[hottyson]

I figured that the DIY route would be a cheap way of building an amp. Plus I could really customize it to be better than a commercial amp, or another amp made for me.

I am building a few dip16amps. I was talking to Tangent a few months back about ordering some op-amp adaptors to try my hand at SMD soldering. I chickened out but now I figure I will try some tiny soldering with the tiny dip16amp. They are going to be some really sharp looking amps when I am done. One will be portable/battery powered, one will be home/AC powered, and (if I am up to it) one with both AC/DC power.

So far I have spent around $500 for:
Parts, enclosures, Fluke Digital multi-meter, Dremel tool and Dremel press

I was going to have the front panel custom made and/or laser etched but I have already exceeded my budget by a large margin. I suppose I could resell the DMM later when I am finished with it and then use that money to make some custom front panels.

The good news is that I am still pretty good at soldering such tiny parts and I really enjoy this new hobby. I think that is good news. The bad news is my empty bank account.

 

[hottyson]

BTW, It was very satisfying to hear the successful results from my first try.

 

[Sal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hottyson BTW, It was very satisfying to hear the successful results from my first try.

And that's exactly why it's all worth it no matter how much you spent. Would a commercial amp have brought you as much listening enjoyment? Only a DIYer can really answer that.

Besides, you never have to justify buying tools. Tools are what men buy. And if your significant other complains that you buy too many tools, just open her closet and point to all the shoes and purses.

 

[rickcr42]

I never found DIY saved me loot unless i did a production run of a design .
Individual parts from a "one of' supplier are way over priced compared to quantities frokm a commercial vender and when you add up the cost ,most of the time it is no savings.

But what DIY does give you is the ability to make something that suits you !
Individual choices are limited in life but DIY is a personal thing where all of the decisions are yours and yours alone.

FREEDOM !

pretty damn cool actually

congrats on the successful builds-now go get that second job so you can buy more parts !

 

[intlplby]

yeah my total tool cost is going to be around 500 too


but i know that if i ever want to liquidate my tool collection i can get most of what i paid

i got a barely used fluke 87 III for $147.50 and a barely used Hakko 937 for $88

i am gettin some nice small chain nose pliers, needle nose pliers, and cutters but i have been meaning to get some nice ones anyways ... i am so sick of my crappy ones i currently use, and i don't even have a pair of chain nose pliers yet.

still need to get a dremel

i guess it's not too bad anyways because i am going to make a PPA and 5 dynahis......

three of them are going to be gifts for my 2 brothers, my dad and my sister... and of course i am going to keep one

 

[Pars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 I never found DIY saved me loot unless i did a production run of a design.

Oh bulls**t! I was going to buy a Creek OBH-11 or a Grado RA-1 until I came here. Then, I built a CMoy for WAY less that what I woulda spent on either of those.

But then my son asked me for one, and I had to build another one for the other son, then I wanted a MINT, then my son wanted a MINT, then a couple of A47s, and I had ta put my MINT in a Hammond with Elpac, and now I'm doin a Gilmore, and that damn Dynahi group buy and... and... and...

Errrmmm, OK you were right. Or, were you?

Chris

 

[intlplby]

it costs a ton but you profit off anything you liquidate.....

make a cmoy for 20, sell it for 40-50

things like that ..... it's a new skill that can make some income off here and there... at least for us college students it is

 

[Dreamslacker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intlplby yeah my total tool cost is going to be around 500 too but i know that if i ever want to liquidate my tool collection i can get most of what i paid i got a barely used fluke 87 III for $147.50 and a barely used Hakko 937 for $88 i am gettin some nice small chain nose pliers, needle nose pliers, and cutters but i have been meaning to get some nice ones anyways ... i am so sick of my crappy ones i currently use, and i don't even have a pair of chain nose pliers yet. still need to get a dremel i guess it's not too bad anyways because i am going to make a PPA and 5 dynahis...... three of them are going to be gifts for my 2 brothers, my dad and my sister... and of course i am going to keep one

Ever considered the Black & Decker RTX? Seems like a good alternative to Dremel to me.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamslacker Ever considered the Black & Decker RTX? Seems like a good alternative to Dremel to me.

I also considered Black & Decker and Craftsman. I figured that the Dremel would have better resale if I ever were to sell it.

Resale value and reputation was my decision on getting a Fluke DMM.

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

Or, were you?

i dunno man ,but spending long green on tools if you are only building "one of" is not very cost effective !

There are cases where you save money on the actual build and then end up spending more just to house the amp it do it looks good.
Chassis ,panels ,annodizing or paint ,maybe a wood cabinet,nice knobs,isolation feet,lettering...........

This is all part of the final cost of the project and not just the board mounted parts .

then there is the future "parts rolling" and the costant upgrading an then the .................

 

[intlplby]

that's why i changed the plan to make amps for other people like friends and family


great alternative gift idea...... everyone who enjoys music will like an amp.... and if they don't want it you can always sell it at a profit usually

 

[sygyzy]

What is a dip16amp?

And let me know when you are selling the DMM.

 

[thrice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sal Besides, you never have to justify buying tools. Tools are what men buy. And if your significant other complains that you buy too many tools, just open her closet and point to all the shoes and purses.

Testify!!!!!

Yeah the DIY hobby is great. Sure you spend a lot of money *cough*Dynahi board buy*cough*. But you would do the sae with any other hobby. The key is to try to get to the point where you can build enough amps to sell and then use that money to help you partially or fully sustain your hobby. That's what I'm trying to do.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sygyzy What is a dip16amp?

These are various amp designs soldered onto 16-pin DIP sockets. You can find the various designs here: DIP16AMP

dip16amp's have some benifits of being tiny and having short signal paths. You can build cmoy's, PPA'a, Gilmores etc... The drawback for some people is that not being able to solder some really cramped and small items. It really isn't all that hard compared to SMD soldering.

Those guys have nerves of steel. You can check out some of my soldering in my dip16amp pics hosted on dip16amp's website. It is the one marked X1 meaning a design using only one 16-pin DIP socket.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sygyzy And let me know when you are selling the DMM.

If I do, I will contact you first. You have dibs.

 

[DCameronMauch]

DIY is way the heck cheaper. If HeadRoom sold the PPA, it would cost well over $1000. Maybe closer to $2000. Depending on the quality of parts used. I bet it would be over $2000 if they used the most expensive parts like Black Gate caps and a stepped attenuator. But you could build that same full out configuration less than say $400 to $500.

I still can't get over the headphone amplifier Grado sells. That thing costs like maybe $5 in parts. But they charge $300. The wood enclosure is nice though.

I thank god I am a DIYer, so I can have exactly what I want, and pay a reasonable price for it. Though I don't have a wife or kids. So I have lots of free time. For those not in this position, their time may be a valuable commodity. Possibly even making the commercial products worth the cost.

I have been working on a DAC headphone amplifier like nothing made anywhere. 1394 firewire digital audio input. So compatible with high resolution PCM formats and DSD. Even multi channel audio. Since the 5.1 channels are decoded at the DVD player. Over the 1394 they are there individually and ready for use. Thus avoiding those pesky ultra expensive Dolby licenses. Implementing 2 channel and 5.1 channel crossfeed in DSP using public domain HRTF impulse responses of the appropriate angles for each channel. Then dual DACs and fully balanced output. Imagine what this thing would cost if made by HeadRoom?