Hi Everyone,
My name is Sonny, and over the last few years, I have been getting into Hi-Fi. As part of my A-Levels, I built some 2-way bookshelf speakers early this year. It was a fun experience, though I have only got them back from my school last week. After giving them some time to let them break in, I have noticed that the woofer was slightly lacking in volume compared to the tweeter. While for now i am happy with the speakers as they are, at a later stage, i might redesign the crossover and/or the port.
These speakers are currently hooked up to an old Sony ta-1066, which works OK, though now i have the DIY audio bug, I want to build an amplifier. I think that some sort of lm3886 Gainclone would be the way to go, and a vast improvement from the old Sony. Would this design be a good one to go for?
All the best,
Sonny 🙂
My name is Sonny, and over the last few years, I have been getting into Hi-Fi. As part of my A-Levels, I built some 2-way bookshelf speakers early this year. It was a fun experience, though I have only got them back from my school last week. After giving them some time to let them break in, I have noticed that the woofer was slightly lacking in volume compared to the tweeter. While for now i am happy with the speakers as they are, at a later stage, i might redesign the crossover and/or the port.
These speakers are currently hooked up to an old Sony ta-1066, which works OK, though now i have the DIY audio bug, I want to build an amplifier. I think that some sort of lm3886 Gainclone would be the way to go, and a vast improvement from the old Sony. Would this design be a good one to go for?
All the best,
Sonny 🙂
Welcome to diyAudio Sonny 🙂
When it comes to chip amps like the LM3886 physical layout really is everything... that looks a long established thread... the diagram in post #1 looks good.
When it comes to chip amps like the LM3886 physical layout really is everything... that looks a long established thread... the diagram in post #1 looks good.
Thats good to know that its a good layout. I was wondering if the power supply that was designed on that thread was a good one. I've seen a few examples of people using the amplifier pcb design, though with different power supply boards. Are there better power supply pcbs for gainclones (preferably with gerber files) or is the on from that thread still a very good choice?
All the best,
Sonny
All the best,
Sonny
Its a very long thread and one I haven't followed so will have to work through it all 🙂 There may well be a few tweaks and revisions along the way.
Post 235 has the power supply gerbers if that helps. Thanks for looking into this. I've been looking into a few different designs for gainclones, and this one stood out as a nice design (not that I have much of a clue on PCB design).
You might be best jumping into the thread and asking which are the latest and recommended board layouts to use. As I say, I haven't followed the thread and so don't know all the twists and turns.
Below is a link to a site from which I built my first Gainclone. Depending on how you build it it may not have the shortest paths between components but the parts count is low and as first DIY amp just getting sound out of it made me happy, In fact it sounded really good. Do not buy LM3886s from ebay as they will be fakes, I used Mouser recently as I needed a few more for another project.
http://www.decdun.me.uk/gainclone_3886.html
http://www.decdun.me.uk/gainclone_3886.html
Thanks for the link and the advice on sourcing LM3886s. This design might be a good choice for me due to the low parts count, and it's p2p construction. You can't rely on postage companies at this time of year, so the less I have to use them for parts sourcing, the better.
I went through a phase of Gainclone mania after I built the Decibel Dungeon amp. I built a pair of dual dual Mono LM3875's (sadly the LM3875 is no longer made. One of them started playing up so I used some boards from K-Tech (UK seller on ebay) Which sound fine to me.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126395164062
A bigger jump would be to go for the Fremen My Ref C LM3886 based amp, More expensive to build but very nice. Picture below.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126395164062
A bigger jump would be to go for the Fremen My Ref C LM3886 based amp, More expensive to build but very nice. Picture below.
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That's quite a nice design as both the power supply and amplifier seem to be integrated into one board, though i'm not too sure on the group buy situation.
So far, the designs I've had a look at include:
Audiosector kits,
My_Ref,
AliExpress XY boards,
KMtech boards,
Neurochrome LM3886DR,
00940's open source design,
various P2P designs,
Due to the lack of a PCBs, the P2P designs seem the the obvious choice for being on a low budget. On the other hand, 00940's open source design seems like a quality piece of work for how little it costs to source the boards.
So far, the designs I've had a look at include:
Audiosector kits,
My_Ref,
AliExpress XY boards,
KMtech boards,
Neurochrome LM3886DR,
00940's open source design,
various P2P designs,
Due to the lack of a PCBs, the P2P designs seem the the obvious choice for being on a low budget. On the other hand, 00940's open source design seems like a quality piece of work for how little it costs to source the boards.
Sonny:
Welcome to the community!
I haven't read the thread you referenced but did take a very quick look at the power supply you referenced. If the consensus on the thread is that that design is a good one, you might want to consider downloading the gerbers for that power supply, compressing them into a .zip file and uploading the .zip file to a reputable pcb fabricator to get a quote on having a small number of boards made. You could do the same thing with the gerbers for the LM3886 amp as well. While there are many decent pcb fabricators out there, jlcpcb.com is an excellent place to start; their minimum order size is 5 boards and their introductory price (2 USD for those of us in the US, plus shipping) is seductive. Make sure you select the slowest, least expensive shipping option (which for me in the US is usually about 1.5 USD). Most board color options are available at no extra cost and the default configuration (e.g., 1.6mm thickness, 1 oz copper, etc.) is fine, even for power supplies, though I do usually upgrade to the lead-free HASL option (another 1.3 USD). With tax, 5 boards custom made for me in China and shipped to my door in the US usually takes under 2 weeks and costs, with tax, just over 5 USD.
If you place two separate orders (power supply and amplifier) you should be able to get jlcpcb's preferential pricing for both.
It's a fun way to slide headfirst into this crazy hobby.
Good luck with your chip amp! There's plenty to explore here, and that's an LM3886 is a great place to start.
Regards,
Scott
Welcome to the community!
I haven't read the thread you referenced but did take a very quick look at the power supply you referenced. If the consensus on the thread is that that design is a good one, you might want to consider downloading the gerbers for that power supply, compressing them into a .zip file and uploading the .zip file to a reputable pcb fabricator to get a quote on having a small number of boards made. You could do the same thing with the gerbers for the LM3886 amp as well. While there are many decent pcb fabricators out there, jlcpcb.com is an excellent place to start; their minimum order size is 5 boards and their introductory price (2 USD for those of us in the US, plus shipping) is seductive. Make sure you select the slowest, least expensive shipping option (which for me in the US is usually about 1.5 USD). Most board color options are available at no extra cost and the default configuration (e.g., 1.6mm thickness, 1 oz copper, etc.) is fine, even for power supplies, though I do usually upgrade to the lead-free HASL option (another 1.3 USD). With tax, 5 boards custom made for me in China and shipped to my door in the US usually takes under 2 weeks and costs, with tax, just over 5 USD.
If you place two separate orders (power supply and amplifier) you should be able to get jlcpcb's preferential pricing for both.
It's a fun way to slide headfirst into this crazy hobby.
Good luck with your chip amp! There's plenty to explore here, and that's an LM3886 is a great place to start.
Regards,
Scott
Hi Scott,
Thanks for the advice.
I've got the BOM for both the power supply and the amplifier saved on the Mouser website, ready for one final check before ordering. I had heard from a few members on how good JLCPCB is for how cheap they are, so i will go through them for the PCBs. Sadly, I can't trust any of the cheaper shipping companies, as i live along an unmade road, which couriers don't like driving down. Because of this, couriers give me stupid reasons why the item wasn't delivered, like "courier couldn't find address" or most recently from eBay international shipping "wrong address on package". Fedex is the cheapest one that JLCPCB offers that works, so I'll pay the extra £11.
All the best,
Sonny
Thanks for the advice.
I've got the BOM for both the power supply and the amplifier saved on the Mouser website, ready for one final check before ordering. I had heard from a few members on how good JLCPCB is for how cheap they are, so i will go through them for the PCBs. Sadly, I can't trust any of the cheaper shipping companies, as i live along an unmade road, which couriers don't like driving down. Because of this, couriers give me stupid reasons why the item wasn't delivered, like "courier couldn't find address" or most recently from eBay international shipping "wrong address on package". Fedex is the cheapest one that JLCPCB offers that works, so I'll pay the extra £11.
All the best,
Sonny
I've used them for a couple of prototype PCBs. They do good work. And low cost too. I needed some ~2x3 inch, 2-layer boards recently. $6.50 for five. I don't think I could make them in my garage for less ... even if I still had the chemicals for etching the boards.
FedEx and DHL tend to be pretty reliable. Of the two, FedEx is probably the better one if you're not in larger city.
... and welcome to diyAudio, by the way. 🙂
Tom
In the UK consider using the Global Standard Direct Line method of delivery.
This does take from 7 - 10 days, but seems to be shipped from China in bulk, then the 'final mile' is delivered via Royal Mail tracked 48 Hr service.
The advantage is that VAT and customs is done in China - so there is nothing else to pay.
If you need to have speedy delivery - always go for the duty paid in China option - otherwise you will get a nasty Invoice a couple of weeks after delivery from FedEx, UPS or DHL.
Also - as you live in a 'difficult' location - your normal Postman will know to get to you......!
This does take from 7 - 10 days, but seems to be shipped from China in bulk, then the 'final mile' is delivered via Royal Mail tracked 48 Hr service.
The advantage is that VAT and customs is done in China - so there is nothing else to pay.
If you need to have speedy delivery - always go for the duty paid in China option - otherwise you will get a nasty Invoice a couple of weeks after delivery from FedEx, UPS or DHL.
Also - as you live in a 'difficult' location - your normal Postman will know to get to you......!
Thats interesting to know. I've only ever had problems during the final mile of delivery, so knowing they use royal mail is handy. If they have any problems, like they are unable to deliver (happens with royal mail sometimes in the winter), their depot is close by, so easy to collect from if needed.