[doobooloo]

OK... so I finally got to designing an all-acrylic case for an upcoming PPA for a fellow head-fier. So, this is an enclosure made (almost) entirely out of .236" thick extruded acrylic sheets cut with a laser cutter. The renderings are rather low-quality, it doesn't really show well the reflectivity of Acrylic and such but I think it gives a pretty good rough idea of what it will look like in the end:

Layout from the front (line):

Layout from the front (3D):

Front view:

Neutrik combo jack close-up:

NKK large-bat toggle switches close-up:

Kilo knob close-up:

Overview:

From top:

The rear panel isn't done yet, but it's just going to have two sets of inputs, an input selector switch and an IEC jack. Not too fancy.

So just to explain the enclosure a bit... The front panel is made of three sandwiched layers of acrylic boards, and the rear panel is made of two sandwiched layers. Everything is held together by the four threaded rods on each corner that run through the length of the case. The four sides are just single layers, and the PPA and STEPS are mounted on the bottom sheet (if you see carefully you can see the mounting holes; of course a spacer will be used). And on the top you can see the ventilation slots.

The second Alps Blue is for adjustable bass boost. The three toggle switches are power, gain, and bass boost. The two jacks on the left are either both 0ohm or one at 0ohm and the other at 120ohms.

I have a few questions regarding this design...

First - what would be a nice way to do lighting for this case? Since it's all clear it'll be crucial how this is implemented. If I get the Glassman diamond buffers then all the red LEDs are going to shine through, can't help that... but I feel that just some simple blue LED is not going to cut it...

Second - what kind of impact can I expect to see by having the case unshielded? I mean, not theoretically but realistically. Is there going to be a real noticeable difference? Or will it be insignificant?

Third - is there a point of having a separate bass boost switch when there is a pot to control it? I'm guessing it'll still be useful to just switch on and off from a favorite boost position, but I'm still curious.

OK. I had more questions but I can't think of any more right now... I'll ask later I guess.

Thanks a bunch in advance!

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

look great!
your amps are always soo cool because they're different
how you planning to get the Neutrik jacks?

 

[Tobrew]

You might try a cold cathode tube to light the entire case. They are often used in computer case modding and can be found locally at CompUSA or Bestbuy. However, the DC/DC converter and tube might emit noise that could get in to the audio. They are cheap, $15 US, so it might be worth a try.

 

[Gariver]

Congratulations, Dooboo! That's a lovely and elegant presentation you've given us. The graphic art work is simply outstanding!

Get me out my ignorance! How did you do those graphics? I'm really curious!

 

[doobooloo]

Quote:

look great! your amps are always soo cool because they're different how you planning to get the Neutrik jacks?

Thanks for your kind words!

Regarding the Neutrik jacks, either I'm going to call Neutrik USA and ask for who supplies the tabless jacks, or I'm just going to get the common tabbed version and just take the tab out.


Quote:

You might try a cold cathode tube to light the entire case. They are often used in computer case modding and can be found locally at CompUSA or Bestbuy. However, the DC/DC converter and tube might emit noise that could get in to the audio. They are cheap, $15 US, so it might be worth a try.

Hmm that's an idea. But like you said I'm worried about the noise it creates but since it's running on DC not 60Hz AC I am not too sure how much it would affect the amp sonically...? Maybe I should buy a set and do some tests with my PPA and see if the audio is affected at all.


Quote:

Congratulations, Dooboo! That's a lovely and elegant presentation you've given us. The graphic art work is simply outstanding! Get me out my ignorance! How did you do those graphics? I'm really curious!

Thanks! The work was done in Pro/ENGINEER. From the model I can directly export the DWG files to AutoCAD through which I can plot on the laser cutter so it's really WYSIWYG.