Original Zen as first project? Few Questions.

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nshanemartin

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Joined 2004
#1
'm considering building the original Zen (V1?) as my first real project. I have soldering/electronics experience but the newer Zen versions just look a little complicated for a first project. It doesn't look like it will be too hard as long as I actually follow the directions.

Is this still a viable project? Is there something similar in quality and simplicity? I'm going to be using it with two sets of speakers: Fostex FE103E and FE206E, both in a backhorn enclosure as per the Fostex website.

I have local sources for everything but the largest caps and transformers. Who would be a reliable source for those parts?

I know I've got a lot of questions but you all seem to have a lot of answers. Most of my questions have been answered in this forum by just looking around and these are whats left.

Thanks for your time,
nshane

Coming soon:
Bottlehead Foreplay and possibly Bottlehead Paramour(s)
 
#2
I build a Z1 of whatever was available a while back. Simply just find capacitors at a reasoable size, the brand is no big deal, if you wanna go exotic...buy epcos or rifa, but apex jr. have some fine caps at 50v 68.000 uf for I guess 7 or 8 usd a piece. As for the trafo, I ask apex jr. again, he does surplus sales, and would be able to give you a bit of advice on what would work well.


Magura🙂
 
#3
The biggest "obstacle" in building a Zen amp is find big heatsinks!
Be sure not to skimp in this area. Also consider a CLC power
supply as noted in the Return of Zen. It's a fun project and a
good sounding amp, so go for it!
 
#4
Thanks for the quick responses. I had forgotten about ApexJr. I contacted Avel Lindberg about a year ago and they had the transformer for not too much $$$. I first found out about the PassDIY site a while back and had planned on having my Zen running by now but things, they do happen.

As for heatsinks, any recomendations on those? How much surface area do I really need?

Thanks
Shane
 
#5
"As for heatsinks, any recomendations on those? How much surface area do I really need?"

i believe each FET dissipates around 30 to 35 watts eatch.

so 1 heatsink would have to dissipate around 140 watts total.

Using 2 heatsinks would be better, then 70 watts each... minimum.

the more heatsink area the better 🙂
 
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