$175 Class D amp--120 wpc

wushuliu · « **Reply #1620 on:** 8 Jul 2010, 01:42 am »

Quote from: HT cOz on 7 Jul 2010, 11:58 pm

Wait what about that other girl? The Temptress 3020?

On hold... I need to take some time and Actually listen to tunes. Also so I can make a proper comparison down the road.

stereocilia · « **Reply #1621 on:** 11 Jul 2010, 03:12 pm »

Sounding great: super-clear and effortless.

steve k · « **Reply #1622 on:** 11 Jul 2010, 05:37 pm »

Beautiful wiring!!! I'm jealous.

What speaks are you driving?
steve

wushuliu · « **Reply #1623 on:** 11 Jul 2010, 05:58 pm »

Yeah, what kind of wires are those? They look so professional.

jtwrace · « **Reply #1624 on:** 11 Jul 2010, 06:37 pm »

Nice job!

Oh, and nice case.

stereocilia · « **Reply #1625 on:** 11 Jul 2010, 06:45 pm »

Gee, Thanks! I think the camera must have been too kind. The speaker wires are some left-over Acoustic Research "performance series" 16 ga. "oxygen-free" wire. I figured that would be plenty since I'm using two per channel. The mains wires are 12 ga. hook-up wire. The signal wires, I think are 22 ga.. I just braided them. The 12V wire is 16 ga. wire paired and colored black and red.

The case is all jtwrace.

I'm driving Magnepan 1.7. They seem to really love this amp.

jtwrace · « **Reply #1626 on:** 11 Jul 2010, 07:02 pm »

Quote from: stereocilia on 11 Jul 2010, 06:45 pm

The case is all jtwrace.

Barry_NJ · « **Reply #1627 on:** 11 Jul 2010, 10:13 pm »

Quote from: stereocilia on 11 Jul 2010, 06:45 pm

Gee, Thanks! I think the camera must have been too kind. The speaker wires are some left-over Acoustic Research "performance series" 16 ga. "oxygen-free" wire. I figured that would be plenty since I'm using two per channel. The mains wires are 12 ga. hook-up wire. The signal wires, I think are 22 ga.. I just braided them. The 12V wire is 16 ga. wire paired and colored black and red.

The case is all jtwrace.

I'm driving Magnepan 1.7. They seem to really love this amp.

It looks fantastic, great build!

What modules/kit are you running there, and what is the output into 8 ohms?

stereocilia · « **Reply #1628 on:** 11 Jul 2010, 11:32 pm »

Thanks! those are the Ti-600s: 600 W @ 8 ohms. http://classdaudio.com/index.php/600w-class-d-power-amplifier.html

dvenardos · « **Reply #1629 on:** 12 Jul 2010, 12:09 am »

Sorry if this has been covered. Other than the TI boards are any of the class D amps stable at 4 ohms when bridged?

Barry_NJ · « **Reply #1630 on:** 13 Jul 2010, 12:22 am »

Quote from: stereocilia on 11 Jul 2010, 11:32 pm

Thanks! those are the Ti-600s: 600 W @ 8 ohms. http://classdaudio.com/index.php/600w-class-d-power-amplifier.html

Nice. So I'm guessing you purchased this kit and a second amplifier board(?) Or did you buy the 2 amplifier boards, and power supply separately?

Would you give some details on the sound? Someone wrote on the class-d site, that the "Amp is definitley brighter than my trusty Yamaha M2". Though in my experience, Yamaha amps tend to lean toward sounding a bit dark anyway. I'm interested in hearing more impressions of it's sonic character.

I also wonder how it compares sonically with the CDA-1000 Kit(?)

Thanks

Steidl Guitars · « **Reply #1631 on:** 13 Jul 2010, 01:19 am »

Quote from: dvenardos on 12 Jul 2010, 12:09 am

Sorry if this has been covered. Other than the TI boards are any of the class D amps stable at 4 ohms when bridged?

I'd think this version would work:

http://classdaudio.com/index.php/class-d-audio-amplifiers/home-and-pro-class-d-audio-amplifiers/sds-254.html

I'm using this one into a 4 ohm load:

http://classdaudio.com/index.php/class-d-amplifier-kits/home-kits/250w-x2-500w-x1-amp-large-power-supply-transformer.html

It would overheat after 6-7 hours and go into protection for a few seconds, so Tom suggested that I add to the smallish heat sink. I did and it's been dandy ever since.

Meicheng · « **Reply #1632 on:** 13 Jul 2010, 01:53 am »

I just corresponded yesterday with Tom at Class D, and both model 254 kits will drive 4 ohm speakers, no problem.

stereocilia · « **Reply #1633 on:** 13 Jul 2010, 03:42 am »

Quote from: Barry_NJ on 13 Jul 2010, 12:22 am

Nice. So I'm guessing you purchased this kit and a second amplifier board(?) Or did you buy the 2 amplifier boards, and power supply separately?

Would you give some details on the sound? Someone wrote on the class-d site, that the "Amp is definitley brighter than my trusty Yamaha M2". Though in my experience, Yamaha amps tend to lean toward sounding a bit dark anyway. I'm interested in hearing more impressions of it's sonic character.

I also wonder how it compares sonically with the CDA-1000 Kit(?)

Thanks

Yep, that's the kit! I wired it first in stereo, and then I ordered the second amp a few days later. My non-audiophile wife says it sounds "rich." I would say it gives a little needed "air" to the maggie 1.7; the percussion seems snappier, and clarity is a real strength. With the ACI Sapphire XL, the clarity remains, but for some reason most recordings sound a little more like they were made in an artificially non-reverberant room than I remember -- almost like there's some low-level dynamic expansion or something. It's subtle, so I don't want to overstate the effect, and it's not always a bad thing. Just different.
In my limited experience, I would say that this amp is a fantastic value with conventional dome and cone speakers, and with maggies, I would guess that you'd have to spend serious money to get better sound. That's my take so far, but remember my opinion is biased. Anything I wire together myself will sound better just because I did it. Sorry I'm not much of a reviewer. Hopefully one of the pros will publish a formal review on these kits. (Affordable$$Audio, I'm looking in your direction.)

HT cOz · « **Reply #1634 on:** 13 Jul 2010, 12:23 pm »

Quote from: stereocilia on 13 Jul 2010, 03:42 am

Yep, that's the kit! I wired it first in stereo, and then I ordered the second amp a few days later. My non-audiophile wife says it sounds "rich." I would say it gives a little needed "air" to the maggie 1.7; the percussion seems snappier, and clarity is a real strength. With the ACI Sapphire XL, the clarity remains, but for some reason most recordings sound a little more like they were made in an artificially non-reverberant room than I remember -- almost like there's some low-level dynamic expansion or something. It's subtle, so I don't want to overstate the effect, and it's not always a bad thing. Just different.
In my limited experience, I would say that this amp is a fantastic value with conventional dome and cone speakers, and with maggies, I would guess that you'd have to spend serious money to get better sound. That's my take so far, but remember my opinion is biased. Anything I wire together myself will sound better just because I did it. Sorry I'm not much of a reviewer. Hopefully one of the pros will publish a formal review on these kits. (Affordable$$Audio, I'm looking in your direction.)

Did you notice any difference going from stereo to two boards running bridged each?

stereocilia · « **Reply #1635 on:** 13 Jul 2010, 06:30 pm »

Great question. Not very much, actually. It seems like the sound emerges from the speakers into the room a little easier (I know that sounds a little dopey, but I can't think of a better way to say it), and the imaging might be marginally more focused. Overall, I would say it was a small difference. But, I've spent more to get less.

jtwrace · « **Reply #1636 on:** 13 Jul 2010, 06:47 pm »

Quote from: stereocilia on 13 Jul 2010, 06:30 pm

Great question. Not very much, actually. It seems like the sound emerges from the speakers into the room a little easier (I know that sounds a little dopey, but I can't think of a better way to say it), and the imaging might be marginally more focused. Overall, I would say it was a small difference. But, I've spent more to get less.

I would say it's more effortless.

My personal opinion...I know what you're saying though.

dvenardos · « **Reply #1637 on:** 13 Jul 2010, 09:54 pm »

I went ahead and emailed him just for clarification.

Quote

Yes, the amps are stable at 4 ohms bridged but the power will not double from 8 to 4 ohm in bridged mode because the MOSFETS are not rated for so much current. We have protection circuitry built in to safeguard against this.

So, if you want to build monoblocks or have an odd number of channels it is no problem, however, you don't get twice as much power at 4 ohm.

Quote from: dvenardos on 12 Jul 2010, 12:09 am

Sorry if this has been covered. Other than the TI boards are any of the class D amps stable at 4 ohms when bridged?

soundnoob · « **Reply #1638 on:** 16 Jul 2010, 11:29 am »

Guys,

I am getting the http://classdaudio.com/index.php/class-d-audio-amplifiers/home-and-pro-class-d-audio-amplifiers/sds-254.html for my seas speaker build http://www.audioheuristics.org/projects_gallery/ER18DXT/ER18DXT.htm

I couldn't read the entire thread here but from whatever I did read these seem to be perfect for my needs and budget. I will be starting with stereo but plan on moving to a 5.1 system as time/budget permits. I am guessing I can add another stereo SDS amp and a mono in the future? I will using my PC as the source for now but will get a pre sometime in the future?

Please let me know if my assumptions are in order.

Thanks for all your help.

jtwrace · « **Reply #1639 on:** 16 Jul 2010, 11:33 am »

Quote from: soundnoob on 16 Jul 2010, 11:29 am

Guys,

I am getting the http://classdaudio.com/index.php/class-d-audio-amplifiers/home-and-pro-class-d-audio-amplifiers/sds-254.html for my seas speaker build http://www.audioheuristics.org/projects_gallery/ER18DXT/ER18DXT.htm

I couldn't read the entire thread here but from whatever I did read these seem to be perfect for my needs and budget. I will be starting with stereo but plan on moving to a 5.1 system as time/budget permits. I am guessing I can add another stereo SDS amp and a mono in the future? I will using my PC as the source for now but will get a pre sometime in the future?

Please let me know if my assumptions are in order.

Thanks for all your help.

That should all work.