The new kitchen system

[adamslim]

Just sorted my kitchen system, which is now as follows:
SB3
DIY Paradise Charlize amp
Skynet SNP-8080 PSU, which feeds both the above
Harbeth mini-monitors

I managed to fit both Charlize (see http://diyparadise.com/charlize2.html ) and the PSU (see http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/nuukspot/decdun/gainclonesmps.html ) into a smallish enclosure (from Maplin, here http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=N85AL&source=15&SD=Y )

The result:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/R0010143.jpg

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/R0010146.jpg

Unfortunately I still haven't finished the kitchen, so I can't wire it up to see how it sounds. Oh well, fun to come!

[Deaf Cat]

Looks a nice neat job!
Like to see you have your priorities sorted :D

Have been thinking about getting a second SB for a little while now, to put with powered speakers, but a bit of diy could be a tad more fun :)

[Patrick Dixon]

Here's my version which uses a Class D Tripath Amplifier and a custom linear, regulated PSU for both the amplifier and the SB3. The speakers aren't quite as nice as yours, but the female involved in the commission, valued style and speaker smallness above audio quality ;-(

In the finished installation, the amp and psu sit out of sight on top of the wall unit, and the SB3 is wall mounted on a custom bracket with all the cables buried in the wall.

[Deaf Cat]

Hiya,
Would you guys mind if I asked roughly how much your amps cost, to get up and running?

Patrick, is that dinky little thing in the 2nd pic the actual amp :o ?

[Patrick Dixon]

Parts for Amp and PSU were probably about £150. Labour was extra.

Yes that's the Amp. It's actually just the green pcb bit in the middle - the copper board is just the local regulator and the heatsink.

The speakers are MA Radius 45 which are neat looking, but not that cheap and not exactly hi-fi. The system is capable of much better, if used with better speakers.

[adamslim]

Would you guys mind if I asked roughly how much your amps cost, to get up and running?

I'm cheaper than Patrick (but have much better speakers :) )

Charlize - £55; I think post was about a fiver
PSU was about £20 IIRC
Case under a tenner
Other bits and bobs (cables, plugs etc) dead cheap, except that I decided on a whim to buy a new soldering iron!

[Deaf Cat]

WOW !!

The amp is teenyweeny !!

ASlim I guess yours is of a similar size?

Errm, I guess there is some sort of trade off, between size and sound, as opposed to a normal sized amp....?

Probably a bit difficult for you guys to say but:
My nan has my old Cambridge Audio A5, which when new cost around £120 not too far off either amps (ok well it's intergrated and etc etc and yours I guess are just power amps), and I now have a Rega Maia power amp which cost quite a bit more. Would we be saying your teenyweeny amps, sound quality wise, would sound more like the Maia or the A5? I'm guessing they only need little speakers as surely they can't kick out that much power...?

Cheers :D

I have to keep looking at the pic2 the green board is so so so small :o

[adamslim]

WOW !!

The amp is teenyweeny !!

ASlim I guess yours is of a similar size?

Errm, I guess there is some sort of trade off, between size and sound, as opposed to a normal sized amp....?

Probably a bit difficult for you guys to say but:
My nan has my old Cambridge Audio A5, which when new cost around £120 not too far off either amps (ok well it's intergrated and etc etc and yours I guess are just power amps), and I now have a Rega Maia power amp which cost quite a bit more. Would we be saying your teenyweeny amps, sound quality wise, would sound more like the Maia or the A5? I'm guessing they only need little speakers as surely they can't kick out that much power...?

Cheers :D

I have to keep looking at the pic2 the green board is so so so small :o

Charlize is tiny - it really is credit card size, less than 2" x 3"

Can't comment on the sound versus your Maia or CA - I've heard neither. You only get about 6W with Charlize, which is enough for my kitchen and probably enough for granny. That's the trade-off, not sound quality!

[Patrick Dixon]

The Amp PCB I used is 25mm x 50mm. It will supply up to 25W per channel in theory (depending on the PSU and heatsink). It's pretty similar to a T-Amp, but my version has a better PSU.

I'm sure it sounds much better than Adam's ;-)

see www.41Hz.com for kits

[Patrick Dixon]

The biggest component cost in mine, was the mains torriod - which I had custom wound with 3 x 6V secondaries. I wanted a single PSU for the Amp and SB3 to cut down on mains wiring (and improve sound quality if possible) and I found I had to have a separate winding for the SB3 supply, or noise from the SB3 display affected the Amp.

I should be easier to build something with the new Duet, because (IIUC) it uses a 9V supply and draws less current. The lack of display should also help with the noise issue! - so I'm sure you could do something with a 1 x 12V secondary (or 2 x 6V) mains transformer.

[bigfool1956]

Thinking about a Duet+ then Patrick?

Maybe on to a winner, especially if the display is a major noise issue.

[Patrick Dixon]

I'm not sure what would be the point? You can use the Controller with the SB3 and SB+ if you want.

Display noise isn't an issue in the SB+, because the supply is isolated from the 'important' bits.

[Patrick Dixon]

Finished Installation

[adamslim]

Finished Installation

Where do you put the chicken once you've taken it out the oven? :)