Hi,
I'm a novice builder, having successfully completed one ACA on my own. And it sounds great. I really enjoyed building it, and I've been reading lots and lots here to learn more about this hobby. It appeals to my inner need to ponder multi-variable problems and tradeoffs. I'm now considering my next project, and here are some of the parameters I have in mind:
1) Monoblock amps; I've always wanted a pair of big monoblocks.
2) Balanced inputs: I want to run the amps near the speakers, potentially with long(ish) runs from the pre. I'd like a "true" balanced design to take advantage of common mode noise reductions. My current pre amp (Schiit Freya) has balanced outputs, 600 ohm output impedence.
3) Boards available from diyaudio.com. I feel like I can build off a schematic but I am a guy with a soldering iron, not a designer and most definitely not an EE. I need to work from an established BOM. I want to use the available PSU and soft start boards from the store.
4) Output in the 50-100W range, I don't want to do cascoding or anything exotic (see #3) but I'd like a little more headroom than the ACA offers. I'd like to build with some degree of conservatism and not push any component too hard.
5) Budget. I'm willing to make the investment in the chassis (either 4U or 5U as needed) and other stuff to make this happen.
Speakers? Well, I'll be getting new ones soon (in the process of moving). I'm interested in going to high-efficiency, either horns (Klipsh/JBL etc) or full range drivers like Zu or similar. I'm also toying with the idea of using an active pro-x-over like an Ashly xr-1001 to run stereo subs (another reason to want balanced connections) down the road. So, I don't need a ton of power, but I feel like I'd like to try something more than a pair of ACAs would offer.
Musical tastes: wide variety but I really enjoy live concert recordings, the Dead, DMB etc, solo piano, blues, solo guitar, also hard bop jazz, some vocals. Very little orchestral.
Knowing all that...what boards should I be looking at? It seems like the BA-3B is an option and I've seen threads on the F5, but making a balanced version of the F5 looks perhaps more complex. What about the Aleph J? Welcome any thoughts or advice from the learned members.
I'm a novice builder, having successfully completed one ACA on my own. And it sounds great. I really enjoyed building it, and I've been reading lots and lots here to learn more about this hobby. It appeals to my inner need to ponder multi-variable problems and tradeoffs. I'm now considering my next project, and here are some of the parameters I have in mind:
1) Monoblock amps; I've always wanted a pair of big monoblocks.
2) Balanced inputs: I want to run the amps near the speakers, potentially with long(ish) runs from the pre. I'd like a "true" balanced design to take advantage of common mode noise reductions. My current pre amp (Schiit Freya) has balanced outputs, 600 ohm output impedence.
3) Boards available from diyaudio.com. I feel like I can build off a schematic but I am a guy with a soldering iron, not a designer and most definitely not an EE. I need to work from an established BOM. I want to use the available PSU and soft start boards from the store.
4) Output in the 50-100W range, I don't want to do cascoding or anything exotic (see #3) but I'd like a little more headroom than the ACA offers. I'd like to build with some degree of conservatism and not push any component too hard.
5) Budget. I'm willing to make the investment in the chassis (either 4U or 5U as needed) and other stuff to make this happen.
Speakers? Well, I'll be getting new ones soon (in the process of moving). I'm interested in going to high-efficiency, either horns (Klipsh/JBL etc) or full range drivers like Zu or similar. I'm also toying with the idea of using an active pro-x-over like an Ashly xr-1001 to run stereo subs (another reason to want balanced connections) down the road. So, I don't need a ton of power, but I feel like I'd like to try something more than a pair of ACAs would offer.
Musical tastes: wide variety but I really enjoy live concert recordings, the Dead, DMB etc, solo piano, blues, solo guitar, also hard bop jazz, some vocals. Very little orchestral.
Knowing all that...what boards should I be looking at? It seems like the BA-3B is an option and I've seen threads on the F5, but making a balanced version of the F5 looks perhaps more complex. What about the Aleph J? Welcome any thoughts or advice from the learned members.