RancidM

Like the boss said the enjoyment is from building the stuffs. I have a draw full of programmers and other tat that i have built for what ever reason. Still fancy building one of the Mini M3's...

Hi peeps. I built a little Cmoy2 last year and at the time i asked for a good 2nd project. the M3 was suggested. i have been looking at the AMB website for printer CB's but finding it a little difficult. are there any webbys that give a detailed parts list and instruations ? or maybe there is another amp worth looking in to, i do like the look of the M3's bass boost mind you. Chers for any info...

whats the deal with the braiding of the audio cables ? is this something that should be done as often as possible #?

nice.... always satisfying to compleate a project...

yep.... there are some pictures on the forums were people havnt bothered with a PCB at all and its all P2P... looks totaly confusing to me but technical theres no differancen i suppose. the PCB just makes it look neat.

try to stay away from insulting tape.... its well insulting.. get some of this instead.. http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Module...shrink&doy=13m9

this page has a little info http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial...aks.html#dcjack i think i recall seeing a simular page talking about uisng the mains power to charge a rechargeable battery, but i might have been day dreaming.

what i did was solder all the components outside of the case and tested that all worked first. and then mounted it all in the case whilst still all connected. id imagine it will be harder to "get at" the components when there in the case allready. also if your going for looks then you dont want to be fiddling around with the case when soldering everything, only working with the case at the very end to minimise scuffs/scratches etc.

my set up ? Erm i really dont have a set up as such. i use a pair of Sein HD500's and listen to music off my PC (normaly the bbc radio player to be honest) i mostly listen to reggae and some rock (decent rock non of this youff stuffs) however one issue i have is that i suffer from low frequency deafness, this can lead to a lack of clarity (for me) among mens (or ladys with beards) voices and bass. this is why i always feel the sound from a standard soundcard is somewhat lacking. had a quick look at the M3...nice looking unit but no valves... i might be totaly barking up the wrong tree but are vavles not that way to go or are the nonvavle set ups just as good ? i very very much like the idea of the seperate bass control on the M3 as this would allow me to ramp up the bass when listening to music, but turn it down when playing games and using voice coms (which dosnt like the bass) 2 project for the price of one.... it appeals... but what does a DAC do ? i think it stands for digital audio converter ?

Hi peeps.. so i finished my Cmoy2 the other day and to be frank i want to start another project.... what im thinking of is a nice unit that will sit on my desk (so no need for portable or small). i dont have any issues with the hot stick at all, i do however have a very limited (non exsistant) understanding of design or the like. its my birthday soon so i can easily twist the wife for a decent budget to spend... so with a budget of around £150-£200 ($300-$400 USD)... im looking for the best headphone amp i can possible make. i will need a proven design which requires the minimum of customisation by the builder. i will also need clear instructions and very precises parts list. does anyone have any recomendations ? are there any new design's in the pipeline that will be ready for PCB soon ? are there any planned group buys happening soon for any of the high end amps ? cheers.... Ranny.

Is a damm sexy looking bit of kit for sure.

good to hear youve got it sorted.

Strum matey theres still time for me to get this in the post befor the end of work today. there is a Maplins just 10 mins walk away from where i work. let me know what you need and i will get it sorted. if we are swift enuf you may well have the Led and resistor for tommorow...

i dont think the LED or RLED even have to be fitted for the amp to work. i ahve a spare blue LED and resistors if maplins are being an arse.

used box standard OPA2134PA's

taken my time over the last couple of nights and today i finished my Cmoy2... just a shame the wife dosnt share my excitement and a few of my mates think ive gone mad.. but im happy as and there all sad people who dont know the fun to be had. here is the PCB... here she is in the case... and with the lid on.. i stuck to the original plan except im using a 12Vdc PSU instead of a 9V battery. im using a SB Audigy 2 NX and a pair of Sein HD500's. as i mostly listen to Rock/Reggae/Dub i have to say the bass sounds very nice indeed..a massive improvement over the sound card alone. i know the enclosure is a bit minging, but as a first project i wanted an enclosure that would be very easy to drill and had plenty of room to play with... my only concern now is what project to do next ?

well that must make me the smartest of all men....

i did read on another forums that some chap used a mints tin and what he did was give the inside of the tin a liberal coating of nail varnish to stop the pcb making contact with the metal directly. sound like the sort of dodgey unprofessional approach i would take...!!!! so its most probably ill advised at best.

80p resistor.... thats not cheap is it... nice looking mind you.

Hi Blake... i must point out that im as much a newbie to this as you are... dont take my word as if it is gospel. im only relaying information ive got from other peoples.. and sort of relying upon common sence.. as the Cmoy2 was originaly ment to run off a 9v Battery i cannot see it requiring too much current at all. im pretty sure a 1000Ma will be more than enough to run the amp.. (maybe Jason or Heady will confirm) there is one issue concerning the AC adapter mind you, the link you gave dosnt say if the ac adapter is regulated or not. as i understand it a regulated AC adapter will give a cleaner supply than unregulated. i also understand that audio circuits are suspectable to unregulated supply. it may well be that this just isnt an issue.. if it is then regulated ac adapters are cheap enough. my build is going to be using a 12Vdc 500MA unregulated PSU as thats what i happen to have spare. if i find it introduces "noise" into the amp then i will swap it out. make a not that Jason in his post takes about a dual +12v -12v supply with a 0v ground. this is a different kettle of fish and best left alone for the moment. im just waiting for a new PCB and i will be posting a very simple guild on how to build the cmoy2 for the very novice. like youself im not too shabby with a hot stick but a circuit diagram and im lost. i did however learn the forumular for working out resistors for leds so maybe theres hope for us yet.

in another post it was advised to use a 12V dc regulated PSU. sort of cheap ones you can get from most places. the only other consideration would be when calculating the resistor for the LED to take into account the extra 3v over a battery.

Jason mate... would you have an issue if started a new thread follwing my building of the Cmoy2 ? think of it as the most basic instructions for the very very amature electronics chap. (ie me)

Cheers again Heady. i will keep it all simple and just use a 12Vdc power supply and mount a dc socket on the box. maybe when all the parts come i will take some pictures..

Hi heady... cheers for the advice... im still a little confused over the dual PSU thingy. the instructions at the start seem to suggest using a +/- 12v dual PSU. and then leaving out the LM6171 (shorting out the LM6171 socket with some caps) i do however have a 9Vdc PSU avalible for this.. would it be easier just to use a LM6171 and this 9vdc PSU in place of a bettery.. my concern is that Jason appears to suggest for use at home the dual PSU thingy provides a better solution ? as i really am only a novice at these things then i like to try and find clear instruction from people who do know better. Cheers. R.

all mates together.... i think i got my head around the LED situation. i found this web page which has some very usefull info for use less exsperianced chaps (NEWBS) http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/led.htm i would deffo wait for a second opinion but as i read it. Source Voltage: 9V LED forward voltage (Vf) : 3.5V LED operating current : 30mA so the formular will be R = (VS - VL) / I so R= (9v-3.5v)/0.03a (30mA is 0.03A) R= 5.5/0.03 R= 183.3 Ohm so it would seem we agree on the 183 Ohms.. it says to use a carbon 1/2 W resistor.. i cant see any carbon resistors on the Maplins website and i would imagine a 0.6W in place of a 1/2W would be ok for the LED. then again ive allready managed to bork one attempt so it may be best to wait for confirmation. with a bit of luck jason will come online and share out some wisdom. i want to know about the dual PSU as it effect what stuff i order from farnell. concerning the stero jacks i got the very same ones from maplins (code FK03D) they seem to be just fine if lacking any documentation. good luck to us all....