Well; finished the high end version of Brian GT's gainclone boards. They use black gate caps and holco resistors. Other than that the boards are the same. In the High end kit he includes two power supply boards for dual-mono operation. I used the Hammond toroidal, 160 ma dual 18v secondaries. It's a pretty good trans, not Plitron but adequate for this implementation. If the amp sounds considorably different then I would purchase a better trans. This one was 60$. The amp is breaking in on FM 24/7 for now; but I must say the bass already seems more lush and deep. The amps are so easy to build; I have the basic driving the Altec 421's and the HE driving the Altec 811/806 combo. Any one considoring a build, I went to Staples which is an office supply store here and bought a personal safe. It is 1/32 inch painted steel size 11"x8"x3". The top opens and you can build the boards right into the case. I used a piece of angle iron as shielding for the tranny and used my new Uncle Neds chassis punch set to punch a hole in the front of the case for a voluum pot. There is a nice leather handle on top so that when you close and lock the case you can carry it around like a briefcase. Best of all, the chassis cost 10$. It is more solid and nicely painted than Hammonds for less than 1/2 the price. Drill 8 holes in the back of the case for speaker, RCA and IEC mounts and you are good to go. I also glued floor tiles across the inside of the cover as per Fred T's suggestion. We'll see how nice it sounds but one thing, it sure is portable. J.R.
What a neat idea! I may have to try one of those things. You wouldn't happen to know shat store bought amps/receivers/HT might have that chip would you? I'd love to have an idea of the sound and I wonder if I have heard it in anything.
It is a pretty popular chip judging by sales and interest. I do know the 47 Labs stuff uses it. The generic boards as a kit is 35$ get a cheap transformer and you can build it for about 75$ and its yours. J.R. I am a tube guy so am probably not the best opinion but they sound good for SS, I have no problem listening for hours as I work if that is any help.
The chips are cheap but the breaboard, thats about 12 bucks, then caps and resistors; I would go with the kit, but then,.. I am a bit on the lazy side.