Ill get some pics of them both lit in the music room. I'm excited to see how they sound on the Horn1s. They sound pretty damn good on the Tektons. There is definitely more bass authority than the J2. Also, I'm going to have to take the first one back apart. I can tell a the CSA clarity is noticeably better to my ear. That's in the 10uF position. It's rather fkn huge. hahaha
I suppose I could get out the equipment and try and document what, if anything is different, but I trust my ears and I don't feel like doing it! 😛
I suppose I could get out the equipment and try and document what, if anything is different, but I trust my ears and I don't feel like doing it! 😛
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Very interesting. Is that Clarity CSA compared to the WIMA MKP10? I haven’t ordered the BOM yet. The Clarity costs about 3.5x more; I guess it’s worth it then?
Vunce gave me some 5uF polycarbonate caps that sound really good on another amp. I am using the 10uF MKP a Wima in the BOM and I think it sounds pretty good.
I would stick with the stock caps... I had these sitting her and tried them. It's good to try other options, but you should try the stock ones first. 🙂
Or you check if your source equipment is already capacitor coupled to prevent DC.
When so, you can omit (or bypass) C1.
The best capacitor is no capacitor when possible, and after all this is DIY...😉
In my Alpha I have Mundorf Supreme EVO Oil 5.6uF, sounds great to me in the Alpha.
Never heard that much layered detail on my speakers.
Never heard that much layered detail on my speakers.
Note the orientation of the diode for N channel (point to the bolt holes) vs. P channel (point to the pins).
Hi X,
The above detailed pic is great. 🙂 You wrote "for N channel (point to the bolt holes)". The pic shows a gold line at the bolt-hole end of the zener - so I presume when you say "point to" ... you mean the cathode end points to the bolt holes?
Thanks,
Andy
Thanks, X. 🙂
My air soldering gun arrived today so I can now continue on with the AN SMD soldering.
Andy
Alpha Nirvana (Initial thoughts)
Hello my forum friends. I been listening to the AN for a few days now and thought I would put down my initial impressions of the amplifier.
I am not affiliated with anyone here, nor do I have a dog in the fight other than looking for the best sound per dollar.
Background:
Tekton 98db (4ohm) speakers. With an ear a couple inches from drivers, none, not a hint of any perceptible noise of any kind. The thing is black-hole quite.
Sound: The sound-stage is very wide and goes beyond the speakers in my small 18x12x8 unfinished lab.
Authors ear: I absolutely love the J2, I do not like forward highs, as my ears have taken damage over the years and tinnitus is a factor.
Comparison to my love the J2? All the sweet mids that I love so much from the J2 are there and I'd be hard pressed to say which I like better.
Where the AN shines over the J2 is the ability to really control, tight and focused mid-low and low. The Tektons have some big *** 10 transducers X 2. The J2 runs them very nicely, but the AN just makes those 10 it's bitch. Seriously the lows are in full control and the AN isn't breaking a sweat.
The highs are very nice as well... with me, if they are focused and do not fatigue they are excellent and the AN delivers here as well.
I am not a very good writer and do not know all the audiophile jargon. I just know what my ears and brain tell me. To try and help you understand my ears and brain, I thought the F5T brought the highs a little forward to the point I was cringing at mid-mid-high listening levels. This is not slamming the F5 it's a great amp, but just not symbiotic to my ears and brain. I always have problems with highs, it's just a fact of life for me, but the J2 and the AN are less forward or fatiguing to me. So that's a bit about how I hear to help you understand where my impressions come from.
X (in his test build) took great care in the grounding scheme for this amp. My case has a center sections which is isolated from both sides. I put all soft start Trans and supply in that area which shields it nicely from the input and output of the amp. I had no issues with ground loops or fighting any hums or buzz. I found I needed no extreme grounding care here in fact the opposite with this case. The F5T did have slight noise I could make out to about a foot on my 98db speakers. No big deal there, it did not intrude into the music, just making a comparison to the one I built.
So, would I recommend this amp to those thinking of building one? That's a hard yes, in fact it may even unseat my beloved J2, if for no other reason, than it has more control over the lower end.
Van Morrison, just came on, time to turn it up and close... hope this helps someone out there. Good luck, be safe.
JT
Hello my forum friends. I been listening to the AN for a few days now and thought I would put down my initial impressions of the amplifier.
I am not affiliated with anyone here, nor do I have a dog in the fight other than looking for the best sound per dollar.
Background:
- Standard build pretty much per the BOM
- Mono Build
- Changed the 10uF to Clarity CSA
- SLB "Smooth Like Butta Supply X2
- Antek AS3222 22V 300VA X 2
- biased at about 1.72A
- Soft start dc blocker
- DC offset Amp 1 = 4mV Amp 2 = 1mV (wow!)
- Have not done dummy load to check output
- 6x12 heatsink per channel (Would advise at least an 8x12 unless you are going to run some air over them, which I do in my dedicated room)
Tekton 98db (4ohm) speakers. With an ear a couple inches from drivers, none, not a hint of any perceptible noise of any kind. The thing is black-hole quite.
Sound: The sound-stage is very wide and goes beyond the speakers in my small 18x12x8 unfinished lab.
Authors ear: I absolutely love the J2, I do not like forward highs, as my ears have taken damage over the years and tinnitus is a factor.
Comparison to my love the J2? All the sweet mids that I love so much from the J2 are there and I'd be hard pressed to say which I like better.
Where the AN shines over the J2 is the ability to really control, tight and focused mid-low and low. The Tektons have some big *** 10 transducers X 2. The J2 runs them very nicely, but the AN just makes those 10 it's bitch. Seriously the lows are in full control and the AN isn't breaking a sweat.
The highs are very nice as well... with me, if they are focused and do not fatigue they are excellent and the AN delivers here as well.
I am not a very good writer and do not know all the audiophile jargon. I just know what my ears and brain tell me. To try and help you understand my ears and brain, I thought the F5T brought the highs a little forward to the point I was cringing at mid-mid-high listening levels. This is not slamming the F5 it's a great amp, but just not symbiotic to my ears and brain. I always have problems with highs, it's just a fact of life for me, but the J2 and the AN are less forward or fatiguing to me. So that's a bit about how I hear to help you understand where my impressions come from.
X (in his test build) took great care in the grounding scheme for this amp. My case has a center sections which is isolated from both sides. I put all soft start Trans and supply in that area which shields it nicely from the input and output of the amp. I had no issues with ground loops or fighting any hums or buzz. I found I needed no extreme grounding care here in fact the opposite with this case. The F5T did have slight noise I could make out to about a foot on my 98db speakers. No big deal there, it did not intrude into the music, just making a comparison to the one I built.
So, would I recommend this amp to those thinking of building one? That's a hard yes, in fact it may even unseat my beloved J2, if for no other reason, than it has more control over the lower end.
Van Morrison, just came on, time to turn it up and close... hope this helps someone out there. Good luck, be safe.
JT
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You wrote it down quite nicely, and not using audiophile jargon is actually a plus IMO.
JT,
Thanks for sharing your impressions and thoughts. And the non-audiophile approach to writing is a plus. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your impressions and thoughts. And the non-audiophile approach to writing is a plus. 🙂
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