
Also consider building the Symasym later on. It's a smaller amplifier, but it sounds great!
Hugh, thank you for clearing that up. I agree with you and know where you are coming from with regard to the kit market. I own two amplifiers that I consider the best I've heard. Both commercial offerings. One was available as a kit or wired in the late 50's / early 60's.
Fellas, the best never comes cheap. It's always more than the sum of it's parts. That's case and approvals aside.
-Chris
Gentelmen,
I think you have helped me make my decision. The SKA sounds like it suits my needs perfectly.
Without biting off more than I can chew, I envision one day building a tri-amped system. Rod Elliot eludes to this concept on his website (Bi-amping article)... What is the general concensus on tri-amping? Perhaps class A's on the tweeters, SKA's on the mids and my Peavey CS800 on the woofers? Further, with the style of music that I listen to, is a class A suitable? I get the feeling that it is better suited to classical music rather than the stuff that I listen to as a 24 year old bachelor.
If not tri-amping, I would look at building a 5-channel HT system. I understand that some would feel that my 800VA transformer is under-rated for a 5-channel SKA GB-150, but I would pose the following argument:
-All channels are not driven simultaneously
-Listening to 5x150Wrms would either a) blow my eardrums or b)cause an eviction. (This statement leads me to re-evaluate why I would even want 5x150W system in the first place, but then again if all DIYers listened to logic then chances are most of them would not be DIYers)
Any interesting SPDIF DAC's? Is DTS, THX, Dolby Digital possible at a reasonable DIY level?
I think you have helped me make my decision. The SKA sounds like it suits my needs perfectly.
Without biting off more than I can chew, I envision one day building a tri-amped system. Rod Elliot eludes to this concept on his website (Bi-amping article)... What is the general concensus on tri-amping? Perhaps class A's on the tweeters, SKA's on the mids and my Peavey CS800 on the woofers? Further, with the style of music that I listen to, is a class A suitable? I get the feeling that it is better suited to classical music rather than the stuff that I listen to as a 24 year old bachelor.
If not tri-amping, I would look at building a 5-channel HT system. I understand that some would feel that my 800VA transformer is under-rated for a 5-channel SKA GB-150, but I would pose the following argument:
-All channels are not driven simultaneously
-Listening to 5x150Wrms would either a) blow my eardrums or b)cause an eviction. (This statement leads me to re-evaluate why I would even want 5x150W system in the first place, but then again if all DIYers listened to logic then chances are most of them would not be DIYers)
Any interesting SPDIF DAC's? Is DTS, THX, Dolby Digital possible at a reasonable DIY level?
traderbam said:
Curiously,
Australia won the America's cup.(with a little help)
And, Australian chocolate went global and pushed the Belgian and Swiss down under.
Even more suspicious, the Australian fusion kitchen already was the trendsetter ages ago.
I had the impression that Mr Dean, Mr Holton, and Mr Elliot have been around for quite some time.
And even Mr Ball designed amplifiers well over 15 years ago that were considered contemporary at the time.
Grosso modo, the rest of the world seems to believe that Class D (is/) will be the audiophile standard.
Overhere, audiophile generally stood for a minimalist approach, aimed at the highest value for the budget available. Maybe i should get the facts straight and it's just a scrooge Dutch thing ?
Even a Rogers L3/5 is still considered audiophile grade on this end.
In value versus budget terms the SKA is an audiophile design, same goes for some of Mr Elliot's critters.
(and anyone stating a KSA50 is not should have stood up and said so 25 minus 1 years ago
)I saw an audiophile amplifier called Cardiac Arrest some time ago, maybe i was only looking at the bumper sticker.
Hi,
I believe a single gb150 needs 250 to 300VA and a two channel manages on 500VA, PROVIDED EACH HAS IT'S OWN rectifier and smoothing caps (+-20mF to +-30mF).
If adding extra channels then a further 100 to 150VA per channel would give a reasonable outcome (It will not test well, all channels driven simultaneously), so 800Va to 1000VA is just about right. Where are you going to source a 38-0-38 Vac transformer?
Tri-amp now! Keep the active option till later. An amplifier seems to work better when it only has to drive one half of the passive crossover and results in a small improvement in overall performance (if the amp costs are affordable).
ClassA for treble, YES, if the driver is a high sensitivity type (>97db/W) needing just 10 to 20W to be fully driven. I believe ALL the drivers should be capable of similar PEAK output levels.
I am very much regarded as a brute force designer when it comes to PSU design, even though I don't consider that view to be valid.
I believe a single gb150 needs 250 to 300VA and a two channel manages on 500VA, PROVIDED EACH HAS IT'S OWN rectifier and smoothing caps (+-20mF to +-30mF).
If adding extra channels then a further 100 to 150VA per channel would give a reasonable outcome (It will not test well, all channels driven simultaneously), so 800Va to 1000VA is just about right. Where are you going to source a 38-0-38 Vac transformer?
Tri-amp now! Keep the active option till later. An amplifier seems to work better when it only has to drive one half of the passive crossover and results in a small improvement in overall performance (if the amp costs are affordable).
ClassA for treble, YES, if the driver is a high sensitivity type (>97db/W) needing just 10 to 20W to be fully driven. I believe ALL the drivers should be capable of similar PEAK output levels.
Yep, I asked for that.
Well said. I'm sure we can all agree on this sentiment.
And I didn't mean to imply that DIYers can't make excellent circuits - quite the opposite. I'm one myself. But my experience is that it is very difficult and takes much discipline and an almost obessive understanding of the detail of how circuits work. More than I see in these kits. So keep up the chase because it is really rewarding - the most sustainably rewarding thing I've ever done. And when you unlock the secrets....fantastic!
jacco vermeulen said:
We had a few fairly good hobbyist electronics magazines here in the 70's and 80's that spawned a generation with burnt fingers (myself among them). There was considerable competition between Electronics Australia (EA) and Electronics Today International (ETI) that resulted in quite a number of pretty good audio projects.
My own introduction to audio amplifiers was reading Tilbrook's articles in ETI.
jacco vermeulen said:
I've always thought audiophile meant putting a marginal design in a very big unusual box, and prominently adding some obscure (magic) component (large mica caps, valves, what-have-you) that the salesman can point to.
Amongst many of my peers, audiophile is often used as a derogatory term, implying someone who's suckered into buying $200 cables.
Cheers,
Suzy
Interesting psychology here:
audiophile = overpriced, hyped but blatantly conventional
kit = not much more than component cost, little design attention to detail, can't measure up to the big names.
This is all perception, and perception alone. There are always exceptions to perception........
Hmmm.
Hugh
audiophile = overpriced, hyped but blatantly conventional
kit = not much more than component cost, little design attention to detail, can't measure up to the big names.
This is all perception, and perception alone. There are always exceptions to perception........
Hmmm.
Hugh
Hi RyanWRyanW said:
I have the SKA-GB300D and I can say that it is an excellent amp, and at the price it is a killer.
Are their others that are better at the same price ... probably not?
Is it easy to build ... yes, definitely.
Will you notice differences in these amps ... I would expect so and surprised if there wasn't?
Is it better than a Harman Kardon ... I would expect so and surprised if it wasn't!
I have seen several owners, without hesitation, replace there highly rated expensive amps, both valve and solid state, with an SKA.
Hope this is helpful
KL
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