How difficult is a DIY amp?

[Target1]

I am thinking that this is by far the best root to go to get a well priced amp, but hwo much expertise does it take? My girlfriends father is a rather good electrical engineer, and they have a soddering iron. Assuming he has all the tools (which I'm sure he does), would we be fine getting a $300-$400 kit like the White Noise Audio, or should we try something less expensive first? i can pick up that kit here in England while I'm studying here for 150 GBP, which is pretty good. From the reviews I have read it is on par with, and perhaps better than, a Grahm Slee.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[JMT]

Given time and patience, building your own is not difficult, especially with a kit. I don't have any experience with the amp kit you mentioned, but if the instructions are clear and well thought out, you and your dad should be able to build it with minimal trouble shooting needed. If you are going to do the majority of the build, I would recommend that you practice your soldering techniques. The best thing about it is that you and your dad can work on the project together. You will learn a lot, both from your dad's experience and knowledge, as well as from the actual building of the amp.

Go for it.

 

[rickcr42]

well said

I might also add,if things do not go exactly well the good news is you will learn more from trying to track down a problem than you ever would if the build is entirely successful.

even the downside of DIY has good points and the knowledge gained will serve not just in the building of audio gear but will also give you some insight into commercial offerings and maybe allow you to see through the sales hype

 

[jnewman]

Being in the process of building a WNA headamp myself, I can tell you that it's actually one of the easier projects - everything is VERY well labeled and explained, the board has plenty of room, and as long as you practice your soldering a bit before you start it's something that pretty much anyone should be able to do. You can PM me if you have any questions specifically about the WNA.

Jimmy

 

[Alick]

I built my WNA about two months ago. It's a really easy kit to assemble, there's loads of additional advice on rock-grotto and it's a stunning amp. I can't think of anything that would stump a beginner, but bear in mind that the kit doesn't include the PSU, enclosure, connectors, switch, hook-up wire, mounting screws or potentiometer IIRC. I just bought the PCB from WNA and bought all the other components from various suppliers using the parts list on Mike's site. I don't think the whole shebang cost as much as £115.

 

[Target1]

I'm a bit confused as to what you just said. I have the kit quoted by David here at 150 pounds, and I think that comes with everything including a power supply. I'm not sure how good it is. Did you pay 115 for extras, or for everything?

Mark

 

[jnewman]

I've just finished buying all my parts. I bought just the PCB from David White and sourced all my own parts (of very high quality) and ended up spending right at $200 (including the PCB). That's also about 115 pounds, and includes EVERYTHING - wire, pot, jacks, enclosure, board components, switches, LED, power supply, everything.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Target1 I'm a bit confused as to what you just said. I have the kit quoted by David here at 150 pounds, and I think that comes with everything including a power supply. I'm not sure how good it is. Did you pay 115 for extras, or for everything? Mark

I'm not quite sure what David has quoted you for but the standard kit is £105 and the "audiophile" kit is £113.

These kits come with a plugtop PSU, PCB and the components to populate the PCB...... things like enclosure, volume knob, potentiometer, RCA sockets, DC socket, switch, LED, hook up wire, solder etc. etc. are over and above the cost of the kit David supplies.

He "may" be selling a total kit (everything you need) for £150 but he hasn't mentioned it..... if he is then £150 is an extremely good price as it takes the hassle out of sourcing all the bits and bobs yourself..... you'd be advised to contact David to clarify what's included in the kit.

As to building the amp it is straightforward if you know one end of a diode from the other and the negative side from the positive side of a capacitor.... the instructions are simple to follow and not overly complicated and misleading like some instructions I have come across in my time

Just ignore page two with all the stuff about latching pins and the benefits of gold plated headphone sockets etc. (an entire page dedicated to latching pins.... most builders don't bother using them) and you'll find the rest as clear as day.

If you can solder and can follow instructions then you should be ok. If you've got an electronics engineer to hand then he will find the job a breeze

Mike.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alick I don't think the whole shebang cost as much as £115.

£110 - £150 dependant on type of enclosure and peripherals used....... if you decide to buy a £100 PSU then look at £210 - £250 add in a stepped attenuator and you're looking at £310 - £350...... it all depends on how much you want to spend..... the WNA could theoretically cost £1000 + dependant on your parts selection

The sky is the limit when it comes to component selection.

 

[Target1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd £110 - £150 dependant on type of enclosure and peripherals used....... if you decide to buy a £100 PSU then look at £210 - £250 add in a stepped attenuator and you're looking at £310 - £350...... it all depends on how much you want to spend..... the WNA could theoretically cost £1000 + dependant on your parts selection The sky is the limit when it comes to component selection.

What is a stepped up Attenutator, and how easy would it be to change the power supply in the future when I have more money? Also, assuming I spend around 250 pounds on it what commercial amp might you compare this too in turms of quality?

Target

 

[jnewman]

A stepped attenuator is a volume control device that switches between pairs of discrete resistors to attenuate the signal, as opposed to a potentiometer which has a strip of resistive material and a sweep that changes position on the resistive material to change its impedance. Using discrete resistors gives a better connection than the sweep and the resistors introduce less noise than the strip of resistive material. It's essentially a glorified rotary switch to change between resistance values to change volume as opposed to what is basically a rheostat like you use to change how bright light bulbs are in your house. They degrade sound quality less than potentiometers, but are often overkill. Upgrading the PSU depends on how you're going to do it. If you're always going to use a floating PSU (i.e. +24V and ground) it's very easy to switch PSU's - just change the plug on the new PSU to one that fits the DC jack on the amp enclosure. If you're switching from a single-polarity PSU to a split-polarity PSU (one that supples +12V and -12V, for example), you'd have to change the connection to the PCB and remove a few components from the PCB.