Hello Everyone 
I am in a bit of a jam here. I've presented this problem in this forum before but no one replied so I'm going to try this again because it is important to me that I get advice from experianced people, its the way I learn.
Assume I moderate hands on electronics experiance.
I need to build a amplifier which can take sterio line level signals, amplify them then send them out to 3 speakers (Left, Right, Center/Subwolfer). This is going to be for my bedroom so I need to be able to adjust both Volume & Bass so that I can turn it wayy down at night, so not to disturb anyone above or below my floor. I only need about 60 Watts power. I came to this conclusion because my current pc sound system (Creative Labs Inspire 2.1) is only 60Watts and acceptible. I've before tried visiting many websites which are confusing and have allot of run-around as none of them got down to the nitty-gritty of building a sound system, they were really non-newbie friendly. I'm looking to be pointed directly to a completed project which could meet my needs - if you do not know of any then say so - please do not send me to some website about making speakers or doing tube amplifing.
I am asking for your help so that I can do this, learn from it, and move onto my other planned projects. I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
I am in a bit of a jam here. I've presented this problem in this forum before but no one replied so I'm going to try this again because it is important to me that I get advice from experianced people, its the way I learn.
Assume I moderate hands on electronics experiance.
I need to build a amplifier which can take sterio line level signals, amplify them then send them out to 3 speakers (Left, Right, Center/Subwolfer). This is going to be for my bedroom so I need to be able to adjust both Volume & Bass so that I can turn it wayy down at night, so not to disturb anyone above or below my floor. I only need about 60 Watts power. I came to this conclusion because my current pc sound system (Creative Labs Inspire 2.1) is only 60Watts and acceptible. I've before tried visiting many websites which are confusing and have allot of run-around as none of them got down to the nitty-gritty of building a sound system, they were really non-newbie friendly. I'm looking to be pointed directly to a completed project which could meet my needs - if you do not know of any then say so - please do not send me to some website about making speakers or doing tube amplifing.
I am asking for your help so that I can do this, learn from it, and move onto my other planned projects. I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
IC based is easy and dirt cheap...
Paprika, first, don't let your sound card company fool you with "peak" power: this is basically a twist just to be able to print big numbers on the box. Even if this seems ridiculous, the specs of your system shows 6 watts RMS (this is the actual and the only significant number) per speaker plus 17 watts for the subwoofer...
Now you know that 6 watts per channel can be enough for a bedroom (and even more sometimes). In fact, my main sound system is composed of two 40W amps (1 for each side) and let me say you that in my setup, 40 usable watts par channel can almost blow your ears if you are not cautious.
Second, as Planet10 suggested in another interesting thread, this can be an interesting kit for you to begin in the diy world. Simple, cheap and easy to get honest sound from...
Paprika, first, don't let your sound card company fool you with "peak" power: this is basically a twist just to be able to print big numbers on the box. Even if this seems ridiculous, the specs of your system shows 6 watts RMS (this is the actual and the only significant number) per speaker plus 17 watts for the subwoofer...
Now you know that 6 watts per channel can be enough for a bedroom (and even more sometimes). In fact, my main sound system is composed of two 40W amps (1 for each side) and let me say you that in my setup, 40 usable watts par channel can almost blow your ears if you are not cautious.
Second, as Planet10 suggested in another interesting thread, this can be an interesting kit for you to begin in the diy world. Simple, cheap and easy to get honest sound from...
Power levels
20 watts per channel with an active crossover and a sub ( 30 to 40 watts?) is LOUD. Not to bleed your ears but comfortably loud. You cannot compare this with any sound card !
Like Zappa says 40+40 watts is pretty loud. Between 20 and 40 watts the increase in volume to your ears will be just marginal.
Using it with an active crossover and a separate powered sub makes an enormous difference in the apparent volume ( apart from other benefits) that you can achieve.
Cheers.
20 watts per channel with an active crossover and a sub ( 30 to 40 watts?) is LOUD. Not to bleed your ears but comfortably loud. You cannot compare this with any sound card !
Like Zappa says 40+40 watts is pretty loud. Between 20 and 40 watts the increase in volume to your ears will be just marginal.
Using it with an active crossover and a separate powered sub makes an enormous difference in the apparent volume ( apart from other benefits) that you can achieve.
Cheers.
i agree with what patch said about speakers. loudness is dependant on both the system power and the sensitivity of the speakers. i have a 40watt amp with 92dB speakers, and if the VU meter EVER hits 20-25watts, the neighbour is banging on my door abusing me.
don't believe a word of the stickers on commercial equipment. go into a high-end store and compare what power levels they are touting. i think you will be surprised.
if you have a look on the forum, you will have an endless choice of preamps and amps. but YOU need to know what YOU want before anyone can help.
for something easy, try ESP at www.sound.au.com . i've built some of these and been quite impressed.
good luck.
don't believe a word of the stickers on commercial equipment. go into a high-end store and compare what power levels they are touting. i think you will be surprised.
if you have a look on the forum, you will have an endless choice of preamps and amps. but YOU need to know what YOU want before anyone can help.
for something easy, try ESP at www.sound.au.com . i've built some of these and been quite impressed.
good luck.
Paprika said:
Paprika said:
Paprika said:
You're being a little inconsistent here. What do you mean by a "completed project?" If you want to actually build something, the Zappa link points to a single-channel power amp; if you buy 3 of them, you have your 3 channels. Recommended.
Are you asking for advice as to how to wire the inputs to 3 amps to get left / right / centre? If so, ask. When you say you have moderate electronics experience, most of us would assume that you would already know how to do this.
Are you looking for a commercial product? Maybe you know what you want, but we don't yet.
Paprika said:
Okay, then clarify what you want. His project 73 is EXACTLY what you describe as wanting. He takes a stereo input, and outputs three speaker level signals, two satellites, and a subwoofer. He even describes the speakers for you! The ONLY point it doesn't match is his using 50Watts instead of your wanting 60Watts. (You won't hear the difference) So, where does this project fall short?
Hey, long story short I had given up on this project but now I am interested in it again.
My only problem at this time is that:
There is no project 73 on the page... heh...
What now?
NEVERMIND
I just plugged in the link and found it at:
http://sound.westhost.com/project73.htm
Thanks.
My only problem at this time is that:
There is no project 73 on the page... heh...
What now?
NEVERMIND
I just plugged in the link and found it at:
http://sound.westhost.com/project73.htm
Thanks.
Alright, I got some basic questions for you guys and some regarding the ESP Project 73 which I am currently looking into. I would really appreciate it if you could answer these questions for me or point me to web page that can.
1. What does he mean by "The Low Level Stages"?
2. "Do not operate the supply without a load from a 25-0-25 volt transformer.." - Does this mean do not operate it without the amps on the end or does this requirement go as far as must having the speakers hooked up.
3. " An insulated wire link is needed between the output of the Right channel and the bridging resistor (R17) on the other." - There is no r17 on any of the diagrams... whats he talking about and how exactly should this be hooked up?
5. How exactly am I going to control the volume on this thing? Figure 7 shows a spot for a volume control but he never mentioned it in the text...
6. I don't plan to build my own satellite speakers, these I had planned to buy... See any problem with this plan?
Thats all now, naturally there are allot more things that I don't understand about this project but I'll get around to those later.
Let me know.. Thanks!
1. What does he mean by "The Low Level Stages"?
2. "Do not operate the supply without a load from a 25-0-25 volt transformer.." - Does this mean do not operate it without the amps on the end or does this requirement go as far as must having the speakers hooked up.
3. " An insulated wire link is needed between the output of the Right channel and the bridging resistor (R17) on the other." - There is no r17 on any of the diagrams... whats he talking about and how exactly should this be hooked up?
5. How exactly am I going to control the volume on this thing? Figure 7 shows a spot for a volume control but he never mentioned it in the text...
6. I don't plan to build my own satellite speakers, these I had planned to buy... See any problem with this plan?
Thats all now, naturally there are allot more things that I don't understand about this project but I'll get around to those later.
Let me know.. Thanks!
OK, here I go...
1) The low level stages which he is talking about are the pre-amplification crossovers.
2)Not running the supply without a load means, well not running the supply without a load. Not necessarily the speakers, (but probably not a bad idea either as I know some amps can be damaged when run unloaded).
3)You are NOT looking at the entire schematic here. R17 is on the main amplifier board that you need to assemble as well. You will see it on the kit. All it means is that you need to bridge the outputs with a wire on the board.
4) YOU MISSED 4!!!!!
5) You should be able to control the volume with your PC right?? If not, then I'm sorry I cant answer that one.
6) I don't think that buying your speakers should be a problem either.
Hope this helps
1) The low level stages which he is talking about are the pre-amplification crossovers.
2)Not running the supply without a load means, well not running the supply without a load. Not necessarily the speakers, (but probably not a bad idea either as I know some amps can be damaged when run unloaded).
3)You are NOT looking at the entire schematic here. R17 is on the main amplifier board that you need to assemble as well. You will see it on the kit. All it means is that you need to bridge the outputs with a wire on the board.
4) YOU MISSED 4!!!!!
5) You should be able to control the volume with your PC right?? If not, then I'm sorry I cant answer that one.
6) I don't think that buying your speakers should be a problem either.
Hope this helps
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.