[Brownee]

Hi all

Thought I would post some pics of my very first Aksa 55.  

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;area=browse;album=395


Thanks
Brownee

[AKSA]

Brownee,

Beautifully made!  You have done a wonderful job, and I congratulate you for great attention to detail and quality workmanship.

Are you pleased with the sound?

Cheers,

Hugh

[Brownee]

Hi Hugh, thanks for the comments.

I am new to the HiFi scene so I don’t have a great deal of experience in what to expect.  I must say though that I am very impressed by what I am hearing even on some cheapo speakers. (bookshelf Jaycar’s). What impresses me the most is the imaging that I am hearing. Vocals /music seems to hang mid air and doesn’t seem to come from the speakers. I am 80% through building my Aksonics so should be able to get a better idea of what the amp can do when there up and running. Any news on the Aksentre? I am also very interested in the sub you have in development.

Thanks
Lyndon

[lonewolfny42]

Hi all

Thought I would post some pics of my very first Aksa 55.  

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;area=browse;album=395


Thanks
Brownee

Brownee, That's a great looking AKSA !! Could you tell me what binding posts you have installed on the amp...thanks !!

[Brownee]

Hi lonewolfny42

Speaker binding posts? They are from “Jaycar Electronics”. They are gold plated and have a clear plastic case. Here is the link.
http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=PP0436&CATID=&keywords=speaker&SPECIAL=&form=KEYWORD&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=
They are great to use but are a bit expensive.

See Ya
Lyndon

[Lost81]

They resemble the WBT Mid-line Series of Binding Posts, at 25% of the price

I wonder if they use the same material for the clear plastic as WBT though (Lexan™).
Not that it matters sonically


-Lost81

[lonewolfny42]

Thanks !! Reminds me of the binding posts on my Von Schweikert  speakers.... easy to work with.

[Malcolm Fear]

Beware the binding posts. I used Jaycar binding posts on my AKSA 55 and my speakers.
I got rid of them, soldering my speaker leads directly to the AKSA power boards and the speaker lugs. A great improvement.

[kyrill]

Well done Brownee.

You have eyes to find God in the details.
Germans say "Der Teufel" but they mainly main the trouble to get there.
: )
Kyrill

[EchiDna]

? I got no idea what you are saying there Kyrill!

anyway, updated the first post again

[kyrill]

? I got no idea what you are saying there Kyrill!

anyway, updated the first post again

Hi Glen

"God is in the details" is the finishing touch. This way quality  transcends functionality.
Read "Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance. from Pirsig
Quality in designing is not in the details but in the simplicity of the design,
Quality in the structural  expression of the design is in those details.
German and Swiss manufacturing have this "love" for details. But this love to incorporate minute details is cumbersome and asks for focus and attention. It is hard. So the Germans call the it the opposite of God: Der Teufel  (The Devil) steckt im detail

[AKSA]

Kyrill,

Thanks for your description, very clear.  I believe the English translates this German very well, we say 'The Devil is in the Detail'.

Same thing exactly, though lacking the German dramatic sense, and used almost colloquially in English.

I do agree with this sentiment.  You see it in the design of most European and a few Japanese automobiles, particularly in the passenger compartment.  In US autos, you see it in the bold but simple design of the mechanical comcponents;  it is clear that there has been very careful thought about function, then scrupulous attention to fabricating it at lowest cost - witness in particular the GM and Chrysler engines.  But my favourite designers are the Italians;  they somehow contrive to put soul into their consumer goods.  Consider a cappucino machine;  from Italy these things are works of art.  Italian motorcycles, though at times unreliable (mostly electrical problems), are wonderful to ride, very 'sympatico' with the human spirit.  The Japanese bikes are mechanical perfection, beautifully finished, incredibly reliable and handle and brake unbelievably well, but somehow they don't communicate with the rider like the Italian bikes.  This is highly abstractive commentary, easily dismissed as bull****, but if you love bikes, cars, industrial art, there is something to it.

I've noticed that good industrial design starts to take on the characteristics of the originating culture.  This is never more obvious than with German automobiles, which are extraordinarily refined, tough, and powerful, and, well, functional.  (Although I need to be careful here as BMW now employs an American from Ohio to head up their body design team).  One could say something similar of Scandinavian cars too, which are not the same, but certainly they clearly reflect the culture.

Cheers,

Hugh

[jules]

One has to be so diplomatic here with critiques of international design   . Bold designs seem to come out of a nations self assurance (which might explain why there hasn't been a notable automotive design out of England since the C type Jaguar ... so much for the diplomatic approach).

This debate has raised an important point about amp design. Cars, planes, domestic appliances and many other items have their shape defined by their function to a certain extent. Complimenting this, it is also true in that it is possible to imply something about the function of any of these items by giving them a particular shape. By contrast there is no shape that says ampilifier and no reason why an amp shouldn't be made in any shape from a ball to a box. The choice of material is similarly open.

I'm working on some box designs myself at the moment and my own feeling is that since the function of an amp is to produce music, the design should attempt to show this rather than just looking like a technical solution to the containment of a collection of electronic parts. I'm not saying an amp should be in the shape of a G cleff or some sort of horn but I do think wood has a place and also that there is scope beyond the classic flat box design.

What do others think  

Jules

[EchiDna]

design wise there is just so many potentials out there!

my own choice of materials has changed a lot over the past few years, with a prefernce for "mixed media" verses a former love of just aluminium...
finally I'm getting somewhere on my GK-1 chassis, which will be closely followed by some alterations to my AKSA 100 chassis to make the two complimentary. The end product will hopefully be like nothing on the market, yet still identifiable!

my personal skills are nothing compared to some of the AKSA builders of yore: www.propstuff.com.au for example!

[Seano]

One of the greatest handbrakes of innovative amplifier case design particularily in kits like the AKSA is the heatsink.

Without that rather ugly lump of alloy, our amps will have the lifespan of a box of matches.  But the only heatsinks out there available to the DIY/small volume market have all the aesthetic appeal of a house brick. Solid, purposeful, has potential but hardly exciting.

The trick (and this is where people like propstuff come in) is to find an aesthetic way of keeping an amp cool AND integrate that aesthetic into the case design. To my mind this is a largely undiscussed and undiscovered aspect of DIY audio.  There are a huge number of people out there innovating and augmenting audio circuit designs but naff all really investing themselves into the appearance of their amps.

Dare I say that this is because visual design is really hard to do and then it's harder still to turn that vision into reality. Hell I find it easy to visualise a decent cup of coffee from the local bakery but they always seem to find a way to dissappoint me. And something similar often happens in my workshop.

I suggest that those of us that can't really contribute to the circuitry debate (apart from the odd loopy comment or perhaps reality check) invest themselves further into the rather esoteric territory of heatsinks. Cause these are one mousetrap that really needs some work.

A quick look about took me to Rod Elliot who has obviously thought about heatsinks for a bit. Good place to start http://sound.westhost.com/heatsinks.htm

[jules]

Yes ... agree with that Sean. In particular the heat sink is probably the one item that does say amplifier. Black Gates might be totally brilliant but they have all the visual appeal of a badly designed torch battery. Fins have always been used as something of a design statement on motorbikes and I reckon they have potential. I'm also slightly uneasy about having them enclosed in a case, particularly in Australian conditions. I accept that it's probably quite ok but it just seems wrong to reduce their efficency in any way.  I haven't had time to read the Rod Elliot stuff but it looks interesting.

On the positive side for DIY builders it is now possible to reasonably cheaply express ideas in metal via CAD and laser cutting.

More later

Jules

[kyrill]

Well ...
I like the heatsinks Hugh supplies very much.
I like the heatsinks around the motor combustion compartment of a motorcycle. But they must be black I like the heatsinks around an amplifier

They suggest to me action and power. In a sense their simplicity is beautiful

[Seano]

Oh I like Hugh's heatsinks well enough. And I'm fully aware of the paradigm of heatsinks & amplifiers. It is just that for all the innovation of circuit design, topology and components over the last umpteen years those bloody heatsinks haven't altered a jot. And therefore neither has the visual appearance of the average amp. It is still usually a slab sided box. The only design innovation has been in the frilly bits that hang off them.

I'm not sure what the answer is but if I poke about with a pointed stick then something might come up. I'm not advocating building Bose clones but a likttle innovation by us DIYers can really go places.

Make no mistake though. There are still many boxy amps whose design I quite like.  For example, I wouldn't object to a couple of MacIntosh amps in the loungeroom simply for the look of things (and of course the knowledge that I was wealthy enough to actually afford the things - not bloody likely ).

So here's the rub. Why are amp heatsinks shaped the way they are? Cause they've always been is not a satisfactory answer to my mind

[RonR]

It's about time my Aksa gear was introduced to the world, so here's another gallery entry:

My Aksa Kit

If I can keep the GK-1 switched off for long enough, I'll get some pics of the internal layout.

Cheers!

[ghamel]

Ron thats absolutely gorgeous..

What did you use for the power buttons? They look like touch sensors.. Ditto for the input selectors - are they commercial switches or homegrown?

I've been considering doing something similar with lighted indicators/selectors, to avoid the need for labels on the panel. Can you provide any sources or guidance for the less capable?  

Thanks!

It's about time my Aksa gear was introduced to the world, so here's another gallery entry:

My Aksa Kit

If I can keep the GK-1 switched off for long enough, I'll get some pics of the internal layout.

Cheers!