Good morning oh great and wise ones. Ok, I am sure this has been gone over a few times, and maybe I just couldn’t see it in my research. Here is my dilemma:
I am stuck between buying a Super T, a Trends Audio, building my own Amp6 basic, and then I saw yesterday this Charlize… sigh.. I am a COMPLETE novice as far as soldering, I don’t even think I own anything for it... but it cant be too hard.. right? I like the finished look of the trends and the SI.. but I like the price point of the DIY…That is probably the most important…. PRICE. I saw the finished product of the Charlize and like the wood box/finished look. and because I work with wood, I was leaning towards making my own enclosure. Then comes the part about what power supply, and what ends to put on, and volume knob and such. And lets not even get started on modding any amps yet.
Does anyone have a complete “parts list” for putting together one of these? (amp6 basic or Charlize?) I would assume you can get everything from PE.com...
And which would be best for me? I am building some full range Sachiko’s with Fostex drivers.. (I think they are around 96db/wt). My musical tastes run anywhere from Classical guitar to pop, to trance.. so the type of music is all over the chart.
One other question.. I have a power supply off of some old CSW computer speakers.. would that work for the PS? The info off the part that plugs into the wall: input – 120AC 60hz. Output 14vdc 1.2a.
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. I suppose I should ask.. does anyone have one they want or would be willing to get rid of?
I am stuck between buying a Super T, a Trends Audio, building my own Amp6 basic, and then I saw yesterday this Charlize… sigh.. I am a COMPLETE novice as far as soldering, I don’t even think I own anything for it... but it cant be too hard.. right? I like the finished look of the trends and the SI.. but I like the price point of the DIY…That is probably the most important…. PRICE. I saw the finished product of the Charlize and like the wood box/finished look. and because I work with wood, I was leaning towards making my own enclosure. Then comes the part about what power supply, and what ends to put on, and volume knob and such. And lets not even get started on modding any amps yet.
Does anyone have a complete “parts list” for putting together one of these? (amp6 basic or Charlize?) I would assume you can get everything from PE.com...
And which would be best for me? I am building some full range Sachiko’s with Fostex drivers.. (I think they are around 96db/wt). My musical tastes run anywhere from Classical guitar to pop, to trance.. so the type of music is all over the chart.
One other question.. I have a power supply off of some old CSW computer speakers.. would that work for the PS? The info off the part that plugs into the wall: input – 120AC 60hz. Output 14vdc 1.2a.
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. I suppose I should ask.. does anyone have one they want or would be willing to get rid of?
I would highly recommend building the Amp 6.
Not only is it capable of handling a little more power than the T-amp, I think the implementation is better, especially when it comes to bass. I've done all the normal mods on a couple of T-Amps, and the Amp 6 just kills 'em as far as sound quality goes.
It's easy to build and it's very gratifying to put things together yourself. There' a million ways to put together a case.
As for the power supply, it should power the Amp-6, although you may decide to step up to a more powerful SMPS. The ones that are made for Flat-screen computer monitors seem to be great, and they're cheap as dirt on eBay. Be aware that 14v may be a little too high for the chip in the T-Amp, but it's fine for the Amp 6.
Good luck building!
--Buckapound
Not only is it capable of handling a little more power than the T-amp, I think the implementation is better, especially when it comes to bass. I've done all the normal mods on a couple of T-Amps, and the Amp 6 just kills 'em as far as sound quality goes.
It's easy to build and it's very gratifying to put things together yourself. There' a million ways to put together a case.
As for the power supply, it should power the Amp-6, although you may decide to step up to a more powerful SMPS. The ones that are made for Flat-screen computer monitors seem to be great, and they're cheap as dirt on eBay. Be aware that 14v may be a little too high for the chip in the T-Amp, but it's fine for the Amp 6.
Good luck building!
--Buckapound
Amp6 or AMP6 basic if you want to DIY. Charlize if you don't.
If you are new to soldering, practice a bit before you start on the amp. Find some good tutorial on the web and read it, practice it. Take your time, it's more important to get it done well than fast.
Dittto what Buckapound says about PSU.
If you are new to soldering, practice a bit before you start on the amp. Find some good tutorial on the web and read it, practice it. Take your time, it's more important to get it done well than fast.
Dittto what Buckapound says about PSU.
I think you need to be in the middle ground here.
If you want the best then get a Charlize PCB (dont forget that it's all soldered for you) and box it up in a nice DIY enclosure with your own choice of RCA/cables/binding posts and pot etc...
Not the cheapest option but......
Otherwise get your feet wet with an amp6.... easy (ish) to solder.
But dont forget that you have to buy a soldering iron... solder pump... flux etc.
You're not going to get the naked PCB from anywhere so don't bother looking for the other parts.
AM6... that's my recomendation.
EDIT
OK Panno got there first....
If you want the best then get a Charlize PCB (dont forget that it's all soldered for you) and box it up in a nice DIY enclosure with your own choice of RCA/cables/binding posts and pot etc...
Not the cheapest option but......
Otherwise get your feet wet with an amp6.... easy (ish) to solder.
But dont forget that you have to buy a soldering iron... solder pump... flux etc.
You're not going to get the naked PCB from anywhere so don't bother looking for the other parts.
AM6... that's my recomendation.
EDIT
OK Panno got there first....
Thanks guys.. i think i am leaning towards the amp6.. i can get my hands on the soldering things.. so thats not a cost to me.. i think my biggest issue is that there is not a "kit" that has everything.. i suppose in this day and age, people are tweaking and changing everything. I will look into getting a different transformer.. one that has a bit more.. umpffff. any suggestions? i would love to hear everyones opinion on this.. so please.. keep the info coming.
Hmmm, the amp6 website doesn't give a VA or current rating for the transformer, saying only 12 to 15Vac. They do for the Amp6 Basic, saying a 35W SMPS...
Guessing the wattage, these might work, from digikey:
237-1283-ND
595-1181-ND
Those two are 14V at 1.8A and 12V at 3A (25VA and 36VA, $16 an $17 each). I would probably go with the latter.
Guessing the wattage, these might work, from digikey:
237-1283-ND
595-1181-ND
Those two are 14V at 1.8A and 12V at 3A (25VA and 36VA, $16 an $17 each). I would probably go with the latter.
ok.. thanks.. so nobody laugh please... but how am i supposed to get power to the amp? i know it says to "add a transformer".. but where does this go? i have seen plug in transformers.. that plug into the wall... maybe i am in over my head.. maybe i should wait til my amp gets here.. i just want to be prepared..
help.
help.
JeremyB said:
Which one did you go for? AMP6 or Basic?
You can do one of two things.....
Get a complete 12V>14V PSU, a switch mode or linear power supply that you connect without bothering with the regulator section of the amp6 (like you said; that plug in the wall)
or
you need a trannie like cuibono is talking about above, this steps the mains voltage down to something nearer the amps requirement then the regulator section of the amp6 kit does the rest.
hope that helps.... go for the 1st option and work on the other later...
amp6 Basic?
If so I did a build/review for Affordable$$Audio on the amp6 Basic. I did kill a chip along the way, so be a little careful.
This is the through hole version, so pretty easy to solder. If you can't, maybe someone you know can, and teach you at the same time. BUT, with respect to the Tripath chip, be very careful while inserting all of the pins into their respective holes, and make sure none get pushed "up" as you insert them into their holes. That's what I did, and did not see it. One of the legs crossed with another. Upon "fire up", I had a fire (OK smoke).
I use a 36 watt 12v, 3A switching mode power supply . A surplus lab-top computer power supply actually. I spent something like $5 on it. Decent quality RCA jacks and Speaker binding posts are the most expensive thing to get, other than the kit. allow $20-$50 for those. In the end the kit may cost you the same as a Sonic Impact Super-T, but should sound much better.
For me the biggest hassle has been an enclosure, but you seem to have that covered.
stew
If so I did a build/review for Affordable$$Audio on the amp6 Basic. I did kill a chip along the way, so be a little careful.
This is the through hole version, so pretty easy to solder. If you can't, maybe someone you know can, and teach you at the same time. BUT, with respect to the Tripath chip, be very careful while inserting all of the pins into their respective holes, and make sure none get pushed "up" as you insert them into their holes. That's what I did, and did not see it. One of the legs crossed with another. Upon "fire up", I had a fire (OK smoke).
I use a 36 watt 12v, 3A switching mode power supply . A surplus lab-top computer power supply actually. I spent something like $5 on it. Decent quality RCA jacks and Speaker binding posts are the most expensive thing to get, other than the kit. allow $20-$50 for those. In the end the kit may cost you the same as a Sonic Impact Super-T, but should sound much better.
For me the biggest hassle has been an enclosure, but you seem to have that covered.
stew
Hey everyone.. i have a quick power supply question for you (yes, another one... i found this kicking around at work.. i am guessing its not a SMPS.. but will it work for the amp 6 that i am building? should i leave the regulator on the board? or leave something else on the board?
Class 2 power supply
input: 120VAC 60Hz 1A
output: 14.5VDC 4.5A
Here is a photo.. what do you think?
photo 1
photo 2
Thanks for the input and the help.
Class 2 power supply
input: 120VAC 60Hz 1A
output: 14.5VDC 4.5A
Here is a photo.. what do you think?
photo 1
photo 2
Thanks for the input and the help.
Might work. Certainly has enough current and voltage rating.
14.5 is a little "warm" for the AMP6, but shouldn't hurt with a good heat sink.
From your description it does not sound like a switching supply, so it may or may not be regulated. You certainly want to check that.
If it isn't regulated, you can still use it with an AMP6 because there is a voltage regulator on-board.
Check the actual no load voltage and tell us what you plan to use it with.
14.5 is a little "warm" for the AMP6, but shouldn't hurt with a good heat sink.
From your description it does not sound like a switching supply, so it may or may not be regulated. You certainly want to check that.
If it isn't regulated, you can still use it with an AMP6 because there is a voltage regulator on-board.
Check the actual no load voltage and tell us what you plan to use it with.
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