[bluemonkeyflyer]

 
 
Big thanks to koiloco who walked me through this. Finally got it done and I'm so glad to not have to deal with any speaker taps anymore. One day of that and I was already fed up 

 
 
Gotta thank modulor too for that sexy cable...

 
Is there anything you did differently than shown by kokloco?
 
Is there anything either of you would do differently?
 
What TRS did you use?
 
I think I saw the exact hole size, somewhere...
 
Thanks, koiloco and Thujone!

 

[john57]

 
DIY ftw! Heck, screw kits even. Just download schematics and find the parts yourself. I feel electrical engineers have a better time getting the most out of their money in this hobby.

I have built stereo receivers in the past when I was a kid.  I cannot build the Mini -X using all new parts at the price that Emotiva is selling at. I would have to use mostly of leftover parts from the scrap heap to keep the cost down.
 
Another good bargain at Emotiva is the XDA-2 USB DAC/Digital Preamp that can handle 6 inputs with display and also have balanced outs at $249.00.  The remote is not a flimsy not even plastic, thing. Try to find the closest DAC with the same feature set of the  XDA-2  at that price.

 

[Thujone]

They share a ground, yes. You will only need to attach it to one side.
 
Sorry about the bad pics, but here they are. The hole in the front is a 1/2" hole. We used some 22 gauge wire (IIRC) and braided it. I don't know what koiloco used. Use spades to connect the leads to the taps on the back.
 

 

 

 

 

[Drsparis]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

They share a ground, yes. You will only need to attach it to one side.


 


Sorry about the bad pics, but here they are. The hole in the front is a 1/2" hole. We used some 22 gauge wire (IIRC) and braided it. I don't know what koiloco used. Use spades to connect the leads to the taps on the back.


 





 





 





 

 

They share a ground, yes. You will only need to attach it to one side.

Sorry about the bad pics, but here they are. The hole in the front is a 1/2" hole. We used some 22 gauge wire (IIRC) and braided it. I don't know what koiloco used. Use spades to connect the leads to the taps on the back.

Since the grounds are shared in the amp did you completely disregard one of the 2 negatives when feeding wires? I only see 3 wires. Never mind, saw answer in quoted text

 

[robrob]

Very nice work, congrats on a very nicely executed amp mod.

 

[Thujone]

Thanks! I'd still be twiddling my thumbs if not for koiloco. I reeeeeeally didn't like removing PC board from the front plate...

 

[Drsparis]

  Thanks! I'd still be twiddling my thumbs if not for koiloco. I reeeeeeally didn't like removing PC board from the front plate...

Was it hard? or just scary? just a couple of screws or should I be contacting him when the time comes? lol

 

[Thujone]

Well, I didn't realize there was a thin plastic ring dividing the knob from the PC board on the inside. I thought the knob would just pop right through the hole. Instead, you have to old the PC board with one hand, the front plate with the other, and lightly wiggle back and forth until the knob slides off the pot. It was just very tedious, not hard though. Not fun to have to test fatigue and tensile strength of the solder joints on the PC board, haha.

 

[Drsparis]

  Well, I didn't realize there was a thin plastic ring dividing the knob from the PC board on the inside. I thought the knob would just pop right through the hole. Instead, you have to old the PC board with one hand, the front plate with the other, and lightly wiggle back and forth until the knob slides off the pot. It was just very tedious, not hard though. Not fun to have to test fatigue and tensile strength of the solder joints on the PC board, haha.

good to know, thanks.

 

[Armaegis]

 
Maybe not comparable to highest end and it's probably harder/pricier for certain gear over others, but so far the two Bottlehead projects (Crack, Quickie) has exceed expectations compared to finished products of comparable price. To say DIY does not save money is far from the truth. I can see wasting money on experimenting with new designs, or accidentally blowing things up, but for something well guided and tried and true like the Bottlehead kits, it's a great way to get great sound for a fraction of the price.

 
I'm not arguing against Bottlehead stuff. They make great gear. But again, there is perceived value, labour required, and zero-casework (tally up the hours and make a nice case, that Crack is suddenly a $1k+ amp). Building from a finished kit with the benefit of economies of scale and not needing to spend all the time sourcing individual components is also vastly different from DIY'ing from scratch, especially if you're making something up entirely.
 
Since the conversation was briefly veering towards commercial prices and markup, I just want to point out that yeah commercial prices are high exactly because the designers/manufacturers spent a crap ton of money and time experimenting and blowing stuff up, sucking up huge outlay costs for production, shop fees/rent/distribution/wages, and trying to make some pocket change on the side.
 
Yadda yadda, some values are better than others.  But yeah, some DIY can be great value, but I would say most of it isn't unless you're in it for the long haul, have ample spare time, and just put things into very simple boxes.

 

[davidsh]

 
I'm not arguing against Bottlehead stuff. They make great gear. But again, there is perceived value, labour required, and zero-casework (tally up the hours and make a nice case, that Crack is suddenly a $1k+ amp). Building from a finished kit with the benefit of economies of scale and not needing to spend all the time sourcing individual components is also vastly different from DIY'ing from scratch, especially if you're making something up entirely.
 
Since the conversation was briefly veering towards commercial prices and markup, I just want to point out that yeah commercial prices are high exactly because the designers/manufacturers spent a crap ton of money and time experimenting and blowing stuff up, sucking up huge outlay costs for production, shop fees/rent/distribution/wages, and trying to make some pocket change on the side.
 
Yadda yadda, some values are better than others.  But yeah, some DIY can be great value, but I would say most of it isn't unless you're in it for the long haul, have ample spare time, and just put things into very simple boxes.

Very simple boxes and much spare time is the key 

 

[Sonido]

How difficult would it be to add a switch so you can choose whether to use the headphone jack or speaker taps? Even having headphone jack take precedence would be fine, as only the speaker taps are more of a hassle to plug/unplug every time you want to switch to speakers.

 

[Thujone]

  How difficult would it be to add a switch so you can choose whether to use the headphone jack or speaker taps? Even having headphone jack take precedence would be fine, as only the speaker taps are more of a hassle to plug/unplug every time you want to switch to speakers.

I would like to know this too. I'm not versed enough to know how to do it myself.

 

[brunk]

  Very simple boxes and much spare time is the key 

+1 This right here
 
I use alot of Hammond boxes. Sometimes I spray them black, other times I polish the metal with #0000 super fine steel wool. Casework is the biggest variable in doing a project. One thing is for sure though, buy BIG heatsinks! They will always have their uses over smaller ones as you progress through amps.

 

[Drsparis]

  How difficult would it be to add a switch so you can choose whether to use the headphone jack or speaker taps? Even having headphone jack take precedence would be fine, as only the speaker taps are more of a hassle to plug/unplug every time you want to switch to speakers.

I haven't even started DIY yet so take what I say with a grain of salt lol. But the only way I see this working is a stitch somewhere in the middle of the wires going to the headphone jack that would either connect the R,L, Ground or NOT. 
 
I guess you could do something similar to the wires already in place, right before the wires get to the speaker taps in the back put a 3 or 4 wire switch going either to the headphone socket OR the speaker taps. This would probably help reduce load problems that would arise if you have speakers and headphones connected at the same time. No idea if/what kind switches like this exist/work/easy to get. but yea