I've been communicating a bit in the "group buy" thread over at DIYAudio with FlyinHawaiian.  He's the guy who arranged the group buy for the face plates.  Essentially, the stock screws that come with the basic anodized case leave a bit to be desired.  He talked of finding some nice flat-head bolts that were 6-32 in size.  He then partially drilled the holes on the face plate, which allowed the screws to slightly recess and give the front plate a more professional appearance.
 
I was out to a local hardware store at noon today.  I found some hex bolts that you use an allen wrench to tighten.  The bolts were 6-32 in size, too.  They're black in color.  I also picked up a thread tapping bit so I can cut new threads in the case, so the mouning screws / bolts will appropriately thread into place.  I also located some small black rubber washers that I'll place under the screws so when the screws reach the metal plate, they won't scratch off the black facing as I tighten them down.
 
I wanted to give it a slight upgraded appearance.

Pictures please 
Quote:

wje said:

I've been communicating a bit in the "group buy" thread over at DIYAudio with FlyinHawaiian.  He's the guy who arranged the group buy for the face plates.  Essentially, the stock screws that come with the basic anodized case leave a bit to be desired.  He talked of finding some nice flat-head bolts that were 6-32 in size.  He then partially drilled the holes on the face plate, which allowed the screws to slightly recess and give the front plate a more professional appearance.
 
I was out to a local hardware store at noon today.  I found some hex bolts that you use an allen wrench to tighten.  The bolts were 6-32 in size, too.  They're black in color.  I also picked up a thread tapping bit so I can cut new threads in the case, so the mouning screws / bolts will appropriately thread into place.  I also located some small black rubber washers that I'll place under the screws so when the screws reach the metal plate, they won't scratch off the black facing as I tighten them down.
 
I wanted to give it a slight upgraded appearance.

Click to expand...

 
 

Quote:

twinster said:

Pictures please 

 

Click to expand...

 
Coming soon.  Actually, this weekend, I'll have time to properly mount my face plate after tapping the new bolt holes.  It should be relatively painless.  Also, my replacement Magnum drivers arrived yesterday, so I can also start the assembly of the Mahogany cups from Marty.  Time to put another great pair of Magnums into use.
 
The last 2.5 months have been crazy.  Work demands, the passing of my father-in-law, my wife handling the estate, etc.  Finally, it feels as though I'm getting somewhat caught up.  I also have my leather sewing machine ... just sitting there.  Hopefully, winter will mean plenty of hobby time.  But, who knows, I could have never predicted the last 3 months of my life either - as it really changed from what I would have envisioned it as.

Quote:

twinster said:

Pictures please 

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Ask, and ye shall receive.  First, I must admit that I hate taking pictures inside.  The case for my O2 is the anodized silver and the face plate is the satin black from the DIYAudio group buy.  However, the picture from inside the house actually makes the colors blend too much as opposed to showing the contrast.  But, in the picture,  you can get an idea on how I "revised" the method for attaching the front face plate by switching over from the phillips self-tapping silver screws to black 6-32 bolts that use a hex wrench to install.  The thread holes on the case itself were re-bored using a 6-32 tool for that purpose.  The washers behind the fasteners are actually rubber washers, so you can't torque down on them too hard or it will kind of twist them up and make them behave funny.  I'm not sure if I'll keep the rubber washers in place for the long haul - as I'd hate to see the fasteners start to back out of the threads from not being tightened down enough.
 
Here goes ... comments and complaints alike, are both welcome.  
 
 

Ha!  Great minds think alike...
 

Quote:

shadow419 said:

Ha!  Great minds think alike...

 

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Yes.  You know it.  I'm really loving the amp. 
 
Edit: I had previously made a comment regarding an "odd" issue.  The problem was traced back to the LOD cable for my Sansa.  It looks like I need to get a replacement.

Any opinions on this vs. the Matrix M-Stage?

Bleh, yours are all much prettier than my yellow-acrylic-front-panel'd abomination.

Quote:

willakan said:

Bleh, yours are all much prettier than my yellow-acrylic-front-panel'd abomination.

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Meh, I used it without a case or front panel for weeks.  If it works, it's fine by me.  Some of the more exotic diy enclosures are where the real pretty is at. 

Like this one:
 

 
Quote:

shadow419 said:

Meh, I used it without a case or front panel for weeks.  If it works, it's fine by me.  Some of the more exotic diy enclosures are where the real pretty is at. 

Click to expand...

 

or this one:
 

what is BOM?

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drexman said:

what is BOM?

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Bill Of Materials
 
Basically everything you need to populate the pcb and get the amp to work.

pcb is the amp without the enclosure? if i order all the pcb parts they will come seperately and i will have to build the pcb myself? i have no idea how to. i looked at NwAvGuy's blog and i didn't see any instructions...

Quote:

drexman said:

pcb is the amp without the enclosure? if i order all the pcb parts they will come seperately and i will have to build the pcb myself? i have no idea how to. i looked at NwAvGuy's blog and i didn't see any instructions...

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The PCB is the board into which some ~80 components go into.  If you get a PCB, it has all the holes drilled in already and all the points wired together as needed.  To have a working amp, you need (1) PCB, (2) components soldered into that PCB, and (3) power source.  Power can come from two 9V batteries or from certain suitable AC/AC wall transformers.  If you use rechargeable batteries and the transformer, the circuit will charge the batteries.  It can charge batteries and operate at the same time.
 
There is a complete parts list (bill of materials) you can find, and it's possible to just copy + paste the list from mouser and order them, at least in the US.  They also stock suitable AC/AC transformers.  Parts can also be gotten elsewhere.
 
 
To assemble it, you need to obtain all ~80 components and the PCB, and solder the correct component into the correct holes marked for it.  There's no particular order--though as usual, starting from the smaller components first makes more sense--thus, no real instructions needed.  Solder them all in and it's done.  There are some extensive tips and troubleshooting advice on the blog, though.
 
Cost of ~80 components + AC/AC adapter is just under $30 before shipping.  PCB is about $10 before shipping.  Rechargeable batteries cost about $10.  If you'd rather not solder it yourself, JDS Labs offers the PCB + all components (all soldered in, so assembled), for $95 plus shipping.  You still need to get the AC/AC adapter if you buy the completed board from JDS Labs, but they do supply the batteries.
 
 
If you want an enclosure and front panel, those need to be gotten separately.