New member - just looking for information led me here!

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njdii

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Hello.  I have been inot audio gear since I was in the eight grade!  I was the only kid in my development at that age to have separate components and a dedicated listening room with all my gear!  Granted it was never audiophile stuff, but it sounded good to me.  I've since been married, had 2 kids, and since divorced.  I started getting back into the gear mode while my kids were little, but obviously, wasn't able to afford much gear.  So, I chose my pieces wisely, according to my tastes, and since then have been able to grow quite the stash of gear.  One could almost call me a hoarder!  I hate to part with any of it.  Anyhow, I was doing some research on Chipamps, and believe I found one that I recently came across on the forum.  So I figured I better join, and learn all I can from this group.  I have to admit, it is hard for me to post super frequently, but I do go in spurts.  Sometimes I'll be quiet for a while and then bam!  I am chattering it up.

Most recently I've been trying to teach myself how to repair older stereo gear.  (I hesitate to say vintage, because that makes me feel reallly old!).  Anyhow, glad to be aboard and hope I can learn from others and maybe teach others with my little bit of knowlege.

Neil

FullRangeMan

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Re: New member - just looking for information led me here!
« Reply #1 on: 28 Jul 2021, 11:33 pm »
Welcome to AC  :thumb:

Phil A

Re: New member - just looking for information led me here!
« Reply #2 on: 29 Jul 2021, 01:28 am »
Welcome!

JLM

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Re: New member - just looking for information led me here!
« Reply #3 on: 29 Jul 2021, 11:03 am »
Welcome Neil!

Chip amps were a rage 20 years ago but have been replaced with small class D amps.  Look at Temple Audio.  High quality gear, up to 100 wpc, reasonable prices.  I just ordered my second pair of mono-blocks from them.  Am using a small borrowed chip amp currently and years ago owned 40 watt mono-blocks.  But also auditioned a DIY chip amp dog (local FM bled in terribly).  One of the keys to chip amp design is to minimize the circuit length (one was advertised to be only 9 mm long). 

Realize that the relationship between watts (wpc) and sound pressure levels (spls) is logarithmic, meaning that it takes 10 times the power to double the spls.  So 20 wpc can sound half as loud as 200 wpc.  OTOH it's important for the amp to have enough "grunt" to provide a commanding grip on the loudspeaker for the best resolution (detail and imaging).  Chip amps are limited by their design to 50 wpc, so connecting loudspeakers should be at least 90 dB/w/m efficient.  Chip amps were popular with single driver loudspeakers as easy to drive and lacking deep bass wattage demands.

ArthurDent

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Re: New member - just looking for information led me here!
« Reply #4 on: 29 Jul 2021, 02:06 pm »
Greetings & Welcome to AC Neil   :thumb:

njdii

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  • Crazy about audio gear!
Re: New member - just looking for information led me here!
« Reply #5 on: 30 Jul 2021, 01:58 pm »
Thanks for the welcom aboard from those that did.  I think I may have stumbled across an old Chipamp built by Member ohenry back in 2006.  I have photos of it, and the build and items used to build it were identical to what I have in my house now.  I had them hooked up to a pair of Polk Monitor 12's, and I have to say, the sound comiing out of the setup gave me goosebumps.  I will see if I can figure how to post pictures here (not sure if I can with my newbie status).  I have to say, if it is the one that he built, fantastic job.  I can't get over the clarity of the signal coming through my setup.  And volume was substantial at 12 o'clock on the receiver I was using as a preamp (has jumpers to separate pre from main outputs). 

I've done a little research on them, and it is interesting, but they seem to be very fussy as far as making one.  Like you said, short distances, etc.  Mounting things directly on chip pins, etc.  Not sure if I would want to build one, but now that I have heard one, (and may potentially own one), I think my interest levels are getting increased!

Will have to get back to you all later.  Posting this during a break from work.