Chad,
Thanks once again for your excellent work. We all appreciate it!
I can't wait to see the boards once they get here (and of course, populate them, hook them up, and run them too 🙂 )
Thanks once again for your excellent work. We all appreciate it!
I can't wait to see the boards once they get here (and of course, populate them, hook them up, and run them too 🙂 )
Chad,
I got the boards today.........nice. Now we need bulk purchases on chassis and mosfets......maybe you could put togther a kit......with Mr.Pass's permission.
Thanks to your hard work (and Grataku), it has shown what we can accomplish as a group.
Jam
P.S. Is it possible to get the boards without the soldermask?
I got the boards today.........nice. Now we need bulk purchases on chassis and mosfets......maybe you could put togther a kit......with Mr.Pass's permission.
Thanks to your hard work (and Grataku), it has shown what we can accomplish as a group.
Jam
P.S. Is it possible to get the boards without the soldermask?
Very nice work, Chad. They are very well done and I look forward to building several great amps with them. A project made much easier with professional PCBs designed by a champ. Thanks again.
I've received my boards and they look great. Very much
looking forward to begin construction.
Three cheers for Chad and Grataku! Thank you so
very much for the hard work that made this all possible.
Dennis
looking forward to begin construction.
Three cheers for Chad and Grataku! Thank you so
very much for the hard work that made this all possible.
Dennis
Got my boards too - looks great. Thanks to Chad and Grataku. Now, I need to figure out how to build it.
That's not a bad idea... I already bought my mosfets, and I am making my chassis from 1.5" x .75" aluminum bar (frame type chassis)
I can see how many people would be discouraged by not having a way to make a chassis.
Somebody could really turn a nice $$ if they were to get heatsinks and chassis in quantity and re-sell them here (hint hint, anyone listening?) I wish I had the time.
-NS
Pass DIY Addict
Joined 2000
Paid Member
Great Boards!
My boards arrived over the weekend, too! They look great! Thanks to Chad and Grataku for arranging this order, and to Grey for his inspiration of this project!
I look forward to building my new amps!
Eric
My boards arrived over the weekend, too! They look great! Thanks to Chad and Grataku for arranging this order, and to Grey for his inspiration of this project!
I look forward to building my new amps!
Eric
I 've got my boards too...They arrived over the weekend ...
The look is fantastic!
Big Thanks to Chad and Grataku...
Now where were the parts...Oh , I still nead to order some
😡
Josip
The look is fantastic!
Big Thanks to Chad and Grataku...
Now where were the parts...Oh , I still nead to order some
😡 Josip
Thank you, all. I'm very happy with how they turned out myself. I couldn't ask for a better result. 
I'd also like to extend a big thanks to aerosol, who came over two nights in a row to help me get them packed and labelled for shipping. Without his help, it would have taken considerably longer to get them all ready and shipped!
Also, I'm getting closer to figuring out how to handle the spares... I think I will be limiting quantities to either 2 or 4, although I know some people will be anxious to get 6 and build a 5.1 channel system... so it's not ideal. Then again, I can forsee a re-order of the rev1.0 boards some months down the road, so there's still hope for those who want lots of boards. There were also some conflicting instructions in terms of the spares order, since I hadn't thought it through in advance. Some people sent requests right away through email, so on that, I should serve on a first-come-first-served basis. But, I also posted instructions asking people not to send me emails about the spares until I was ready to handle them. So, I'm sure there are people who held off. My current thought is to hold a lottery with random drawings for the boards. At least I can be certain that the method would be fair, and give everyone an equal opportunity to get the spare boards. I'm still tabulating the email requests, and since I'm currently working 6-day weeks, it'll be a while before I can really deal with this effectively. I hope everyone understands if it takes me a long time to get this taken care of... it's coming at a rather bad time. 🙁
I'd also like to extend a big thanks to aerosol, who came over two nights in a row to help me get them packed and labelled for shipping. Without his help, it would have taken considerably longer to get them all ready and shipped!
Also, I'm getting closer to figuring out how to handle the spares... I think I will be limiting quantities to either 2 or 4, although I know some people will be anxious to get 6 and build a 5.1 channel system... so it's not ideal. Then again, I can forsee a re-order of the rev1.0 boards some months down the road, so there's still hope for those who want lots of boards. There were also some conflicting instructions in terms of the spares order, since I hadn't thought it through in advance. Some people sent requests right away through email, so on that, I should serve on a first-come-first-served basis. But, I also posted instructions asking people not to send me emails about the spares until I was ready to handle them. So, I'm sure there are people who held off. My current thought is to hold a lottery with random drawings for the boards. At least I can be certain that the method would be fair, and give everyone an equal opportunity to get the spare boards. I'm still tabulating the email requests, and since I'm currently working 6-day weeks, it'll be a while before I can really deal with this effectively. I hope everyone understands if it takes me a long time to get this taken care of... it's coming at a rather bad time. 🙁
Kudos Chad and Gataku!! The boards are simply mahvilus! Now if I can put my hands on the last definitive schematic...(work has been too much and I have'nt kept up with the thread).
Received the boards yesterday..
They look absolutely lovely!
Big thanks to Hifizen and others envolved.
Niko
They look absolutely lovely!
Big thanks to Hifizen and others envolved.
Niko
Way to go guys!
Got my boards Monday, and they look GREAT! Excellent construction quality and a very nice layout. That was smart putting all the different hole patterns in for the caps and resistors. Thank you very, very much for all of your efforts to make this happen. If you are ever in the Southeast, look me up, I want to buy you dinner.
By the way, I was looking over the Aleph-X schematic and PCB and noticed a couple of minor issues regarding the XLR input connector.
First: There is a pin marked shield. Bringing the connector shield to the board will make the amp more susceptible to picking up noise (RF and hum). PRO audio is just finally putting this problem to bed (do a google search for "Pin 1 Problem") and you will see what I mean. After system owners spent literally millions of dollars replacing perfectly good cables, improving grounds and adding in-line filters, it was finally determined the root cause of most of the hum problem in balanced audio systems was caused by terminating the cable shield to a connection on the PCB.
Bringing a shield conductor carrying noise currents inside the enclosure and connecting it to a PCB right next to high gain input greatly increases the likelihood that the noise will be induced into the audio circuitry. And it was finally determined that the best way to terminate a cable shield is to ground it to the enclosure right at the XLR connector.
If you have access to it, the June 1995 issue of the AES Journal (you can order back issues from AES) devoted an entire section to sound system grounding and this issue is where the pin 1 problem was first identified. Here is a link to an article describing how to test gear for a pin 1 problem by Pat Davis of Syn-Aud-Con. Syn-Aud-Con hold training seminars for audio professionals and they are internationally renowned as being the very best place in the world to learn about sound system technology.
http://www.livesoundint.com/archives/novdec2001/80-tech-topic.html
Note: Neutrik makes XLR jacks that connect the shield to chassis internally. This is the best way to go, even a short loop of wire connecting pin 1 to ground at the jack can radiate noise inside your shielded enclosure.
http://www.neutrik.com/content/Products/products_group.asp?id=204_244641
Second: The standard balanced audio XLR pinout used in pro audio is:
Pin 1 = Ground
Pin 2 = + Signal
Pin 3 = - Signal
The pinout on the Aleph-X board implies you should connect:
Pin 1 = + Signal
Pin 2 = Ground
Pin 3 = - Signal
If you wire your XLR jacks this way it won't matter if you are only using the amp with your own gear and custom cables, but if you ever wanted to use a piece of pro audio gear (like an active crossover, or eq) or use off the shelf XLR audio cables, then the pinout suggested on the Aleph-X board won't work.
Sorry I didn't mention these minor issues sooner, but I didn't notice them until I really started looking at the boards closely. No big deal though, they can both be can easily be dealt with in the harness between the Aleph-X PCB and the XLR input jack.
Phil
Got my boards Monday, and they look GREAT! Excellent construction quality and a very nice layout. That was smart putting all the different hole patterns in for the caps and resistors. Thank you very, very much for all of your efforts to make this happen. If you are ever in the Southeast, look me up, I want to buy you dinner.
By the way, I was looking over the Aleph-X schematic and PCB and noticed a couple of minor issues regarding the XLR input connector.
First: There is a pin marked shield. Bringing the connector shield to the board will make the amp more susceptible to picking up noise (RF and hum). PRO audio is just finally putting this problem to bed (do a google search for "Pin 1 Problem") and you will see what I mean. After system owners spent literally millions of dollars replacing perfectly good cables, improving grounds and adding in-line filters, it was finally determined the root cause of most of the hum problem in balanced audio systems was caused by terminating the cable shield to a connection on the PCB.
Bringing a shield conductor carrying noise currents inside the enclosure and connecting it to a PCB right next to high gain input greatly increases the likelihood that the noise will be induced into the audio circuitry. And it was finally determined that the best way to terminate a cable shield is to ground it to the enclosure right at the XLR connector.
If you have access to it, the June 1995 issue of the AES Journal (you can order back issues from AES) devoted an entire section to sound system grounding and this issue is where the pin 1 problem was first identified. Here is a link to an article describing how to test gear for a pin 1 problem by Pat Davis of Syn-Aud-Con. Syn-Aud-Con hold training seminars for audio professionals and they are internationally renowned as being the very best place in the world to learn about sound system technology.
http://www.livesoundint.com/archives/novdec2001/80-tech-topic.html
Note: Neutrik makes XLR jacks that connect the shield to chassis internally. This is the best way to go, even a short loop of wire connecting pin 1 to ground at the jack can radiate noise inside your shielded enclosure.
http://www.neutrik.com/content/Products/products_group.asp?id=204_244641
Second: The standard balanced audio XLR pinout used in pro audio is:
Pin 1 = Ground
Pin 2 = + Signal
Pin 3 = - Signal
The pinout on the Aleph-X board implies you should connect:
Pin 1 = + Signal
Pin 2 = Ground
Pin 3 = - Signal
If you wire your XLR jacks this way it won't matter if you are only using the amp with your own gear and custom cables, but if you ever wanted to use a piece of pro audio gear (like an active crossover, or eq) or use off the shelf XLR audio cables, then the pinout suggested on the Aleph-X board won't work.
Sorry I didn't mention these minor issues sooner, but I didn't notice them until I really started looking at the boards closely. No big deal though, they can both be can easily be dealt with in the harness between the Aleph-X PCB and the XLR input jack.
Phil
Kudos to Hifizen, grataku, aerosol and all those fellow members who help this group purchase.
Just got my boards today. They are marvellous. I couldn't wait to get them populated...
.
Thanks a lot guys.
Just got my boards today. They are marvellous. I couldn't wait to get them populated...
.Thanks a lot guys.
Hifizen
Just got my board today🙂
Great board but most of all a great effort.🙂
Really touch by the contribution of all to make this community a success.
Cheers
Hock Hua
Just got my board today🙂
Great board but most of all a great effort.🙂
Really touch by the contribution of all to make this community a success.
Cheers
Hock Hua
Chad,
I got my boards today also. Thanks a lot for your efforts with this. What components are recommended for this? Mills resistor look good for the 0.22 ohm resistors. What is the recommended 1/4 w resistors? Vishay Dale?
--
Brian
I got my boards today also. Thanks a lot for your efforts with this. What components are recommended for this? Mills resistor look good for the 0.22 ohm resistors. What is the recommended 1/4 w resistors? Vishay Dale?
--
Brian
jam said:
It is still sitting here. I haven't gotten the power supply caps yet. I ordered a bunch of Elna audio caps, and they had a long lead time. I have gotten very sidetracked with building speakers lately, along with the whole gainclone thing.
--
Brian
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