Steve Eddy said:
Smartass.
You gonna do the whole thing in a single chassis or keep the power supplies separate?
se
the 2 channels, the toroid and the 2 diode bridges in the same case
dimentions are 43*28*7cm
I'd liked a flatter case (flat case look sweet IMO) but the toroid is huge (so huge for a 225VA!)
Yesterday I tried to connect the - output terminals of my clone to eachother. Sounds better ! My left channel is more stable now I guess. Does anyone have an idea why it works ?
(the earth of my left channel is connected to the case by a parellel cap and resistor, the earths of the channels were not connected before, only by the source).
Is maybe the distance of connection of the channels too large? In both cases I do not have hum.
Fedde
(the earth of my left channel is connected to the case by a parellel cap and resistor, the earths of the channels were not connected before, only by the source).
Is maybe the distance of connection of the channels too large? In both cases I do not have hum.
Fedde
protos said:
Well, I had 1 ohm Apogee Scintillas before the Hales and they demanded big power amps. Actually people from Mark Levinson is said to have designed the Vincent amp. I don't like big amps per se, I just want that kind of see through the music into the structure sound that Peter Daniels GC gives.
I'm happy that you like the amp. This unit will still improve since it's not broken in yet. BTW, this was my second pre-production GC amp and Thomas was actually my first customer. He showed a lot of faith in me, coming up with his request.
So I guess, people at Sakura Systems Gallery were not lying: http://www.sakurasystems.com/show/chrissystem.html
So I guess, people at Sakura Systems Gallery were not lying: http://www.sakurasystems.com/show/chrissystem.html
BTW
I read a lot of things that influence the sound of GC - diodes, mica, caps, etc.
What stuck me most was the differences I heard when changing the length and the type of the PSU-to-amp cable. I tried CAT5 4x4 - strands per mono-block (2-grounds, + & -). The result was a sound with good speed and control, very detailed, but very cold and with the wrong balance. After that I tried IXOS 6003 speaker cable. Very different sound - warm, maybe TOO WARM.
Anyway, I find the choice of a PSU-to-amp cable to be much more important than the speaker cable. I tried CAT5 there. It works relatively good, even with a couple of 24 AGW strands as a speaker cable, but it doesn’t in the PSU (at least in my system with ODIN SEAS Excel line speakers).
If you don’t believe me – try it for your-selves. Any others experience is welcome.
Regards
I read a lot of things that influence the sound of GC - diodes, mica, caps, etc.
What stuck me most was the differences I heard when changing the length and the type of the PSU-to-amp cable. I tried CAT5 4x4 - strands per mono-block (2-grounds, + & -). The result was a sound with good speed and control, very detailed, but very cold and with the wrong balance. After that I tried IXOS 6003 speaker cable. Very different sound - warm, maybe TOO WARM.
Anyway, I find the choice of a PSU-to-amp cable to be much more important than the speaker cable. I tried CAT5 there. It works relatively good, even with a couple of 24 AGW strands as a speaker cable, but it doesn’t in the PSU (at least in my system with ODIN SEAS Excel line speakers).
If you don’t believe me – try it for your-selves. Any others experience is welcome.
Regards
I can agree with the PS cable observations. It chnges the tonal balance of the amp more than diodes. When I'm using Riken resistor if feedback loop, I go with a Kimber 4TC, since it has conveniently 8 wires. Recently I tried Vishay S102 in the feedback and those resistores are more laid back comparing to Rikens. To achieve similar tonality of the amp, I had to go with silver plated, stranded copper wire.
Inside my amp, there are 3 pcs. of 2" length wires going from the sockets to common ground point at the speaker terminal. Even those wires make a difference. I tried solid core silver and the sound was too polite without the edge and I had to go back to copper wire which sounds better here.
Even the insulation pad under the chip makes difference, and quite by accident I started with aluminum oxide one and later tried kapton (since aluminum oxide pad is slightly smaller than the chip area) yet AO pad sounded better, more live and airy without flatening the midrange, since it provided apparently less damping to the chip. Amazing, isn't it?
I'm not questioning why all those differences, but against some other doubting opinions I rather try to incorporate them to best effect. Isn't it what's most important in the end?
Inside my amp, there are 3 pcs. of 2" length wires going from the sockets to common ground point at the speaker terminal. Even those wires make a difference. I tried solid core silver and the sound was too polite without the edge and I had to go back to copper wire which sounds better here.
Even the insulation pad under the chip makes difference, and quite by accident I started with aluminum oxide one and later tried kapton (since aluminum oxide pad is slightly smaller than the chip area) yet AO pad sounded better, more live and airy without flatening the midrange, since it provided apparently less damping to the chip. Amazing, isn't it?
I'm not questioning why all those differences, but against some other doubting opinions I rather try to incorporate them to best effect. Isn't it what's most important in the end?
These amps should be tuned-up like violins to sound best. I've made several DIY amps before the GC, but I've never seen so parts dependent thing like it so far.
Because of the cable dependence of the circuit I'm not sure it won't perform better when the PSU and the amp are put together in one box. At least one cannot go wrong with the cable choice when makes an all-in-one amp.
PS - BTW my PSU cable is 40 cm. long. Length is crucial. The shorter the better.
Because of the cable dependence of the circuit I'm not sure it won't perform better when the PSU and the amp are put together in one box. At least one cannot go wrong with the cable choice when makes an all-in-one amp.
PS - BTW my PSU cable is 40 cm. long. Length is crucial. The shorter the better.
I wonder if anyone has tried a GC with for ex. 2x2 50Ah car batteries?
Mounting the chip as good as on top of the connections of the ackumulators and using 2 ackumulators for each channel giving +/- 12V pure mono amps.
I tried a LM3886 with toroid, schottkys and caps and it was really good but lacking some qualitys.
Thinking of trying 3875/1875 in paralelled bridged operation for high power handling and higher output using only 2 batteries/channel (+/- 12V).
/Peter
Mounting the chip as good as on top of the connections of the ackumulators and using 2 ackumulators for each channel giving +/- 12V pure mono amps.
I tried a LM3886 with toroid, schottkys and caps and it was really good but lacking some qualitys.
Thinking of trying 3875/1875 in paralelled bridged operation for high power handling and higher output using only 2 batteries/channel (+/- 12V).
/Peter
Capacitors
Well I have been researching different types of capacitors to use in the gainclone and I do like blackgates. But my question is what is the difference if any of non-polarized vs. polarized in the gainclone. I notice that nichcon has both in the 1000uf/50V. Anyone experiement with this aspect of the caps?
Guiness
Well I have been researching different types of capacitors to use in the gainclone and I do like blackgates. But my question is what is the difference if any of non-polarized vs. polarized in the gainclone. I notice that nichcon has both in the 1000uf/50V. Anyone experiement with this aspect of the caps?
Guiness
In a review of capacitors in the Electronics World magazine, Cyril Bateman found that for some values, two non-polarised capacitors used in series measured less distortion than a Black Gate!
Of course measurements are one thing and subjective sound quality is another but given the comparative prices, it must be worth some experimentation.
I have ordered some 10 microfarad non-polarised caps to try on the input of my Gainclones (just one option). IF I find that they equal a Black Gate in that position, it will be a saving of over 3UKP!
And experimenting is what DIY hi-fi is (or should be) all about!
Well I tried battery power today with two 12v .I had no volume problems with this set up.I noticed better soundstaging , more "air", and very natural sounding upper registers.Sound was a little bit more laid back and further back in soundstage but with excellent definition and no problems in the bass.AC sounds louder and more up front and dynamic but with less layering and separation. Could be the dynamic difference is also due in part to the 12v bat. vs 24v AC PS. Also the AC PS is dual mono.
I certainly think it is worth investigating because I really liked the natural unstressed quality I observed. Perhaps upping the battery voltage and going dual mono will also help.Then of course one might have to change caps to smaller ones.
Ooof ! I hate you guys for putting these ideas into my head.Probably will need quite a few weeks of experimentation.
When will I find time to listen to music? Sometimes I find I am doing more listening trials than just enjoying the music.Anyone
thinking the same?
I certainly think it is worth investigating because I really liked the natural unstressed quality I observed. Perhaps upping the battery voltage and going dual mono will also help.Then of course one might have to change caps to smaller ones.
Ooof ! I hate you guys for putting these ideas into my head.Probably will need quite a few weeks of experimentation.
When will I find time to listen to music? Sometimes I find I am doing more listening trials than just enjoying the music.Anyone
thinking the same?
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.