Class t-amp-2020 Kit - Check it!

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#61
Can anyone assure us of the quality of these little cream boxes?
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Let your ears be the judge
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I would have thought that you had answered your own question Gordon! 😉

I would always prefer polypropylene caps over polyester but:

1 You can't expect commercial amps selling for 80 euros to have them.

2 The Autostriure sounds so good, there can't be much wrong with the polyesters.

I hope to try the Autostriure with some polyprops next week. :att'n:
 
#62
Nuuk said:

I would have thought that you had answered your own question Gordon! 😉
I would always prefer polypropylene caps over polyester but:
1 You can't expect commercial amps selling for 80 euros to have them.
2 The Autostriure sounds so good, there can't be much wrong with the polyesters.
I hope to try the Autostriure with some polyprops next week. :att'n:
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Nuuk
Thanks for the vote of confidence in the polyesters as used by Autocostruire; I have just soldered them in place so I will run with them! I hope to have the amps up and running this w/e. After a 100 hours or so burn-in, I may change the input cap to polypropylene and monitor the difference. I will certainly let my ears be my (final) judge !!
My reason for asking about the polyesters was in light of post 57 by kanadict who asked what make; I wonered if there was a question over the make. Seems not. Perhaps you will post your experience of polyprops v polyesters in the Autocostruire? Will you be changing all or just some of them?
CambshireGordon
 
#63
Re: Re: Re: Re: English Instructions?

CambshireGordon said:
My kit came with input capacitors of value 2.2uF as detailed in the components list and circuit diagram. The make is unspecified, but they appear to be sourced from the same supplier as the rest of the polyester capacitors - little cream boxes with no manufacturer's name. Autocostruire say in their sales description that all components are of high quality. Can anyone assure us of the quality of these little cream boxes?
CambshireGordon
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Thanks for the information ! About the quality of the cap, I asked the question as I will probably try some CERAFINE ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS by ELNA. The dimention of the Elna Cap are 6mm x 11mm, could you please tell me if they will fit on the board ?

Did I say "I will probably try some..." :att'n: OK, I said it and the reason is simply that I finally decided to order the Autoconstruire kit :smash:

Thanks again for the information !
 
#64
I will be in Montreal next weekend and will take advantage of this trip & will take some parts at Solen store. I'm planning to buy some 10,000 uf LPO ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS by ELNA or SMH ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS by UCC, if you say that they would be better. These caps will be used between the power supply and the amp.

I'm also planning to buy some input cap. My first idea was to buy some CERAFINE ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS by ELNA. Do you think that I should buy some SOLEN FILM & FOIL CAPACITORS (polypropylene) instead of the Cerafine :

http://www.solen.ca/caps/tin.htm

The problem would be the size of the cap 😕
 
#67
My reason for asking about the polyesters was in light of post 57 by kanadict who asked what make; I wonered if there was a question over the make.
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Gordon, he's more worried about plastic chairs! 😀 I tend not to worry about these details to begin with because you can always swap caps later on.

As you say, give the amp plenty of time to settle down (these class-T amps do seem to need longer than other types), then use your ears to try different components.

Things are a little more complicated for me as I am reviewing these amps and it will be meaninless if I don't review them 'as they come' before tweaking them!

Daniel, there is no electrolytic that sounds as good as a polypropylene. Don't worry too much about size, you can always mount them off-board. Or if you use a pre-amp (or source) with no DC offset, you could do away with the DC blockers on the power amp.

I would like to know the height of the amp (board with the cap soldered).
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What cap? With the standard caps, the height is no more than 30mm!

😉
 
#68
Nuuk said:


Gordon, he's more worried about plastic chairs! 😀 I tend not to worry about these details to begin with because you can always swap caps later on.

As you say, give the amp plenty of time to settle down (these class-T amps do seem to need longer than other types), then use your ears to try different components.

Things are a little more complicated for me as I am reviewing these amps and it will be meaninless if I don't review them 'as they come' before tweaking them!

Daniel, there is no electrolytic that sounds as good as a polypropylene. Don't worry too much about size, you can always mount them off-board. Or if you use a pre-amp (or source) with no DC offset, you could do away with the DC blockers on the power amp.



What cap? With the standard caps, the height is no more than 30mm!

😉
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Please correct me if I am wrong, but if the 2020 is like the 2024 SI amp then the input side of the circuit is biased up by some +2.5 volts. It might be a mistake to remove the input caps. They keep that voltage from going upstream.
 
#69
Quality of Power Supply Caps

Does anyone know about the quality of the two 2200mf power supply caps? Are they as good as Pannasonic FS series. I am trying to decide whether to order some BGs to replace them...

Thanks,

BTW. I have an extra unbuilt 41mz Amp3 kit to sell. If anyone is interested PM me...
 
#72
Please correct me if I am wrong, but if the 2020 is like the 2024 SI amp then the input side of the circuit is biased up by some +2.5 volts. It might be a mistake to remove the input caps. They keep that voltage from going upstream.
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That could well be right Mourip! I have been thinking Gainclones for too long! 😀

Perhaps somebody can confirm it for us. 🙂
 
#73
Nuuk said:


That could well be right Mourip! I have been thinking Gainclones for too long! 😀

Perhaps somebody can confirm it for us. 🙂
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Hi Nuuk,

Glad to see you here. In my last audio incarnation I built a Brian Gainclone and enjoyed your web page devoted to gainclones. I still use my gainclone for DVD movie playback. I am using my modified SI amp for serious llistening now. The detail and clarity is amazing.

I checked the instructions from a 41mz kit I bought and here it is:

"On the board there are two signal input capacitors, C14 and C15. These are required, as the amplifier is internally biased to about +2.5V."

You might get by if the preamp has an output capacitor but it would be a risk. If it is much bigger than 2.5mf you might also get a big tump or squeal as it takes more time to charge up. Others have noted this with the SI amps.

I bailed on the 41mz amp due to the smd parts. They are just too small for 55 year old eyes. I have the Autocostuire 2020 amp kit now and am looking forward to tweaking it.

Best,

Paul
 
#74
mourip said:

I built a Brian Gainclone and enjoyed your web page devoted to gainclones. I still use my gainclone for DVD movie playback.

I have the Autocostuire 2020 amp kit now and am looking forward to tweaking it.
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Paul,

I want to build the Autocostuire 2020 amp as a replacement for BrianGT NIGC I have built. I had the opportunity to listen to the stock SI T-amp amd to my ears, it was better (if we forget about the bass). Could you tell me how the Autocostuire 2020 amp sound compare to Brian amp ? Do you confirm that buying this kit will be a very good upgrade for me ?

Thanks !
 
#75
kujina said:
Its about 3cm.
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My case only have 3.4cm free space, but it should be OK.

Thanks !


Nuuk said:

Daniel, there is no electrolytic that sounds as good as a polypropylene. Don't worry too much about size, you can always mount them off-board. Or if you use a pre-amp (or source) with no DC offset, you could do away with the DC blockers on the power amp.

What cap? With the standard caps, the height is no more than 30mm!

😉
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OK, then I'll buy two poly film Cap from Solen. If I don't use them for the Autoconstruire Kit, I'll try them in my Rogue amp.

Yes, the standard caps. Thanks !
 
#77
kanaddict said:


Paul,

I want to build the Autocostuire 2020 amp as a replacement for BrianGT NIGC I have built. I had the opportunity to listen to the stock SI T-amp amd to my ears, it was better (if we forget about the bass). Could you tell me how the Autocostuire 2020 amp sound compare to Brian amp ? Do you confirm that buying this kit will be a very good upgrade for me ?

Thanks !
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I just got the kit this week and have not fired up my soldering iron yet. I have high hopes for it especially because it will allow me to easily replace the stock parts with better ones. The most likely suspects would be the input coupling caps and the power supply caps. I think that the inductors are "keepers." I am using a modified SI amp now to run my AKG K1000 headphones. The detail is remarkable. It is a tad bright for me so I am hoping that being able to tune in the Autocostruire 2020 amp with some nice input caps will be just the ticket. Also I am using a 5 ohm resistor in parallel with the output to give the amp a load closer to what it was designed for. This does cut down on the output power quite a lot. The 2020 should give me more output.

I will try to post a comparison when I finally get it made and broken in. I have found that these amps need plenty of break-in time and also start sounding the best after 30 minutes of being turned on. If I was not using an SLA battery to power my SI I would want to leave it always on.

Regarding the gainclone amp. My BrianGC amp is great. I really like it as it has a sort of tube-like midrange. I use it for casual listening and for DVD's. The SI amp is rather amazing. The detail is really addicting. The amp has great pace and tonality. All my efforts are now going toward finding the best Tripath amp. I used to be a tube guy but this stuff has really won me over. I think that it is revolutionary and will change the whole industry. These amps are giant-killers...

Best,

Paul
 
#78
You might get by if the preamp has an output capacitor but it would be a risk. If it is much bigger than 2.5mf you might also get a big tump or squeal as it takes more time to charge up. Others have noted this with the SI amps.
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This is what I was considering. I was planning on comparing all the class-T amps 'as they come' but then using a pre-amp(with output cap) and bypassing all their various input caps. The review will be read by people who buy hi-fi andhi-fi DIYers so I want to make it relelvant to both groups.

I bailed on the 41mz amp due to the smd parts. They are just too small for 55 year old eyes. I have the Autocostuire 2020 amp kit now and am looking forward to tweaking it.
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You poor old thing Paul! 😀 I am a mere 54 and didn't have trouble seeing the parts, just getting them to go where they were meant to! I would say that you have to be pretty experienced with SMD assembly to make the 41hZ kits successfully! :att'n:

When do you think that you'll be able to post your review ?
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I'm not sure at this stage Daniel. The whole project is very time consuming! It's not like reviewing a finished product. Yes, the SI T-AMP comes 'ready to play' but some need building and others need putting in cases, adding sockets etc. I'm not complaining, it's good fun and very interesting, but it does eat up a lot of my time (particularly building the cases). And all the class-T amps seem to need a lot of burning in time too. :smash:
 
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