After years of collecting vintage amps, I have finally found peace.
Now stacks of Marantz, Dynaco70s, Bogen and Sansui amps lay idle.
A first attempt at d-class was using some TI parts five years ago.
Spent hours on pcb layouts, false starts and lots of man hours-$$$.
Then came the TI 3116-8 in PBTL.
Its hifi for sure and the measurements prove it.
So now I have a 'standard' throw down tube pre-amp and a power amp that is easy to design-in. The low total weight is a bonus too.
Going with mono block system so easy to re-use in other apps.
I feel completed!!!
-
Now stacks of Marantz, Dynaco70s, Bogen and Sansui amps lay idle.
A first attempt at d-class was using some TI parts five years ago.
Spent hours on pcb layouts, false starts and lots of man hours-$$$.
Then came the TI 3116-8 in PBTL.
Its hifi for sure and the measurements prove it.
So now I have a 'standard' throw down tube pre-amp and a power amp that is easy to design-in. The low total weight is a bonus too.
Going with mono block system so easy to re-use in other apps.
I feel completed!!!
-
Isn't it amazing how good these are with the right power supply. I just did a close listening session with some very well done horn speakers and swapping out a EL84 amp with a 3116 amp and truthfully was a hairs breath of difference between them, and those difference might well have more to do with differences in attenuators than in the amps themselves.
Whilst not competent enough to build my own amps i am the same after years of trying different amplifiers from all the normal brands i purchased on a whim a Lapai 2024 a couple of years ago.
That little amp completely changed my listening experience and theres been no going back i now have a collection of Class D and Tripaths current favourite a Fatman solid state S-60 . Every now and again i slot one of my old class A/B monsters into the system but they just don't cut it in the same way and soon get replaced again. Just wish i'd found these amps years ago i would have saved thousands .
That little amp completely changed my listening experience and theres been no going back i now have a collection of Class D and Tripaths current favourite a Fatman solid state S-60 . Every now and again i slot one of my old class A/B monsters into the system but they just don't cut it in the same way and soon get replaced again. Just wish i'd found these amps years ago i would have saved thousands .
TI's TAS5630B 300W amp is pretty good too... And for that and others they do ready built eval boards you can buy....
Important to me is I can really focus on the source material and preamp.
The final becomes only a module.
The final becomes only a module.
My latest foray into this section of DIY-philia was a Sure TK2050 4 channel amp board from Parts Express Sure Electronics AA-AB33182 4x100W at 4 Ohm Class D Digital Audio Amplifier Board STA508 (TK2050)
That and a 36V SMPS make for a pretty simple, decent sounding little project. A decent chassis and the associated input / output connectors and volume pots if needed can cost more than the working parts.
Would I bet on this passing a golden eared subjective listener's ( -a club to which my membership has perhaps expired 😉 ) comparison to a 2A3 SET on an efficient FR speaker? maybe not, but I can live with it for the intended application (active bi-amping of small FAST systems)
That and a 36V SMPS make for a pretty simple, decent sounding little project. A decent chassis and the associated input / output connectors and volume pots if needed can cost more than the working parts.
Would I bet on this passing a golden eared subjective listener's ( -a club to which my membership has perhaps expired 😉 ) comparison to a 2A3 SET on an efficient FR speaker? maybe not, but I can live with it for the intended application (active bi-amping of small FAST systems)
That's the biggest beauty of these now-ubiquitous low-cost and "good enough" amps--moving the crossover up the signal chain (and the attendant ability to optimize xover easier and make life easier on the amps too).
The only issue that I see with these is that the chips are hard to find, and you're basically forced to buy ready made boards. Which, to say the least, can be improved. Also their packaging makes them low power, and for higher power you still need a controller and discrete transistors. Imagine a quality class D amp in a to-220 package.
Sent from my Xperia ZR using Tapatalk
Sent from my Xperia ZR using Tapatalk
Well as far as I've seen, the smd packaging goes up to 50W.
Sent from my Xperia ZR using Tapatalk
Sent from my Xperia ZR using Tapatalk
Power is not a limiting factor. The Sure site has a 3000W class D mono block, not to mention other amps at 300watts and 500watts and more. People have been raving over the sound quality of a whole host of class D amps, the tpa3116 in particular. Do any of these qualify as "the best that money can buy"? Probably NOT. But they sure might quality as the best that a very small amount of money can buy 🙂 So put your efforts into some DIY speakers, the best quality Source components you can afford, and a class D amp, and then enjoy the music while you save your money for that one day some day mono block interstage tube amp wet dream.
I have a class d controller chip and some mosfets waiting to be assembled into an amp for my subwoofer. It's definitely the way to go, along with SMPS.
Sent from my Xperia ZR using Tapatalk
Sent from my Xperia ZR using Tapatalk
I don't agree about the 3116. I much prefer a 6SN7/2A3 tube amp on mods and highs, and Firstwatt F5 on midbass. The 3116 with most of the mods, turned out to be a dissappointment. Impressive initially but would had an annoying sound compared to the mentioned amps. I was using a cheap laptop supply, and this might have been the reason, but I were not convinced that the sound would improve that much.
Rewind, actually I'd probably prefer your 6SN&/2A3 or Firstwatt F5 as well. The point was that while saving up for something like that one can get a very enjoyable music ride with the 3116 or other class D amps for a small fraction of the price.
Its not a small fraction after all the mods. 🙂 Better dtart with something good and solid like the F5. What is great about the 3116 is how efficient it is. I could use it for a diy beach stereo with a motorcycle battery.
For some of us older, lazier buggers quite happy to have seen the last of working with discrete components, there's an undeniable allure to a board and SMPS combination for just over $100 US that delivers 4 channels of "100W" . A pretty chassis and the associated input / output connectors and volume pots if required can easily cost that much again.
ps. - Octavia, I agree wholeheartedly with your last couple of comments - the absolutely most engaging transparent power amp I ever heard was a monstrous, Dr Frankenstein hybrid - 45 triode driver, inter-stage transformer coupled to MOSFET SE outputs. I don't even want to think about the parts & labour cost.
Dave D and I have had a long running joke that a very satisfying "frugal" system could be assembled for less than the sales tax on the "nirvana" cabling on any audiophile's ultimate wet dream system - sooner or later the reality of economics constrains some of us.
ps. - Octavia, I agree wholeheartedly with your last couple of comments - the absolutely most engaging transparent power amp I ever heard was a monstrous, Dr Frankenstein hybrid - 45 triode driver, inter-stage transformer coupled to MOSFET SE outputs. I don't even want to think about the parts & labour cost.
Dave D and I have had a long running joke that a very satisfying "frugal" system could be assembled for less than the sales tax on the "nirvana" cabling on any audiophile's ultimate wet dream system - sooner or later the reality of economics constrains some of us.
Last edited:
There are good quality 3116 no mods required with power supply for less than $100. To me thats a small fraction of the Firstwatt F5 at $3000. The point is if you have to buy on a budget how to best allocate what you have. I don't know a single person in this crazy audiophile world that doesn't try to upgrade over time. Personally I have a BEL1001, an AVA Fet Valve, a customized EL84, and a few others. Is my unmodified 3116 amp as good as these? No. Is it good enough to recommend to any audio friend trying to put a system together on a budget? You're damn right it is. It can do the holography image and dynamics very well indeed with the right speakers. Somewhere along the line audiophile equipment prices ran off to the moon. Some of it might be justified but I think for most of us the whole DIY effort is an antidote for the extreme prices along with a chance to put our personal mark on a wonderful hobby.
ive heard new instruments on old music.
for example some jazz bar lounge music.
Cymbals track did not hear before sold me.
i've had a suspicion going back since class D was even prevalent that possibly there was a similarity in the psychoacoustics of class a and D because of crossover issues not well understood.
that's why have stuck with class D for so long I want to get to the bottom of it.
for example some jazz bar lounge music.
Cymbals track did not hear before sold me.
i've had a suspicion going back since class D was even prevalent that possibly there was a similarity in the psychoacoustics of class a and D because of crossover issues not well understood.
that's why have stuck with class D for so long I want to get to the bottom of it.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.