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Starving Student???

post #1 of 12
10/25/09 at 12:12am
Thread Starter 
Well I am going to be purchasing an amp soon and was wanting to build a Starving Student. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the easiest, 10 the hardest, how difficult is the Starving Student? And I am considering THIS, how is it? Any one tried it yet? Thanks in advance.
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post #2 of 12
10/25/09 at 12:18am
Well you're talking about the SSMH, but you're linking to the Hybrid Max - those are two different amplifiers. The SSMH is considerably easier and Beezar will soon be offering more complete kits. With the kit, I'd say it's about a 4 to build if you don't have a lot of experience. It's harder than a Cmoy, but it is still all through-hole and the kit takes out the difficult casework.

Without a kit (doing a P2P build) it's probably a 5, depending on how good your skills are, because of the difficulties in troubleshooting P2P builds. Also, the casework is pretty hard if you don't have the experience and all the proper tools to do it.
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post #3 of 12
10/25/09 at 12:25am
I am not really sure how to rank using numbers.
It's the most difficult thing I've built, but I wouldn't say it was hard at all.
The hardest part is the casework by far.

If you use a PCB, it'll be very easy.
If you do it P2P, it'll be pretty easy too. I planned out the layout of all my components in a drawing, and had no problems with it.
All in all, it's about the same difficulty as the CMOY, but this time you don't have a step by step guide.

However, It seems like the difficulty goes way up when you try to cram it into a tiny spot.
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post #4 of 12
10/25/09 at 12:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Juaquin View Post
Well you're talking about the SSMH, but you're linking to the Hybrid Max - those are two different amplifiers. The SSMH is considerably easier and Beezar will soon be offering more complete kits. With the kit, I'd say it's about a 4 to build if you don't have a lot of experience. It's harder than a Cmoy, but it is still all through-hole and the kit takes out the difficult casework.

Without a kit (doing a P2P build) it's probably a 5, depending on how good your skills are, because of the difficulties in troubleshooting P2P builds. Also, the casework is pretty hard if you don't have the experience and all the proper tools to do it.
Okay as far as the amp its self what is the difference in the two? And which is better? I would like to do the kit or something similar maybe but if none of that will work out I will just get an LD MKIII or LD 1+.
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post #5 of 12
10/25/09 at 4:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by unl3a5h3d View Post
Okay as far as the amp its self what is the difference in the two? And which is better?
Well the MAX is technically better. The SSMH is a simple (but ingenious) amplifier that has exceptional sound considering the low cost of parts. The MAX doesn't make compromises like the SSMH does in order to keep the price down. They're both tube amps with solid-state output, but the MAX has more features. I've never heard or built the MAX so I can't make any comparisons as far as sound quality or ease of the build. If you want to know more, start at these links:

MAX Technical Highlights

SSMH Technical Highlights
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post #6 of 12
10/25/09 at 10:09am
Definitely get the PCB from beezar.com, muuuuch easier.

The hardest part, like the poster above me said, is going to be casework.

I just heard an SSMH yesterday, with beezar.com PCB and premium parts. Roughly $100-$150 using ebay stepped attenuator, boutique caps, some brand name resistors. Very very good for the price.

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post #7 of 12
10/25/09 at 11:47am
Thread Starter 
But see if I was going to build it I wanted to order all of the parts from the same site. Or preferably buy it all in kit.
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post #8 of 12
10/26/09 at 1:23am
The Beezar kit is definitely a good deal and eliminates all the casework. I put it together in about an hour or two without any hitches.
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post #9 of 12
10/26/09 at 2:03am
Until and unless Beezar does another kit, getting all the parts from one site is going to be nearly impossible. Beezar is the only ones with the boards. Tubes have to come from somewhere specialized, and you'll need resistors and capacitors and such, probably from several places.

I'm most annoyed that Mouser's out of red RCA jacks. It makes it hard to build things when you can only get white or yellow. I'll just have to get some elsewhere.

If you don't consider getting all the parts to be part of the fun, then DIY might not be for you.

Hopefully Beezar will manage a few new kits. Keep your eye out here. I certainly hope this is where they'll announce them.
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post #10 of 12
10/26/09 at 2:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lou Erickson View Post
Until and unless Beezar does another kit, getting all the parts from one site is going to be nearly impossible.
Hopefully Beezar will manage a few new kits. Keep your eye out here. I certainly hope this is where they'll announce them.
Tom (of Beezar) has confirmed 25 cases on order for more kits, so there will be 25 more kits. Check the SSMH thread for updates.
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post #11 of 12
10/26/09 at 9:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Juaquin View Post
Tom (of Beezar) has confirmed 25 cases on order for more kits, so there will be 25 more kits. Check the SSMH thread for updates.
Yes, this is indeed correct. More SSMH PCB kits are coming in a few weeks and I will give notice in the thread and on Beezar.
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post #12 of 12
10/27/09 at 8:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lou Erickson View Post
Until and unless Beezar does another kit, getting all the parts from one site is going to be nearly impossible. Beezar is the only ones with the boards. Tubes have to come from somewhere specialized, and you'll need resistors and capacitors and such, probably from several places.

I'm most annoyed that Mouser's out of red RCA jacks. It makes it hard to build things when you can only get white or yellow. I'll just have to get some elsewhere.

If you don't consider getting all the parts to be part of the fun, then DIY might not be for you.

Hopefully Beezar will manage a few new kits. Keep your eye out here. I certainly hope this is where they'll announce them.
Beezar sells panel mount rcas for the max, ive been using them for a few of my builds if i think about it when im ordering beezar baords.
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