*** The DIY Audio Thread ***

Dr.EM said:
I recognise those parts (used to work in that shop ;) ). They solder ok?

Start a 3 way triamplified system and build the amps, crossover and speakers yourself; there's a good chance you'll never finish :p!
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Soldering was very straight forward. Only tricky bit was stripping the outside insulation and then the isolated signal core.

I am thinking of going for another gainclone. Probably Brian GT's LM3886 or Peter Daniel's LM3875. Almost certain I will go for a dual mono configuration. Not decided on whether to do mono blocks or go for a fully intergrated approach.

As for speakers I don't have the space or tools to make enclosures in my current flat. Would like to have a go at some point though.
 
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I wanted too - didnt have the cash though, and just as i was almost ready to choose a gainclone kit, the economy collapsed and all the american kits doubled in price! Right now im looking at building a y1 DAC and the bantam DAC for comparison/experience. I figure i'll get more use out of them for the time being, but hopefully will give the gainclone/amp10 a go at some stage.
 
MikeHunt79 said:
Did someone in this thread build a Gainclone and a 41Hz.com amp 10?

I was wondering how they compare as I may be building another amp soon with any luck. :)
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These are nice amps:

http://www.lf-pro.net/mbittner/Sym5_Webpage/symasym5_3.html

though not as straight forward to build. I built 4 of them (2 stereo units) and all worked with no hitch though. I got a man on the bay to make the PCBs (from the files on the site) then sourced the parts from Rapid, Farnell and the bay. There are other versions too, search DIY audio for Symasym, theres the AAK model for instance (higher output).



Ever looked at Rod Elliots site too? He sells PCBs for his amps at reasonable prices:

http://sound.westhost.com/projects-1.htm

I built the P101 as my bass amp in the 3 way (though actually a subwoofer system will eventually be added). I will soon be upping the power of it with a new transformer and possibly extra output devices (not essential) so it matches the output capability of the other drivers.

Just a few more options though the 41hz stuff looks great :)
 
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I've just stumbled across something called the 'Bantam DAC'. It seems to be similar to the Alien DAC, except cut down a bit (USB power only) and as a result has a much smaller PCB. So much smaller in fact, that, as illustrated by this picture I stumbled across, it can be constructed as an in-line add on to an amplifier.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works/3072717546/

I have a Temple Audio Bantam XC (T Class Speaker amp & A Class headphone amp in one), and an Alien DAC that I built, in one of the smallish Hammond cases. What would be *brilliant* would be if I could buy/build a Bantam DAC like the one in the flickr link (let's just say I really like deskspace, and don't like cables).

This is a very long shot, but does anybody know if and where the Bantam DAC can be purchased as kit, or even better, preassembled (don't really have the time, equipment, or space here)? I realise this I would be paying quite a bit for labour costs, but am happy to.
 
I know this goes against the whole spirit of DIY, but I'd really like to be able to order a kit containing the board and all the parts I need that I can order as a single item (preferably with the actual DAC IC presoldered as is available with the Alien DAC). Lower chance of me making a mistake somewhere, and it would save me time.
 
Mr Brightside - i have got all the bits in my basket at mouser for the bantam - i plan on buying the parts soon and getting the boards from the guy who makes them. They can be found here:

http://beezar.com/oscommerce2/catalog/index.php?cPath=21

And the official page is here:

http://www.diyforums.org/BantamDAC/BantamDACoverview.php

Im not aware of somewhere that sells the chip and board pre-soldered like the alien, and I have no idea how much it will cost to get the boards from america, but the parts total comes to just over £18 at Mouser. Factor in postage + the board i reckon it should be about £30 in all. I'll let you know how it goes (hopefully get round to ordering the its this week). If your interested, i could order a couple of the boards and we could split the postage cost?
 
dont its against the diy spirit. i got started when someone sold cmoy parts on diff forum as they didnt get round to making it. that was the first thing i built and and then lost.
 
I dont think there was ever a group buy, and there isnt anywhere that offers a kit.

buy the boards, then get the parts from farnell?

or just get another alien.
 
ChrissyT88 said:
Im not aware of somewhere that sells the chip and board pre-soldered like the alien, and I have no idea how much it will cost to get the boards from america, but the parts total comes to just over £18 at Mouser. Factor in postage + the board i reckon it should be about £30 in all. I'll let you know how it goes (hopefully get round to ordering the its this week). If your interested, i could order a couple of the boards and we could split the postage cost?
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Would you be willing to order two of everything (parts and board) and split the cost on that? Or if you're not willing to do that, give me a list of the part numbers so I can order them myself (save me choosing from the options in the BOM)? :D

Thanks
 
Well, the boards are $2 each, so the only real costs are in the postage. I have not made an account with beezar yet, and it doesnt state what international postage costs would be, but it does say they use USPS. Going by the USPS web page (and a very liberal guess at the weight of the package), postage should be $12 or so (hopefully less!).

EDIT: Mr Brightside - not sure yet. Lets see how far this goes. The BOM is actually available in spreadsheet format anyway from their page with part no.s from Mouser and Digikey, but if some sort of group buy does come out of this, it may be worth splitting the postage on parts as well. I would be more than happy to give you the part numbers/email you the BOM if you would rather get it ordered quickly.

I'm also thinking of buying the y1 DAC board from AMB - not sure if anyone is interested in this as well?

EDIT 2: Sent off an email to the guy who runs beezar asking for some shipping quotes for a small number of boards with and without cases. I'll let you know if he replies.
 
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Dr.EM said:
These are nice amps:

http://www.lf-pro.net/mbittner/Sym5_Webpage/symasym5_3.html

though not as straight forward to build. I built 4 of them (2 stereo units) and all worked with no hitch though. I got a man on the bay to make the PCBs (from the files on the site) then sourced the parts from Rapid, Farnell and the bay. There are other versions too, search DIY audio for Symasym, theres the AAK model for instance (higher output).


Ever looked at Rod Elliots site too? He sells PCBs for his amps at reasonable prices:

http://sound.westhost.com/projects-1.htm

I built the P101 as my bass amp in the 3 way (though actually a subwoofer system will eventually be added). I will soon be upping the power of it with a new transformer and possibly extra output devices (not essential) so it matches the output capability of the other drivers.

Just a few more options though the 41hz stuff looks great :)
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I forgot about that ESP site, I've just spent the past few hours reading random articles. :D It's a great site but I spend far too much time on their! :o

Cheers for showing me some additional options tho, now I have even more to choose from! ;) I'm kind of leaning towards class-D tho as I've got a minimal heatsink and limited space for this amp...
 
I contacted TomB last night about the shipping costs for a small group buy. If, for example, we were to order 5 boards, 5 cases and 5 of the USB cables included on the site, the total cost would be $57.50, with postage ranging from $17-$37 depending on the speed. Without the cases and cables the cost shpuld be much less obviously, but this is sort of a 'worst case' scenario. If anyone is interested in setting up a group buy, let me know and maybe we could sort something out?
 
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by the way, thereis a group buy on some very ncie shunt regs (adj voltage) on diyforums.

I am ordering a fair few, they will be very handy for preamps and dacs.
 
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