[Kelvie1234]

Yep, almost total newbie to this.. well my dad taught me how to solder since I was around 8 so.. and he IS a technician.. that also loves audio

I use a SlimX + eggos /KSC35.. or my computer attached to my bookshelf system.. and can probably say an amp wouldnt' benefit me too much.. (I think?).. but sounds like a fun project to try

I'm gonna be using tangent's board.. obviously =]

I was just wondering, am I fine just going to electronic shops (like local part suppliers.. as I said before my dad is a technician, electronics repairman, so he knows a lot of these stores) and buying all of the parts required, or would ordering them online be better, or are they just all the same if the specs match?

And about the buffers.. should I get the 2001's or 2002s, and could I get those at the electronics stores?

(also any tips in building or anything else to be aware of would be great also, my first diy ATTEMPT [not gonna dare call it a project yet heh ])

thanks in advance.

 

[was ist los?]

The 2001s are more suitable for portable use as they only consume 1ma while the 2002s consume 5ma. I would use 2002s for wall powered metas. Also, 2002s sound better. This is just what people have said.

 

[ofb]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kelvie1234 And about the buffers.. should I get the 2001's or 2002s, and could I get those at the electronics stores?

availability of these buffers seems to be spotty. since you're ordering the meta board from tangent, why not save footwork and get buffers from him too?

for myself, i found everything between digikey and tangent.

 

[Kelvie1234]

Hmm.. I see a canadian flag on the digikey site.. thanks! =]

 

[tigger]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kelvie1234 Hmm.. I see a canadian flag on the digikey site.. thanks! =]

DigiKey is the best to deal with for Canadians. If you shop their Canadian website, the prices quoted include duty and exchange. All they add is taxes and $8CAN shipping. They also have fast shipping within 48 hours.
Mouser are good too, but you will have to add duty and high shipping cost to their order plus lead time is longer.
Good luck with the project!

 

[Kelvie1234]

Oh, also, what power supply should I get?

Preferably from digikey.. but there are some stores locally that I could go to to get a power supply... so maybe a brand or some specs?

I'm going to get dual AD8610s, the AD8620, and the AD823, how much voltage/current will I need?
15V, 500mA good enough?

Thanks again..

 

[Kelvie1234]

Also.. for the power supply.. should I get positive centre or negative centre?

 

[tangent]

Quote:

should I get the 2001's or 2002s, and could I get those at the electronics stores?

If you can find them anywhere else in the US besides from me, I'd love to know, since I was under the impression that what I have on hand now is all I will ever have, since these buffers are both discontinued. I imagine some of the surplus dealers might have them, but they'll charge an arm and a leg. What would be more interesting is if you could find a retail supplier that is selling them at the normal price.

Quote:

The 2001s are more suitable for portable use as they only consume 1ma while the 2002s consume 5ma.

1.5mA per buffer for the EL2001s, actually. This and lots of other "plusses and minuses" info is in the META42 docs.

Quote:

what power supply should I get?

I recommend the Elpac WM080, recently added to the META42 parts list. You can't get that from DigiKey, though. I don't know what I'd recommend instead if you insisted on going through DigiKey, unless you were open to a dual-voltage supply like the WM113TT.

Quote:

how much voltage/current will I need?

For those chips, keep it to 24V (+/-12V) or lower, and 100mA is plenty. Be sure to read the cautions in the META42 docs about the types of power supplies that are suitable.

Quote:

should I get positive centre or negative centre?

Doesn't matter.

 

[Kelvie1234]

Alright thanks for the reply, tangent, I'll just order some parts from digikey and some parts from mouser...


Also.. is the panasonic pot really that bad for a volume control? Or would it be alright? (the blue velvet seems pretty expensive)... and what enclosure should I get (preferably from digikey or mouser, I would like to fit it all into one order ) that would fit the meta, with crossfeed, and preferably 2 9v batteries? (I'm going to be using the power supply at home.. but sometimes I would want to take the amp outside too )

Oh, and maybe one that looks good?

Thanks again..

 

[Kelvie1234]

Hmm... also is there any way to tweak it to add a little extra bass?

My eggos are a little lacking in that department

Oh, and is mouser slow to ship? I requested a COD to Canada.. and dont' know if that's possible.. but they haven't given me an email yet.. and when I go to their website, my order is gone.

I have to add a few parts anyways... but they arent' replying..

Can anyone comment on mouser?

Thanks again.

 

[tangent]

Quote:

is the panasonic pot really that bad for a volume control?

If you get a good sample, then no, it's not bad at all. The problem is that you can get a fairly bad pot that still passes QC. The only solution for that is to cut the pot off the board and try another one. But hey, you're only down $2.50 if this happens to you.

Quote:

what enclosure should I get (preferably from digikey or mouser, I would like to fit it all into one order ) that would fit the meta, with crossfeed, and preferably 2 9v batteries?

For a really tight fit, either the PacTec HML-ET or the Serpac H-67AC (note the "AC"!) will work. I'm not aware of any more spacious cases that will accommodate 2x9V without requiring you to remove screws to get at the batteries. If screws are okay with you, the world is your oyster. Just realize that with most aluminum or plastic cases, every time you open and close the amp case, you risk stripping the soft aluminum or plastic threads out. Some of the better plastic cases have brass screw bosses in them and they come with matching machine screws to minimize this problem.

My view on the matter is to either make a small amp with limited features (H-67, single level crossfeed, 1/8" jacks only, etc.) or go balls-out and make a huge amp that holds lots of batteries (6x9V with 3 paralleled groups, or 18xAA...that sort of thing) so that you don't have to change them very often.

Quote:

is there any way to tweak it to add a little extra bass?

I recommend that you wait on that until you hear the amp. Just going with a decent headphone amp should improve bass quite a bit.

If the stock amp still isn't enough, you can stack more buffers on the output. And if that's still not enough, there are bass boost circuits you can build that add just one resistor and one capacitor per channel. See the PPA schematic for details (R7 & C5).

Quote:

I have to add a few parts anyways... but they arent' replying..

Big distributors like Mouser are run very efficiently. They don't pay a bunch of people to answer questions and manage nonstandard shipping methods. If you work within their system, ordering is very smooth with them. The only delay you're likely to get if you do that is simply due to the fact that their main warehouse is in Texas, whereas DigiKey's is in Minnesota.