Want To Build An Amp

[Exist_ential 10+ year member]

OK so i have decided to take on the challenge of building an amp.

Anyone know of any good places for reference and info? i am already googling so this is for any info i may not easily find on the webzz as well as any info from personal experience i definitely won't find on the webzz

Before you ask i have a pretty good handle on all things electrical/electronic since i built and repaired circuit boards for large missile and rocket systems in the army and i can tell you from experience the boards in those things are about 1000x more involved and complex than anything i (or likely anyone else) have ever seen in an amp.

Also "Don't do it" is not the advice i am looking for so please refrain. regardless of how many of you tell me not to do it, i am going to anyway.

This thread is strictly concerning the building of the board and the ability to make power (2k@1x1 hopefully, no reason for this aside from the fact that i see no reason to build an amp that will only do 50w if this works out i WILL be using this amp eventually) so i am not currently concerned with the casing of the amp. That will come when i complete and test the board for power.

With that said let the info flow (as well as the inevitable trolling haha)

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[BlakeC 10+ year member]

You established yourself as infinitely more knowledgeable on the subject than we could possibly be, so what info would you like from us?

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

I think u should call it " The Buttscratcher"

 

[BlakeC 10+ year member]

Building the amp will be more expensive and unable to be used in competition SO.... you'd better make it way more efficient than production amps. If you're not going to make sure it is better than 85% efficient, your amp will be a pretty big waste of time. I too have designed and etched circuit boards. I repair amps and deal with complex circuits frequently. I can relate to your desire and I'm not trying to be negative. I just think if you're going to do it, it needs to be worthwhile. Doing something and costing more money and making an inferior product just to say you did it doesn't prove anything good. I think of it like making home made stuffing. You can't do it cheaper or make it taste better than stove top.... so wtf brah?

 

[Exist_ential 10+ year member]

[quote name='BlakeC']You established yourself as infinitely more knowledgeable on the subject than we could possibly be, so what info would you like from us?[/QUOTE]

Au contraire my friend. Although I may be more knowledgeable on this subject than some of you there are guys on here that have/do repair amps and some that may have built some already.

@princ3cmo thank u for the suggestion Cal, duly noted.

 

[Exist_ential 10+ year member]

Comps are not an issue, I don't now nor do I plan on competing. My goal is most certainly to make the amp as efficient as possible with the parts I can obtain. Definitely don't want to dump cash in something I can't use properly. Good looking out though man... Thanks.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Have you priced extruded aluminum or how much a company will charge you to do a limited run of printed circuit boards? These are things you really need to consider before embarking on the journey to create one custom product for yourself because building a solitary custom unit will be uber expensive. Even if you do decide to proceed, you also need to make sure that you obtain your parts from reputable sources because there are a LOT of counterfeits, old stock, and out of tolerance parts on the market. It would be terrible to spend all kinds of time on design only to find out that your FETs and caps will randomly blow or your IC causes terrible oscillation because it is out of spec.

 

[Exist_ential 10+ year member]

I don't think I want to go as custom as getting a pcb printed just for me haha that would indeed be stupid expensive. I am more interested in getting a predesigned board and adding my parts manually. Granted if I had the time and money I would go all the way and design the board and pay to have it made but **** that would be interesting . I will also be as thorough as possible when purchasing any product since building my amp is not worth burning my car or house to the ground.

 

[Timmothy Web 10+ year member]

u may want to to like a 494 based amp. what what class power supply do u have in mind?

 

[Exist_ential 10+ year member]

class d

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

I tell you what would be interesting to build though. An amplifier with a modular design with the power supply in one sink and the audio section in another sink. That way, you could use the same power supply as you experiment with the audio section or vice versa.

 

[infamous_e46 5,000+ posts]

why not just a fort like normal boys

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Here's a few links I've collected over the years:

diyAudio

Pass DIY

60-80W Power Amplifier

Audio Circuit Denmark

The Signal Transfer Company

 

[Timmothy Web 10+ year member]

ive a few raw amps for cars years ago. it only had a low crossover and a gain. made to run at 10v. i used a few times but i was to scared of it.