Building the amp5

[kross 0]

Cased in an enclosure from Bytetronic. Left is power switch and right is mute switch, the LED comes on when the amp is in the mute state. Forgot the pic of the back - will do it tonight.

 

great work heady!!

thanks for your modding tips too...i should be able to start next week after I finish all my teething assignments...will need your expertise then.

 

Cheers...

[heady 0]

Thanks kross. I discover my RCA no good. Got them from LHS. First time got anything from them which wasn't so good. Will change them to something else if I can find anything better and affordable.

[kross 0]

why no good the rca?

[heady 0]

why no good the rca?

 

The white (Left) and red (right) coloured RCA sockets looked like from different manufacturer. The white one is so tight, i can't push the RCA connector in all the way into the socket. The red socket is so loose, the RCA plug goes in without resistance. Will probably come out easily too.

 

 

 

[heady 0]

Hi kross and ckng, how go the amp5 built? Curious.

[ckng 0]

Hi kross and ckng, how go the amp5 built? Curious.

Been too busy/tired to even start Haven't even gotten the transformers and casing man.

 

Regards

CK

[kross 0]

lol...same sure...very busy with assignments..will have to most probably start them after my exams....:-(

the amp5 so far so good, heady?

[heady 0]

lol...same sure...very busy with assignments..will have to most probably start them after my exams....:-(

the amp5 so far so good, heady?

 

Very good. So good that my speakers has to be sent for repair. Let me explain. Couple of years ago, a tweeter blew and I had it replaced. It was not done right, as I think it was a different tweeter model from the same manufacturer.

 

With the new amp, I suddenly realise the imaging is all gone to one side. So I had to ask a friend to try to balance the speakers with adjusting the crossover. Sigh. Now got a temp pair of AR speakers from a friend.

 

Also found out how good the interconnects I have sound. I had a pair made by LHS, using some Belden wire which I was using with the new amp. It sounded a little too bright and clinical. But I thought it was the speakers since I am not familiar with the AR.

 

Then I substituted the LHS IC with my old IC which was just repaired - soldering broke. Wow, the sound changed, the sound is now fuller and warmer. Only one stupid metre of interconnect and made so much difference. This old IC was given to me by someone. It is very thick and stiff. Maybe it is silver as there is no copper colour in the centre core or shielding.

 

So there you are, this amp is revealing.

Edited November 11, 2006 by heady

[kross 0]

hmm..i tot belden wire should be quite decent already...hmm..

dunno if I have budget for higher-end ic though...but maybe still can afford some silver

[ckng 0]

Hi guys,

 

Happy New Year. Over the long weekend I've finally completed my AMP5. Got the black version of this case at Well Audio Lab for $85. Saves me a lot of drilling.

 

http://eshop.diyclub.biz/product_info.php?...products_id=232

 

But being a pre-amp case, I still need to drill additional holes for the speaker binding posts. However the other holes for the 4 RCA inputs, volume knob, source selector, power, etc are all pre-drilled. None of the pre-drilled holes on the baseplate fits my transformer and the AMP5 PCB, so need to drill them too. Man, I really hate metalwork.

 

The case came with feet, knobs for the volume/source (but unfortunately does not fit the ALPS pot that I use, so I'll have to source for another) and a power LED which somehow is not working

 

Had a scare this morning when one of the speaker output had a DC offset of -22V!! Turned out to be a bad solder connection on one of the pins of the Tripath chip. Thankfully my speakers are still ok. Phew.

 

The amp sounds pretty good. Didn't sound overly bright to me. Pretty good bass too. I am now using some cheapo wires for the speaker outputs, will need to replace them soon, probably with some decent wires.

 

Regards

CK

Edited January 2, 2007 by ckng

[heady 0]

Congrats CK. The amp5 over threw my 20 year old Meridian monoblocs which cost like 10 times more 20 years ago. Now with the news that Tripath may close down, wondering if I should order another set of amp5 and maybe amp2, just in case. Anyone wanna join me?

Edited January 2, 2007 by heady

[ckng 0]

Congrats CK. The amp5 over threw my 20 year old Meridian monoblocs which cost like 10 times more 20 years ago. Now with the news that Tripath may close down, wondering if I should order another set of amp5 and maybe amp2, just in case. Anyone wanna join me?

 

AMP2 is a bit too difficult, have to bake in oven and all. I'll probably let this run for a while before I get anything else. Maybe since the gainclones are so simple, can give them a try too.

 

Regards

CK

[heady 0]

 

AMP2 is a bit too difficult, have to bake in oven and all. I'll probably let this run for a while before I get anything else. Maybe since the gainclones are so simple, can give them a try too.

 

Regards

CK

 

Baked in oven, you mean the smt components? So bad as that?

 

[ckng 0]

Baked in oven, you mean the smt components? So bad as that?

Not all, just one of the Tripath chips. According to Jan at 41hz, for high power applications you need to solder the heat slug of the chip to the corresponding PCB's pad. For obvious reasons you can't use the oven that you use to cook to do this.

 

Regards

CK

[heady 0]

Not all, just one of the Tripath chips. According to Jan at 41hz, for high power applications you need to solder the heat slug of the chip to the corresponding PCB's pad. For obvious reasons you can't use the oven that you use to cook to do this.

 

Regards

CK

 

Ugh. Ok, stick to amp5.