Recently I was asked "What's a good starting point for someone who thinks they might be interested in building their own hifi gear?"
Seemed like a no-brainer--start with a kit. There are tons of them out there, right? However, when I started to look closely all I found were kits for the electronics i.e. the circuit boards and components.
The only complete soup-to-nuts kits were mainly tube amps. I found a few solid state kits, but all were pretty pricey and complicated--for a complete beginner who's never done this before. On the other end I found a few simple headphone amp kits; affordable, but of limited use i.e. you're not going to set that up in the living room or rec room.
I remember, as a kid, building a Heathkit. You started putting it together and by the end you had a piece of gear that actually made sound!
So, I thought I'll just put something like that together for my friend. Before I do though, does anybody know of such a thing? 100% complete kit, simple instructions, minimal DIY skills prerequisite, around $250 USD.
Ken
Seemed like a no-brainer--start with a kit. There are tons of them out there, right? However, when I started to look closely all I found were kits for the electronics i.e. the circuit boards and components.
The only complete soup-to-nuts kits were mainly tube amps. I found a few solid state kits, but all were pretty pricey and complicated--for a complete beginner who's never done this before. On the other end I found a few simple headphone amp kits; affordable, but of limited use i.e. you're not going to set that up in the living room or rec room.
I remember, as a kid, building a Heathkit. You started putting it together and by the end you had a piece of gear that actually made sound!
So, I thought I'll just put something like that together for my friend. Before I do though, does anybody know of such a thing? 100% complete kit, simple instructions, minimal DIY skills prerequisite, around $250 USD.
Ken
i do not recall anything like that, but it is not hard to assemble one.
the tipical tda 1557q -ish chips are priced for poket money and require close to no knowledge.
the basic stuff has like a half handfull of components and has acceptible quality vs many factory stuff.
or lm1875 naturaly is a nother chip to figure with.
Danielwritesback made extremely detailed and high quality posts about point to point constructing a variety of chipamps, prehaps consider taking a look at them.
for 250 usd i do not see impossible to assemble a kit containing all the parts to construct:
1 pair of 2 way fullrange speakers with a stereo amplifier.
including the powersupply and tranformer, and all the components and drivers.
the tipical tda 1557q -ish chips are priced for poket money and require close to no knowledge.
the basic stuff has like a half handfull of components and has acceptible quality vs many factory stuff.
or lm1875 naturaly is a nother chip to figure with.
Danielwritesback made extremely detailed and high quality posts about point to point constructing a variety of chipamps, prehaps consider taking a look at them.
for 250 usd i do not see impossible to assemble a kit containing all the parts to construct:
1 pair of 2 way fullrange speakers with a stereo amplifier.
including the powersupply and tranformer, and all the components and drivers.
since you posted here (Chip amps) I think you can build an LM3875/LM3886 chip amp. you can check with Peter Daniels, Chipamps.com or try ebay. if you can savage some parts from old amps like: chassis, power supply, connectors etc...you can spend less than $100.
The most expensive part will be the Transformer and chassis, so if you can get these two items at least you can save some money.
The most expensive part will be the Transformer and chassis, so if you can get these two items at least you can save some money.
Thanks guys. I know you mean well, but I'm asking a different question. Is there a single source for a soup-to-nuts kit? I can certainly follow any of these instructions (and have), but for someone like my friend, anything falling short of Heathkit completeness is a non-starter. After that first kit, he will probably get the "bug" and come to diyaudio, but if I pointed him to these pages now it wouldn't go anywhere.
I just want to get people into this hobby I love so much. Would lowering the bar be sacrilege;^) Basically, I'm going to put the box of stuff and some instructions together. I know how to do it, that's not the advice I'm after. I want to make sure I am not reinventing the wheel by doing this myself when it can be bought off-the-shelf.
I assumed chip-amp was the way to go for it's simplicity and guarantee of success. Maybe that's unwarranted. Maybe the amp-camp kit is the way to go. Opinions?
Ken
I just want to get people into this hobby I love so much. Would lowering the bar be sacrilege;^) Basically, I'm going to put the box of stuff and some instructions together. I know how to do it, that's not the advice I'm after. I want to make sure I am not reinventing the wheel by doing this myself when it can be bought off-the-shelf.
I assumed chip-amp was the way to go for it's simplicity and guarantee of success. Maybe that's unwarranted. Maybe the amp-camp kit is the way to go. Opinions?
Ken
Akitika GT-101 Audio Power Amplifier Kit
This showed up as an add on this page. It looks like what you are looking for.
This showed up as an add on this page. It looks like what you are looking for.
I second CC570's nomination (of course I would...it's my product )
Seriously though, it includes everything but the solder. A number of very inexperienced folks have successfully built the kit. I was pleasantly surprised how well that turned out.
A few tools help...a good soldering iron, a DMM is nice to confirm the resistor color codes...this link has some construction advice:
Contstruction Hints
Thanks...
Akitika GT-101 Audio Power Amplifier Kit
)Seriously though, it includes everything but the solder. A number of very inexperienced folks have successfully built the kit. I was pleasantly surprised how well that turned out.
A few tools help...a good soldering iron, a DMM is nice to confirm the resistor color codes...this link has some construction advice:
Contstruction Hints
Thanks...
Akitika GT-101 Audio Power Amplifier Kit
I remember, as a kid, building a Heathkit. You started putting it together and by the end you had a piece of gear that actually made sound!
So, I thought I'll just put something like that together for my friend. Before I do though, does anybody know of such a thing? 100% complete kit, simple instructions, minimal DIY skills prerequisite, around $250 USD.
Ken
and then..
Thanks guys. I know you mean well, but I'm asking a different question. Is there a single source for a soup-to-nuts kit?
----------------------------
this is.. frustrating at least so to say.
a chip amp kit can be good, or not be.
obtaining a chip and the other parts to build the typical application circuit with point ot point construction, has both advantage and disadvantage.
Your choice, but originlay You wanted to put something together for Your friend that is complete.
so, grab the chip of Your choice, the required external passive components from the datasheet, a suitable traffo and rectifier + caps, and simply give it to Your friend with a nice build tutorial.
But, how "complete" it must be? an amplifier can be complete without a powersupply, option to controll volume, lacking even a power switch.
Or, by complete , it can have all that, a chassy, some sorthof pre-amp with tone controlls and multiple selectable inputs, VU meter, remote controll etc...etc...
I think You should clarify what functionality You want "out of the box" and then , even then just maybe You can find help.
Hard to answer a question that is not made clear.
Make a list of feautres You would like, along with specifications You may wish to get close to, as that would be answerable properly.
Like..Do You want this kit to have a PCB at all? What power ratings where You thinking of to have, how many channels? Mono,stereo,quadro ?
Battery of mains for powering it? Volume, balance, EQ ? or none of those?
Be specific.
So, I thought I'll just put something like that together for my friend. Before I do though, does anybody know of such a thing? 100% complete kit, simple instructions, minimal DIY skills prerequisite, around $250 USD.
Ken
and then..
Thanks guys. I know you mean well, but I'm asking a different question. Is there a single source for a soup-to-nuts kit?
----------------------------
this is.. frustrating at least so to say.
a chip amp kit can be good, or not be.
obtaining a chip and the other parts to build the typical application circuit with point ot point construction, has both advantage and disadvantage.
Your choice, but originlay You wanted to put something together for Your friend that is complete.
so, grab the chip of Your choice, the required external passive components from the datasheet, a suitable traffo and rectifier + caps, and simply give it to Your friend with a nice build tutorial.
But, how "complete" it must be? an amplifier can be complete without a powersupply, option to controll volume, lacking even a power switch.
Or, by complete , it can have all that, a chassy, some sorthof pre-amp with tone controlls and multiple selectable inputs, VU meter, remote controll etc...etc...
I think You should clarify what functionality You want "out of the box" and then , even then just maybe You can find help.
Hard to answer a question that is not made clear.
Make a list of feautres You would like, along with specifications You may wish to get close to, as that would be answerable properly.
Like..Do You want this kit to have a PCB at all? What power ratings where You thinking of to have, how many channels? Mono,stereo,quadro ?
Battery of mains for powering it? Volume, balance, EQ ? or none of those?
Be specific.
cc570, good catch! I get ads for fancy pens (does that say something about me?)
djoffe, Akitika is pretty much exactly what I had in mind. You even mention "Heathkit" on your web page! You remember, too?
One thing... 44 page manual. I'm sure I could handhold someone through it, but the people I am thinking of are not local. Several other friends have now expressed interest as well. I can't spend all my evenings building other people's amps. It's possible I am asking too much, but I'm going to keep trying myself to come up with something even simpler.
Arty, I didn't mean to frustrate you. You are asking questions that I have not thought about yet. I have gotten the information I was looking for from others here. So, don't worry about it for now. As I think more about the "kit", if I need to, I will ask more specific questions in future posts.
Thanks 1e6 everyone. I'm looking forward to this little project, now.
Ken
djoffe, Akitika is pretty much exactly what I had in mind. You even mention "Heathkit" on your web page! You remember, too?
One thing... 44 page manual. I'm sure I could handhold someone through it, but the people I am thinking of are not local. Several other friends have now expressed interest as well. I can't spend all my evenings building other people's amps. It's possible I am asking too much, but I'm going to keep trying myself to come up with something even simpler.
Arty, I didn't mean to frustrate you. You are asking questions that I have not thought about yet. I have gotten the information I was looking for from others here. So, don't worry about it for now. As I think more about the "kit", if I need to, I will ask more specific questions in future posts.
Thanks 1e6 everyone. I'm looking forward to this little project, now.
Ken
Ken...
The beauty of the 44 page manual, is like in the old Heathkits, everything you need to do is detailed step by step. Best of luck in your project, whatever you decide to do.
all the best...
Dan
Hi.
I am a newbie looking at what kit to try first so thanks! Would any of you be so kind to answer this question for me?
When building an amp, it's nominal impedance (4,6, or 8 ohm) is set right? So the honeybadger is for 8 ohm speakers, ideally, right? Are you able to build an amp where you can choose to send 4, 6, or 8 to your speakers?
When a amp says it is x watts at 8 ohms, and x watts at 4 ohms does the amp automatically adjust to what impedance the speaker is???
I am a newbie looking at what kit to try first so thanks! Would any of you be so kind to answer this question for me?
When building an amp, it's nominal impedance (4,6, or 8 ohm) is set right? So the honeybadger is for 8 ohm speakers, ideally, right? Are you able to build an amp where you can choose to send 4, 6, or 8 to your speakers?
When a amp says it is x watts at 8 ohms, and x watts at 4 ohms does the amp automatically adjust to what impedance the speaker is???
Sounds like an excellent very small business opportunity on the weekend. I'd buy one if reasonably priced just to see what this neighborhood of diy audio is all about.
That is VERY impressive. I can't believe it includes a custom chassis, that must eat up a chunk of the price. I'll add it to my list of projects, it could easily replace my b&k st202
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