Interested in building an Aleph, tons o' newbie questions

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Ok, I've been bitten by the DIY bug from working on some gainclones that I'm building, and I'm interested in building a Pass amp. I've had my eye on them for years, but it only recently I've started getting up the nerve to try it.

First, just how complicated are these amps to build? From looking at some of the PCBs available, I wouldnt think building it would be as difficult as choosing the best parts to use, lol. (found that out trying to decide on parts for the gainclones.) And which are the best PCB's being used at this point?

Second, what are the average wattages of the different models?Since I live in an apartment, and since will be using a pair of DIY 2-way speakers I'm building, the Mini-A has caught my eye, but I'd like more that 20 watts or so, due to the "average" efficiency of them.

Thirdly, and I know this is a debatable question, what kind of costs am I looking at here? I know it won't be cheap, but can I realisticaly build one for $500 or less? I dont have alot of money due to a divorce and following bankrupcy, and DIY is just the outlet I need to get over all the depression I've been dealing with.

I've searched and read alot on here, but these questions are hard to find answers to. I have Idle hands, and boredom is driving me insane. I need to build. LOL
Thanks for everyone's advice,
Jonathan
 
Thanks for the link. I've looked over it many times. I was more curious about what I could do to get more or less power out of a particular model.
I have no previous electronics experience until the GC's. But The only way I learn is by hands on. I can read a book and look at schematics all day long, but until I start working on something, it's all greek to me.:dead:
 
you could probably do Aleph 3 monoblocks for around $500.

you don't have to buy exotic parts for an aleph to sound great.

like said above, your transformers and heat sinks will be the
bulk of your cost.

check out PCB Design for excellent Aleph PCBs.

or etching your own boards is possible, i've seen artwork on the
Forum, just would have to look a bit (Grey posted an Aleph thread with art work.)

Every time you step up a model number with the Aleph's things
get a little more expensive. If you live in an Apartment , an
Aleph 3 will be plenty of power in my opinion.

good luck, and go for it!

m.
 
I used them and they not only look good, but actually are good!
If you can get used heatsinks and new (surplus) powersupply you might actually get a stereo Aleph voor $500,- I have build an Aleph 5 monoblocks for that price each with only surplus elco's for the powersupply.

Jan
 
There's not that much difference between the Mini-A and the smaller Aleph/Volksamp models. I just did it as a lark. I'm flattered that it has a small following. One of the main benefits is that you don't have to worry about matching the output devices. (You still need to match the inputs.) If you go for one of the "official" Alephs, you'll need to buy more output devices than you need and match them. Some will end up in the junkbox awaiting another project...perhaps a Mini-A later on.
That said, the 30W Aleph would be a good choice. There's no such thing as too much power; that's why they invented volume knobs. It's just a question of transformers and heatsinks, hence money. And, to a lesser extent, MOSFETs.
The thread Moe referred to is called something like The Aleph 2 As A Project. Yes, there's artwork in there. (A quick nod to Geoff Moss for helping me translate it into a format that would post here.) A front end board made with that art will work for any of the Aleph models with minimal to no modifications. The output boards can be cut down or expanded to use for different numbers of output devices.

Grey
 
oops I forgot the pic
 

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Turret terminals came from Ace electronics in Houston. They have a website ace4parts.com or something like that. The amp is an over biases Aleph 2 with 8 fets per rail. The cheapy EI trannies hum badly, so I've orderd some toroids from Avel Lindberg. I plan to do a pi filter that simulates les than .3v ripple. Thats a true feat with 5 amps of bias. My camera doesn't work so well after the last fishing trip, but here's a close up.
 

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It's 14" deep, 11" tall with 2" fins. times 2 per channel. After 4 hours of music with 5A bias +- 50V temp was 160 deg F at base of the fins. After the case is all finished, there will be a fan on the back pulling fresh air in and exausting through the row of holes drilled between the fets to keep the innards cool and help move air over the sinks.
When I last listened, they were setting on the floor and you could feel the heat when you walked by. Also after listening for 4 hours the room they are in was noticably warmer than the other rooms in the house.
 
Here's pic of temp probe packed in tissue. The psu is a mess, but I had to hear them, so I assed it together for a test run. They sound amazing. I heard details and black background that I had never heard before. I thought it was partly due to shear euphoria to having them working.
The next day I rolled my eyesores (as my wife put it) back into my office an hooked up my old Kenwood. I haven't wanted to listen to the stereo lately because it sounds like sh!t after hearing the Alephs. I'm now waiting on new toroids to redo the psu and finish the rest of the chassis.
 

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Back to Jonathan's topic. Heat sinks, power transformers and caps are 80% of the cost. The driver boards are almost interchangable with only a few component value changes for different rail voltages.
I started researching this project to save some money, but I've spent 5 times what I thought I would, but got 20 times more amp than I ever thought I would want.
The key with class A is finding a way to get rid of all of the heat. You need lots of surface area and enough metal to carry the heat from the fets to all of that surface.
 
Plus the 50 unaccounted for trips that one makes to Home Depot
for what-nots (screws, electrical stuff, taps, wire, etc...)!

so, allow for some overage, or do like me... take about 8 months
to finish the project, spread the cost out over time! I'm sure there
is some accounting term for that, but i failed Accounting 1! (The
girls in the school of Fine Art were more interesting anyway)
building an Aleph should be a labor of love anyway - who cares
how much you spend... as long as there is some beautiful music
being had at the end! :nod:
 
i agree with that 100%!!!!!

there are millions of things you end up needing. its nice though, after a few projects, you tend to have more laying around.

im at the point right now where i have a few different types of screws. my advice is when you are first starting out, instead of getting 10 or so of the screw you need just for the project, break down and get a box of every screw you need. you wil have leftovers, and unless its an exotic one, you will probably need it down the road (especially if you DONT get a box, you will need it MORE).

moe29 said:
Plus the 50 unaccounted for trips that one makes to Home Depot
for what-nots (screws, electrical stuff, taps, wire, etc...)!
 
I'll second that comment. Find a really good harware store that has things like allen cap screws and only buy by the box. you'll save a ton of money over time and you'll have matching screws throughout. Also stay away from house brand and cheap taps and drill bits. They'll break at the worst time and make your project a huge source of frustration.
 
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