Lets start a parts list....
for 1500watt amp..
100 X 1F capacitors
2 X 2000VA transformers
100 X REALLY HIGH POWER transistors
1 X 10kg heatsink
1 X REALLY, REALLY big box (probably best if it was refridgerated, a fridge??)
1 X REALLY BIG FUSE!!
or
1000000 X small fuses..
Actually, I think if you were to make such an amp, you wouldn't run it off the mains... You would run it off a home made generator that gave regulated rail outputs.... MUCH CHEAPER!!
for 1500watt amp..
100 X 1F capacitors
2 X 2000VA transformers
100 X REALLY HIGH POWER transistors
1 X 10kg heatsink
1 X REALLY, REALLY big box (probably best if it was refridgerated, a fridge??)
1 X REALLY BIG FUSE!!
or
1000000 X small fuses..
Actually, I think if you were to make such an amp, you wouldn't run it off the mains... You would run it off a home made generator that gave regulated rail outputs.... MUCH CHEAPER!!
Well, if we look at it in a more realistic way then it is possible. And it won't need this amount of huge components. But it will be expensive and it will require some protection circuits so the house doesn't burn to the ground upon failure.SkinnyBoy said:Lets start a parts list....
for 1500watt amp..
100 X 1F capacitors
2 X 2000VA transformers
100 X REALLY HIGH POWER transistors
1 X 10kg heatsink
1 X REALLY, REALLY big box (probably best if it was refridgerated, a fridge??)
1 X REALLY BIG FUSE!!
or
1000000 X small fuses..
Actually, I think if you were to make such an amp, you wouldn't run it off the mains... You would run it off a home made generator that gave regulated rail outputs.... MUCH CHEAPER!!
I would recomend a class D design, since it is a lot of power but only for the lower frequencies. Quite an achievable goal.
/Marcus
hey.. it's perfectly possible.
Anthony have some very interesting circuit. I plan to build the 450 watt x2 this summer.
He also have a 1000 watt circuit. Bridging two 450 watt would give more than 600 watt of output power.
And for the 1500 watt into 4 ohm just buy yourself a crown k2 or try using two 1000watt bridged into 8 ohm.
The website is:
http://www.aussieamplifiers.com/
Anthony have some very interesting circuit. I plan to build the 450 watt x2 this summer.
He also have a 1000 watt circuit. Bridging two 450 watt would give more than 600 watt of output power.
And for the 1500 watt into 4 ohm just buy yourself a crown k2 or try using two 1000watt bridged into 8 ohm.
The website is:
http://www.aussieamplifiers.com/
Hey guys, please do not scare a younger DJ !!!
Dj BASS AMP ,
It is a member from Denmark in our forum, how make very good power amplifiers in class D or T and SMPS for that . The prices for samples are good.
I think this is the best place to buy amplifiers kit for big power aplication.
http://www.cadaudio.dk/index_en.htm
Why don't you ask him for help or a quatation ?
km_cad@yahoo.com
The amplifier kit it look very professional for me .
Dj BASS AMP ,
It is a member from Denmark in our forum, how make very good power amplifiers in class D or T and SMPS for that . The prices for samples are good.
I think this is the best place to buy amplifiers kit for big power aplication.
http://www.cadaudio.dk/index_en.htm
Why don't you ask him for help or a quatation ?
km_cad@yahoo.com
The amplifier kit it look very professional for me .
"DJ BASS Amp", how did you calculate / estimate your power needs? What kind of speakers do you have and what kind of room to you want to play in? What kind of music?
It'll be easier to find the right amplifier project if we know more about what you want to do with it.
Two small hints:
Never believe anyone who tells you you need X.XXX Watts... Also, don't believe any cheap commercial PA amplifier's power ratings. They are "measured" as follows:
1.) Measure rail voltage at idle
2.) Add 20% to compensate for meter error and generally low mains voltage at place/time of measurement
3.) Calculate power output assuming there is no voltage drop for 16 Ohms speakers using P=V^2/(R*SQRT(2))
4.) Double that value for 8 Ohms.
5.) Double 8 Ohm value for 4 Ohms.
6.) Up the two numbers from 4.) and 5.) a bit so they look more random
7.) Add some percent to beat same weight / price competitor's product by a good margin
For PA, it's often both cheaper and better sounding to have higher efficiency speakers with lower amplifier power than vice versa. Using active cross-overs and low power good quality amps for mids/tops and a cheap big amp for the bass saves money, too.
It'll be easier to find the right amplifier project if we know more about what you want to do with it.
Two small hints:
Never believe anyone who tells you you need X.XXX Watts... Also, don't believe any cheap commercial PA amplifier's power ratings. They are "measured" as follows:
1.) Measure rail voltage at idle
2.) Add 20% to compensate for meter error and generally low mains voltage at place/time of measurement
3.) Calculate power output assuming there is no voltage drop for 16 Ohms speakers using P=V^2/(R*SQRT(2))
4.) Double that value for 8 Ohms.
5.) Double 8 Ohm value for 4 Ohms.
6.) Up the two numbers from 4.) and 5.) a bit so they look more random
7.) Add some percent to beat same weight / price competitor's product by a good margin
For PA, it's often both cheaper and better sounding to have higher efficiency speakers with lower amplifier power than vice versa. Using active cross-overs and low power good quality amps for mids/tops and a cheap big amp for the bass saves money, too.
Hi,
In 1999, Elektor published the 'Titan' amplifier, which gives 800W continuous sine wave power in 2 Ohms, or 1600W continuous in 4 Ohms in bridged mode.
I got the schematics if you want, but be warned building this thing will be:
* (very) expensive
* (very) complicated
Certainly not for the faint-hearted or the beginner.
Advice: buy or make an amp of say 2 x 200 W and make some very high efficiency horn speakers (Bill Fitzmaurice ?).
Dirk
In 1999, Elektor published the 'Titan' amplifier, which gives 800W continuous sine wave power in 2 Ohms, or 1600W continuous in 4 Ohms in bridged mode.
I got the schematics if you want, but be warned building this thing will be:
* (very) expensive
* (very) complicated
Certainly not for the faint-hearted or the beginner.
Advice: buy or make an amp of say 2 x 200 W and make some very high efficiency horn speakers (Bill Fitzmaurice ?).
Dirk
AMT-freak said:
I have seen schematics of cheaper PA amps and they are very simple inside, not very high fidelity, many watts though but Labgruppen makes serious amps at seroius prices....
The amp at the frontpage
www.labgruppen.se
Check out LC Audio´s PWM amps, they are like made for this application.
Normal mode 200W 90% efficiency.
Bridged 800W, use several amps if you need more power.
These amps need no huge heatsinks so they end up really cheap compared to other amps with same power. The amps is really high performance so they would be more than good enough for DJ use.
/Peter
Normal mode 200W 90% efficiency.
Bridged 800W, use several amps if you need more power.
These amps need no huge heatsinks so they end up really cheap compared to other amps with same power. The amps is really high performance so they would be more than good enough for DJ use.
/Peter
I have similar needs - to drive EV 600 watt drivers.
My thoughts are to build bridged Leach Amps, with 8 pairs of output devices on each amp(MJ21193/94). This should be able to easily manage 150w 8 ohms, 300w 4 ohm and 600w 2ohms; so when bridged will deliver 600w 8 ohms and 1200w 4 ohms. The advantage is that this can be used into single speakers with a lower wattage and as a higher wattage amp into 2 paralleled speakers.
djk has on many occassions recommended this to me but I have taken it seriously only of late. Thanks djk.
DJBass Amp, would you like to join me in making these amps. Ofcourse, many in the forum would be willing to help with great suggestions.
My thoughts are to build bridged Leach Amps, with 8 pairs of output devices on each amp(MJ21193/94). This should be able to easily manage 150w 8 ohms, 300w 4 ohm and 600w 2ohms; so when bridged will deliver 600w 8 ohms and 1200w 4 ohms. The advantage is that this can be used into single speakers with a lower wattage and as a higher wattage amp into 2 paralleled speakers.
djk has on many occassions recommended this to me but I have taken it seriously only of late. Thanks djk.
DJBass Amp, would you like to join me in making these amps. Ofcourse, many in the forum would be willing to help with great suggestions.
It may be constructive to examine some well respected commercial designs.
The Crown Macrotech MA2400
A straightforward class AB bridge design of 1200W output per channel. The output stage is a triple emiter follower (same as a Leach) with three pairs of outputs per half of the bridge. In otherwords six pair, or a total of twelve outputs per channel.
The Crown Macrotech VZ5000
A straightforward class AB bridge design of 2500W output per channel. The output stage is a triple emiter follower (same as a Leach) with four pairs of outputs per half of the bridge. In otherwords eight pair, or a total of sixteen outputs per channel. The VZ part of the design is a FET switch that allows the amplifier to run at a reduced voltage most of the time, thus improving efficency and reducing heat, and switches to a higher voltage as the peaks in the music demand.
Crown spent a lot of time on the thermal design of the heatsink/fan assemblies on these amplifiers and can therefore get the most out of a minimum number of output transistors. For the DIY constructor to be safest I would recommend using perhaps 16 outputs for the 1200W~1500W amplifier and maybe 24 outputs for the 2500W amplifier.
Anyone that really wants to build a VZ5000 can send $20 to Crown for the 48 page manual to get the schematic for the FET switch.
Otherwise, for 1200W~1500W just build the Low TIM Leach with four pair of outputs and bridge, the only change I would make would be to use 2SA1302/2SC3281 for drivers and MJ15024/25 or MJ21193/94 for outputs. The transformer will need to be around 55-0-55V at 2KVA and either 80V or 100V filter caps. Crown only uses 10,000µF filter caps. I wouldn't go lower than this, nor would I go higher than 30,000µF (about the limit that a 35A bridge rectifier can handle).
The Crown Macrotech MA2400
A straightforward class AB bridge design of 1200W output per channel. The output stage is a triple emiter follower (same as a Leach) with three pairs of outputs per half of the bridge. In otherwords six pair, or a total of twelve outputs per channel.
The Crown Macrotech VZ5000
A straightforward class AB bridge design of 2500W output per channel. The output stage is a triple emiter follower (same as a Leach) with four pairs of outputs per half of the bridge. In otherwords eight pair, or a total of sixteen outputs per channel. The VZ part of the design is a FET switch that allows the amplifier to run at a reduced voltage most of the time, thus improving efficency and reducing heat, and switches to a higher voltage as the peaks in the music demand.
Crown spent a lot of time on the thermal design of the heatsink/fan assemblies on these amplifiers and can therefore get the most out of a minimum number of output transistors. For the DIY constructor to be safest I would recommend using perhaps 16 outputs for the 1200W~1500W amplifier and maybe 24 outputs for the 2500W amplifier.
Anyone that really wants to build a VZ5000 can send $20 to Crown for the 48 page manual to get the schematic for the FET switch.
Otherwise, for 1200W~1500W just build the Low TIM Leach with four pair of outputs and bridge, the only change I would make would be to use 2SA1302/2SC3281 for drivers and MJ15024/25 or MJ21193/94 for outputs. The transformer will need to be around 55-0-55V at 2KVA and either 80V or 100V filter caps. Crown only uses 10,000µF filter caps. I wouldn't go lower than this, nor would I go higher than 30,000µF (about the limit that a 35A bridge rectifier can handle).
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