Hi Thimios, I am really sorry to hear that. I hope things will improve in the nearest future and you will start your hobby soon after..
All the bests to you and Greece
reg
Prasi
If your stability is sensitive to the difference between MKT and MKP, then you have designed your amp without margins and it will blow up no matter what you do. Because the difference between MKT and MKP impedance is extremely tiny. They have the same inductance, and as for dissipation factor, MKT will have about 1.4% more impedance. Everything else in that current loop adds to the impedance too, and the loss of the zobel cap is the least of it.
Stability isn't affected by what cap you use unless it is something horrible like tantalum or a huge inductive MKP416 (yes, the MKP416 specifically are inductive).
The highs and upper mids are dumbed-down. Probably a good thing to those who think accurate amps sound "sterile". I suspect those are the folks who tout it as a great amp. It actually sounds good just not accurate. To judge whether an amp sounds "natural" you have to know whether the recording process produced a natural sound. This can be a very big circle.
Here's a pic of a few of the amps I've built tested. I need to take some time and build some cases.
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Wow! thats too many! amazing work!
... If you start building cases for even for some of those amps, you wont b able to build any new amp ... atleast I cant , cases are too costly here+time consuming
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Hi Terry,
great collection
cases, transformers, heatsinks, big ecaps are a big part of the costs for an amp.
If you have a break and shear, that will allow you to make the cheapest cases. cheap heat sinks can be made from sheet aluminium fins. I guess they could be tig welded.
if you want a cheap rectifier/filter pcb, I can send you my design that can be fab'd at pcbway. I made it 100x100mm, so you can get 10 of them for $13 plus shipping.
great collection
cases, transformers, heatsinks, big ecaps are a big part of the costs for an amp.
If you have a break and shear, that will allow you to make the cheapest cases. cheap heat sinks can be made from sheet aluminium fins. I guess they could be tig welded.
if you want a cheap rectifier/filter pcb, I can send you my design that can be fab'd at pcbway. I made it 100x100mm, so you can get 10 of them for $13 plus shipping.
rightly said... + there is sourcing of right heat sink(s) ...+too many design and manufacturing considerations for chassis(especially if you depend on some one else)! ....My experience
I've already bought a few sheets of aluminum. A break would be lovely but I don't have access to one. I just use my table saw. Heatsinks are the biggest issue for me. I only have 5 or 6 pair that aren't part of my Slewmaster setup. So, I have to decide which amps I want to make into a fully built amp. Not an easy decision because there are a lot of really good sounding and interesting amps in there.
My concern is about the HF in zobel. I prefer mica or ceramic (C0G/NP0). Of course, no one will be able to hear the difference (may be even comparing with no zobel)... But not like everyone, when I build amps, I tried to make the best possible out of it...
About the FX8, the original PCB had 330pF between base and collector of the driver. This is for a reason. No one wants that big cap there...
Regarding MKT vs MKP, in certain position they create audible difference. My preference is for MKP. The only MKT I like to use is the vintage dop brown caps found in many good vintage amps. Soundwise, the strength of MKT is that they have "impact", but "thin".
May be not if you were in my position...
I have built a lot lot lot more amps than Terry (You didn't know that coz you think that Terry built the most amps here, which is very very wrong)...
My motivation for building amps is very different than yours. Almost all of my build is in mono (Why should I make it stereo, if I don't need to use it?). And even tho I have many fancy aluminum casings and heatsinks, I don't use them. My first DIY casing is 30 years ago, using wood (rounded edges, veneered). My first Alu casing (based on a flat Alu sheet) was 25 years ago, took me 1 month to finish.
I have built almost every best amps I can find and have access to the parts. I don't have NJL (so no FC-100 for me). I don't have SIT or power JFET, so my Pass amps endeavor stopped before F6. Even for NP's complimentary hexfet designs I used other than IRF240/9240. And mostly I used other than K170/J74 (I have better ones fortunately).
And then about impression. I'm not a diplomat, I like honest opinion, I don't like "Thanks, the amp sounds very good". But there is one reason that I believe you don't know about audio sounding good. It is easy for me to hear subtle differences, but saying good or better than others is almost impossible. It is not me who say that SKA is not good or most unnatural, or Bonsai's NX and others, I know better than that.
I'm reading a lot of generalizations here, but absolutely NO specifics.
I'm sure if there are "better ones", than people like Mr. Pass would have used them at some point in his designs.
Terry, I certainly hope you aren't too upset that you have been dethroned from your title "Most amps built and actually tested by one person".
I'm reading a lot of generalizations here, but absolutely NO specifics.
I'm sure if there are "better ones", than people like Mr. Pass would have used them at some point in his designs.
No, Ammel, people simply design based on available parts. Available means can be purchased or replicated by builders. I have many rare parts, new old stocks. But some other good transistors are still in production but just not common for audio.
You can improve any best amps simply by plugging in better parts and make a little modifications when necessary.
Terry, I certainly hope you aren't too upset that you have been dethroned from your title "Most amps built and actually tested by one person".
Hehe, he is not a kid, Ammel. Do you know Carlos? I think he has built more than a thousand amps. I don't know if I have reached that number or not. The reason he has more is just because he is older. At my age, I don't believe he has built more than I have
But yes, when you build other people designs, you are more productive than when you design your own.
I just want to state that this is not a competition for me. I couldn't care less how many amps someone else has built. I do this for my enjoyment and to learn. The fact that Mile is so generous as to provide so many different designs for us to build is a dream come true for a guy like me. OS and Valery are in the same league.
Now, I was bored today so I built a few more of the little SSR protection boards that use the MAC97a. I built a few before and struggled to get it to trip off with less than about 6vdc on the speaker out. Today I swapped the 4k7 resistors with 1k6 and now they will trip with less than +-3vdc. I also checked by playing very loud music through them to make sure that the AC output wouldn't trip them. So I just wanted to share for those who may have built them of are planning to.
Blessings, Terry
Now, I was bored today so I built a few more of the little SSR protection boards that use the MAC97a. I built a few before and struggled to get it to trip off with less than about 6vdc on the speaker out. Today I swapped the 4k7 resistors with 1k6 and now they will trip with less than +-3vdc. I also checked by playing very loud music through them to make sure that the AC output wouldn't trip them. So I just wanted to share for those who may have built them of are planning to.
Blessings, Terry