[UserNotFound]

When choosing/building a power supply, what qualities should i put an emphasis on to power an amp? Is the output ripple the major quality deciding factor, aside from supplying enough power?

 

[JahJahBinks]

Noise that can affect an amp can come from a variety of sources. Output ripple of the power supply is a major one, so you want to feed your amp the cleanest DC possible. Obviously there is no feasible way to make a perfect power supply, so i think what you need to focus on is whether the specification of your power supply meet with the amplifier design. In other words, you cannot design a good power supply unless you know what it is going to power. For example, if your amplifier is composed of IC components, all ICs should have certain PSRR that can counter those ripples. Same thing applies for discrete parts. (I think BJTs can reject some noise too).

 

[amb]

Low ripple, low noise, good voltage regulation stability, low output impedance, enough current reserve for peak demands, etc., ...
All that motherhood and apple pie stuff.

 

[mono]

If it's a linear design known suitable for the applicatin, following at least the datasheet suggestions, next concern might be the AC line filtering. You also have to decide if you're shooting for some "ideal" in clean power, or rather optimized for budget, or just good enough that you can't discern an audible difference.

Building from scratch can be a largely subjective thing, choices, hence why many people do so beyond when it's just a matter of needing for it to fit in a particular allocated space.