Class AB amp recommendations

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GumGum9000

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Joined 2015
#1
Hey,

which Class AB design would you recommend to build?

  • Honey Badger
  • a Naim Clone
  • any SKA design
  • Ovation sx
  • any other design?
My other gear:


  • Preamp: DCB1
  • Current Amp: Rotel RB-980BX
  • Speakers: Cabasse Antigua MC170 (88dB/W/1m) (min: 3,2 ohm; nominal: 8 ohm)
  • Listening distance: ca. 3m
Thanks! 🙂
 
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#5
TGM8 - an amplifier based on Rod Elliot P3a 😀


Bigun said:
Builders Comments:

'Ranchu32': "this is a fabulous amp; one of the best. I love the sense of energy and the dynamic performance, which I feel is somewhat lacking in the basic P3A. But it loses none of the P3A's best qualities: that beautifully smooth and detailed midrange, and crystal clear highs." "the more time I spend with TGM8 the more impressed I am. Having now heard the VSSA, I am equally impressed and it is deserving of the high praise it is getting around here. But your design is in the same league: similar in many respects and subtly different in others. I suspect TGM8 will better suit my tastes"

'Lordearl': "As to the sound - phenomenal, incredibly relaxed, yet still highly detailed! Tempted to use the good channel on my better speakers just to enjoy it for a while! A very inviting sound for sure." "My initial impression (mono only) is the same, the low frequencies are crisp and punchy - never heard anything quite like it. The treble easily rivals my 6L6 ultra linear push pull amp with Tango output transformers, plenty of air, no fatigue (also no apparent dumbing down of the sound!). Makes you realise why you loved audio in the first place!"

'still4given': "You done good Gareth! I can see why you were so satisfied. I've got some Gerry Mulligan playing through it right now and it is beautiful. Thanks for sharing this with me." "It really is very nice sounding. Seems as good as the VSSA and that is one fine sounding amp."

'pronk': "I originally planned to build just two boards but liked the TGM8 so much that I built six (four to power my LXmini and two for my home office). Note these boards are densely populated and have about 30 SMD components. This is probably not something you can throw together in an evening. The end result is definitely worth the effort. This is one of my favourite amplifiers. Sound quality, particularly bass, is excellent. I appreciate the built-in speaker protection which makes this amplifier more of a complete product safe to use with expensive speakers."
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#7
I don't currently have any more myself but to be honest, it's cheap enough just to order a set yourself directly from China. The details are in the thread - you can download the gerber files and place an order direct. I was charging $20 for a pair of boards. If you go now to Itead you can order 10 boards for $20

2 Layer Prototype Green PCB Universal Printed Circuit Board
 
#8
I was hoping to be able to narrow down my choice and not getting introduced to even more options 😱. So far not even two people have agreed on one amp 😀.
Oh and I forgot to mention that at least premade boards should be available.

Thanks!
 
#9
GumGum9000 said:
I was hoping to be able to narrow down my choice and not getting introduced to even more options 😱. So far not even two people have agreed on one amp 😀.
Oh and I forgot to mention that at least premade boards should be available.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The only thing I know from your 1st post is that you want Class AB solid state.

How much power into 8 and 4 ohms do you really need? What is the average efficiency of your speakers with 2.83V RMS at 1m (from 100Hz on up to 10khz)? What is the size of your room and listening distance? What is the impedance minima and maxima of your speakers? Do you have those measurements with you or online for us to see?

If you want to narrow down, you need to answer those questions so diy’ers can narrow down their offerings as well. All of us have built many amplifiers. All of us are experts of our own systems! All of us love to DIY!

Best,
Anand.
 
#11
GumGum9000 said:
at least premade boards should be available.
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If you want boards for well-proven amps that a lot of people have built and are therefore 'safe' choices then I'd pick two from your list - the SKA and NAIM. Both are available as bare-board pcb's from eBay if you look for them and there is plenty of help on the internet about building them.

The NAIM amp has a 'sound' to it which you may like. The design is relatively straightforward and well proven over many years. There's at least one long thread on this amp somewhere on this forum (search NAP 140). My own clone of the NAP 160 is TGM10, which addresses a few niggles of the original so I have heard it. As most NAIM amps use the same basic circuit, you can build any version that has boards available for it as far as I can see.

The SKA 150 amplifier is a thoroughly modern approach, it's more robust in that it uses a pair of output MOSFETs. There are boards available from eBay. It has a very neutral sound, it is a low distortion amplifier with no real character of it's own. The challenge with this amp is that it's so fast it isn't easy to keep stable so you need to use a proven pcb and be carefull of wiring. There are threads around here of this amp too. My take on it was TGM7 (which uses a superior layout with SMD parts).

So I've heard both the SKA and the NAIM amps and can recommend both. My TGM8 beats both of them, but the SKA is closest.

Another amp, not available as pcb from eBay, but worth looking at is the AKSA 100. My TGM1i is a clone of that amp, I can provide a pair of boards. This amp was designed by Hugh Dean and follows a well proven topology. There are others who have cloned the 55W version and there is a thread on that somewhere here. An older forum member from Brazil, Carlos (DestroyerX) also popularized this topology with many popular builds. To my ears it brings the sound of the 70's hi-fi to a modern standard by fine tuning this topology through careful parts values and choices. The Honey Badger is the fully grown up version in terms of topology.
 
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#12
GumGum9000 said:
Oh and I forgot to mention that at least premade boards should be available.
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At least that rules out my design from the 1990's; I didn't design a PCB, but built it in dead-bug style on a copper-clad board.

I don't know if there are boards available for Elvee's Circlophone or its variants. The thread about it is so long that I never bothered to read it completely.
 
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#16
I would be looking for an amplifier that is Class AB with a minimum of 50watts/ch at 4 ohms. My best recommendation is the Neurochrome Modulus 286 (SMD) which can allow for bridging and hence higher output power. If you are on a budget, then the LM3886DR will suffice as well. The Neurochrome Modulus 86 is thru hole but does not allow for bridging and from a measurement standpoint is a near equivalent to the 286.

Neurochrome Audio: High performance DIY audio circuits.

Best,
Anand.

PS: I own the SKA. The Modulus 86 beats it hands down.
 
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