[tola555]

I want to build amp for my senn 600. Something not very expensive, simple and good. Maybe class A tube amp? I'm totally newbie in electronics. I have 100$ to spend.

 

[n_maher]

With that budget you're pretty limited. With some real careful planning and just a bit of stretching you could build a PIMETA . This is, of course, assuming that you have all the necessary tools to build such a thing. If not, I highly suggest just buying an amp from a commercial vendor. DIY is a hard thing to save money at unless you're very disciplined.

And as far as I know there isn't a class A tube amp project on earth that'll cost you less than $100.

HTH,

Nate

 

[tola555]

I also looked at tangentsoft, but that one: http://tangentsoft.net/audio/ppa/ is this better than PIMETA for my senn. 600 cans?

or maybe one of these http://www.headwize.com/projects/ ?

 

[silvalis]

PPAs are a fair bit better than Pimetas.

 

[skyskraper]

theyre also a bit more involved then a pimeta.

iirc theyre a bit pricier too.

if you are a newbie, then a pimeta would be the perfect choice for both skill level and budget

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tola555 I also looked at tangentsoft, but that one: http://tangentsoft.net/audio/ppa/ is this better than PIMETA for my senn. 600 cans?

Sure, a $300+ amp is going to be better than a $100 amp, no surprise there. But you said you only had a $100 to spend so the PPA is WAY out of your price league. And if you've never had an amp with your 600s before the PIMETA will be a nice surprise.

N

 

[00940]

I know someone who built a Van Waarde for roughly that money, getting all the iron from ebay and using some old wood for the chassis (he used a crc filter for the supply rather than clc though). Outstanding with high impedance cans, beating any pimeta or similar amp (but awful for low impedance cans). But it involves dealing with quite high voltage.

http://headwize.com/projects/showfil...aarde1_prj.htm

 

[mike19]

how would a pimeta compare to a z-audio epsilon?

 

[skyskraper]

hard to say because the design info seems to be rather vague on the epsilon. it makes no mention of buffers or dedicated ground channel (both of which are on the pimeta) simply KISS and mentions a single op amp. its really not easy to judge based on the info at hand.

 

[tola555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher Sure, a $300+ amp is going to be better than a $100 amp, no surprise there. But you said you only had a $100 to spend so the PPA is WAY out of your price league. And if you've never had an amp with your 600s before the PIMETA will be a nice surprise. N

I'm not so rich to build two amps - just amp and one I need

Have to build one that I need. I have heard that totally noobs like me have managed to build PPA and considered it not too hard. There is PCB, Its just assembling and finding parts needed.

There are some parts that are not available in my country and I will have to preorder them. I hope it still will be cheaper than buy from shop

.

I also noticed that PPA v2 has less parts than earlier versions. Maybe I will choose v2 to build, there is bass control too

not that I use it very much but still like to add some little depending on my mood.

And does less parts make it sound better? Less things in signal path does necessary mean better sound, I think so.

Ok, who is building that thing post me if you know where to get parts or even construction kits.

 

[skyskraper]

if you're considering a ppa2, you should also consider an m3 http://www.amb.org/audio/mmm/ they have even less parts then a ppa2 with a large number of the parts you need available from amb, just add resistors, caps, and a few common transistors

i like it a lot, but ill have to build a ppa2 sooner or later just to satisfy my curiosity

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tola555 Have to build one that I need. I have heard that totally noobs like me have managed to build PPA and considered it not too hard. There is PCB, Its just assembling and finding parts needed.

Well, just because one guy falls out of a plane without a parachute and lives doesn't mean that doing it is a good idea or will yield the same result. The PPA, either V1 or V2 is NOT a beginner project. How do I know, well, I've built somewhere between 20 and 30 amps and I still managed to destroy a PPA that I built. And I still don't get how you're going to build a PPA on a $100 budget.

I'll say this one last time - I think that you'd be setting yourself up to fail if you tried to build a PPA first. At least build a CMoy based design first to learn how to solder. And it's not like the PIMETA is some poop factory of an amp. I use one everyday at work and love it. I've also used one with my Senn 600s quite a bit and it's a fantastic match.

Good luck to you,

Nate

 

[en480c4]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher And I still don't get how you're going to build a PPA on a $100 budget. Good luck to you, Nate

I'll second what Nate has said...

The PPAv2 I built was WELL over $300 including the case, knobs, switches, RCA's, etc. If you want to stick to $100 parts budget, there's no way you can build a PPAv2. Plain and simple.

If your budget is flexible and are willing to spend over $200, I still wouldn't suggest it as it can be finicky. Even Tangent writes on his site that he has fried a PPAv2.

 

[tola555]

I have soldering iron and some experience with it. I have made my balanced/shielded RCA myself. I also have solder and all tools needed.
Its not so hurry with that project because I can use my cans from home receiver where I have changed resistors(basically its running from speaksers out with 150 ohm resistor) and meanwhile I can get more money and look for parts.
worse is that PPA may burn accidentally

. Where I can make mistake there? There is marks on PCB for capasitors etc.

 

[skyskraper]

i thought hrmm a ppa2 including enclosure and psu shouldnt need to cost $300. so i had a looksy at tangent's ppa2 site for the optional and required parts. i priced out a decently specced one then i thought hrmm i wonder precisely how cheap i can get this thing. this is what i came up with:

skyskraper's sub $115usd ppa2 recipe.

tangent shop
PPA2 PCB $18
alps rk27 $16
international shipping $8
paypal surcharge $1.05

RS WWW
TLE2426 x3 (284-220) $11.30
Q4 J310 x3 (290-8467) $3.31

Futurlec
Q3 2n5486 x6 $2.76
Q21-23 x9 2n5087 $1.38
Q31-33 x9 2n5088 $1.38
Q24 x3 BD139 $1.08
Q34 BD140 $0.92
shipping $3.06

Altronics
C1 x9 470uF 50v (r5167) $4.20
C2 x5 0.22uF (r2740) $0.69
C4 x6 220uF 25v (r5144) $1.29
C6 x1 100pF ceramic (r2822) $0.05
R24/34 x6 2.2ohm 1w (r7205) $0.31
R12 x3 2k trimpot (r2378a) $3.45
D1 x1 1n4004 (z0109) $0.05
OPA x3 TL071 (z2871) $3.22
1/4" jack x1 (p0071) $1.26
knob x1 (h6061) $0.77
DC Jack x1 (p0628) $1.38
RCA Jacks x2 (p0162, p0163) $0.92
Regulator x1 7824 (z0514) $0.65
Switch x1 spdt toggle (s1310) $1
LED x1 (z0700) $0.08
Enclosure (h0220) $10.34
Resistors $2
Hookupwire $1
DC Plugpack 24v 500ma unregulated (m9391) $11.87.

note: i'm not advocating this build as a bom or anything it's simply a bit of number crunching to see how low you can price one of these things. it probably wouldnt be sounding as good as a ppa2 should. it's missing a lot of parts but you could always add them later. sure it uses a lot of crappy parts (ie the caps and opamps and stuff), but the circuit design remains the same and im sure it wouldnt sound far off from another amp populating the same positions with better parts. oh and this would be one U-G-L-Y amp

in all honesty whilst this budget build is possible, i still think that for a complete newbie that a ppa2 will be a bit much. in the event of a problem it would be a pretty intimidating and confusing effort to debug it.

i cbf doing the numbers on a simlarly stripped m3 but it would be a bit pricier id think due to fewer optional parts. it would be marginally easier to build and debug though given the lower number of parts, but still quite a task for a newbie. the cool thing is you can get heaps of the parts you need (like the transistors heatsinks and mosfets) from amb's shop at pretty reasonable rates.

a pimeta would be a much better choice, and you can get a really nice pimeta for $100. i love the pimeta, buf634's buffering some decent op amps and a dedicated ground channel, you'll find similar sorts of designs in pricier amps from guys like meier, headroom, et al.

throw in the class a cascodes, a basic tread + budget plugpack, rk097 pot, and it'll sound awesome without breaking the bank. you can roll in other opamps in the future and stack buffers etc to play with the sound as well.