My First DIY Amplifier (JLH 1969)

[raj_krish]

This is my first DIY attempt.
Have been using AmpCamp(6W+6W) from long time, as my speakers are big (2*8-1/2 bass , 1*5 inch mid and tweeter) it couldn't able to justify the speakers.
From long time i have been searching for a suitable amp, but unfortunately couldn't get the amp in my budget. So decided to move to DIY
I don't have any experience about soldering or considering parts, measuring parts etc.
Could able to build the DIY DAC with the help of Raghu(for soldering),manniraj(for selecting parts etc), and finally be me (for getting the cabinet ready and connecting the cables between the pcb's).
While building the DAC i came to know the pain in DIY , and got some contacts.
One day i came across the JLH 1969 amp and found that it is a little bit easy to make as the design is very simple and very less number of parts (complete kit is also available at a very less price). Complicated part in the amp is its heat dissipation, so required a bigger heat sinks and its tough to get locally (as per my contacts).
I decided to build this amp and purchased the from AliExpress, after receiving the kits i was thinking whether i should build or take the help of nraghunadh (who is always ready to help). At that time i didn't even had a soldering rod to solder
Took the kit to Raghu's place and asked him, can i try myself (luckyly he accepted yahoo and thought me how to solder) he is my guru
Finally completed soldering 2 boards (but took long time and did multiple times to solder properly, as was doing mistakes and corrected by guru)





Now the main toughest part me is to procure the heat sink for testing, luckily got one from a friend, but faced difficulty for drilling and tapping on heat sink.
Finally completed the mounting part too





Now the testing part is pending, as i want to power with smps (which is available ready)
Took the kit and heat sink to raghu's place and tried connecting, but it went in a big flop, after that i went home with full disappointment :sad:
Next tried by reconnecting the wires and got one 10ohms 2w resistor as guided by friend diyer.
Did as per his guidance and it started working :yahoo:

Parts replaced in the kit are input coupling capacitor (used ASC 2.0uf and the ELNA output capacitor of 4700uf 35v and rest are from the kit)

Listening impressions:
Vocals are good and prominent (which was concern in my speaker when connected to ampcamp) and the bass is controlled (it was lose with ampcamp)

as i could able to listen only a single channel, so could not comment more...

First of the movie is Done and second half will post soon...

Once again thanks for the for all who supported in my build...

Thanks for reading with patience and forgive me if my script is not readable/understandable

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Have been using AmpCamp(6W+6W) from long time,

Dear raj_krish,

Congratulations on your build!

I have also started off with my first DIY amp - AmpCamp. Parts have been procured already. Now, the biggest pain in bottom is the cabinet.

Could you (or any FM who comes across this post) please help me out to get (or build) a nice cabinet for this amp? I will really be thankful to you.

Once I am done with AmpCamp, I am pretty much confused about the next project. I cannot select which one to go for - Aleph Mini, JLH 1969, Ovation SX or Hiraga Le Monstre? If you (or any FM) have done any comparison between these amps, please share your thoughts. I have already come across this thread: http://www.hifivision.com/diy/61549-aleph-j-vs-jean-hiraga-25w-vs-ovation-sx.html, but there is no such comparison between those amps.

Just on a side note, I will be using these amps with a 90db bookshelves.

Thanks,
Saikat

 

[raj_krish]

Hi saikat

Regarding cabinet for ampcamp, you can contact Raghu(nraghunadh).
He will help you

Thanks
Raj

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Hi saikat

Regarding cabinet for ampcamp, you can contact Raghu(nraghunadh).
He will help you

Thanks
Raj

I have already contacted him. Unfortunately, the stocks have been exhausted. [emoji26]

 

[raj_krish]

Dear raj_krish,

Congratulations on your build!

I have also started off with my first DIY amp - AmpCamp. Parts have been procured already. Now, the biggest pain in bottom is the cabinet.

Could you (or any FM who comes across this post) please help me out to get (or build) a nice cabinet for this amp? I will really be thankful to you.

Once I am done with AmpCamp, I am pretty much confused about the next project. I cannot select which one to go for - Aleph Mini, JLH 1969, Ovation SX or Hiraga Le Monstre? If you (or any FM) have done any comparison between these amps, please share your thoughts. I have already come across this thread: http://www.hifivision.com/diy/61549-aleph-j-vs-jean-hiraga-25w-vs-ovation-sx.html, but there is no such comparison between those amps.

Just on a side note, I will be using these amps with a 90db bookshelves.

Thanks,
Saikat

Ha-vent done the comparisons with list of amps which you mentioned, will try to compare with SX and Hiraga if possible.
But compared to ampcamp this amp sound's good in my setup and i stopped using ampcamp after listening to this amp.
This amp is superior in all aspects and even the price of the kit is also very less than ampcamp

Thanks
Rajesh

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Ha-vent done the comparisons with list of amps which you mentioned, will try to compare with SX and Hiraga if possible.
But compared to ampcamp this amp sound's good in my setup and i stopped using ampcamp after listening to this amp.
This amp is superior in all aspects and even the price of the kit is also very less than ampcamp

Thanks
Rajesh

That's great to know. Will wait for your review.

 

[sathiamoorthy]

Superb effort.

 

[sadik]

Nice Work @ Raj

 

[sadik]

Now, the biggest pain in bottom is the cabinet

You are right @ Saikat. This is indeed a tough Job. I have been through many problems, which i faced while making cabinet for my Crescendo ME amplifier. The Most annoying part is when you Break a TAP in hole :lol: Luckily there are workshops in my area where i got my Broken tap removed with less damage to my Heat sink.

Sadik

 

[saikatbiswas82]

You are right @ Saikat. This is indeed a tough Job. I have been through many problems, which i faced while making cabinet for my Crescendo ME amplifier. The Most annoying part is when you Break a TAP in hole[emoji38]Luckily there are workshops in my area where i got my Broken tap removed with less damage to my Heat sink.

Sadik

That's great.

Btw, I was looking for a custom cabinet from shop to shop in chandni. No one is ready to accept an order less than 100 pieces. Some even quoted a minm order of 1000 pieces.

 

[sadik]

Dear raj_krish,

Congratulations on your build!

I have also started off with my first DIY amp - AmpCamp. Parts have been procured already. Now, the biggest pain in bottom is the cabinet.

Could you (or any FM who comes across this post) please help me out to get (or build) a nice cabinet for this amp? I will really be thankful to you.

Once I am done with AmpCamp, I am pretty much confused about the next project. I cannot select which one to go for - Aleph Mini, JLH 1969, Ovation SX or Hiraga Le Monstre? If you (or any FM) have done any comparison between these amps, please share your thoughts. I have already come across this thread: http://www.hifivision.com/diy/61549-aleph-j-vs-jean-hiraga-25w-vs-ovation-sx.html, but there is no such comparison between those amps.

Just on a side note, I will be using these amps with a 90db bookshelves.

Thanks,
Saikat

That's great.

Btw, I was looking for a custom cabinet from shop to shop in chandni. No one is ready to accept an order less than 100 pieces. Some even quoted a minm order of 1000 pieces.

& that's the reason i started making my own cabinets ... Even here the minimum requirement is 10 Nos ... "Yaar baaki 9 ka mai kya aachar daalu" .... lol.

 

[Sumanta]

I can suggest one simple solution. Make cabinet by mdf 6mm sheets. dimension it by yourself. Get it cut in any moulding or wood cutter's place. Fix it with Vetra.
I made a cabinet and two speakers with just vetra. It wors fine.

If you make it with proper ventilation, it will be easy.

If you can make the electronics part for me, I can make one cabinet for you. Deal?

 

[saikatbiswas82]

& that's the reason i started making my own cabinets ... Even here the minimum requirement is 10 Nos ... "Yaar baaki 9 ka mai kya aachar daalu" .... lol.

Ha ha ha. Your cabinet is very well (read professional) made I must say.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

I can suggest one simple solution. Make cabinet by mdf 6mm sheets. dimension it by yourself. Get it cut in any moulding or wood cutter's place. Fix it with Vetra.
I made a cabinet and two speakers with just vetra. It wors fine.

If you make it with proper ventilation, it will be easy.

If you can make the electronics part for me, I can make one cabinet for you. Deal?

@sumanta da...during last couple of months I have been working with DIY stuffs. It really boosted my confidence. I think, if I get the pcb, I can solder the components onto them ... Lol.

And yes, it's a deal! Thanks a lot for the generous offer.

 

[Sumanta]

@sumanta da...during last couple of months I have been working with DIY stuffs. It really boosted my confidence. I think, if I get the pcb, I can solder the components onto them ... Lol.

And yes, it's a deal! Thanks a lot for the generous offer.

Wow! That's a steal for me, thanks.

So, can I assume that I have to make two cabinets to get one Jean Hiraga or such wonderful amp circuitry ready with its components?


Really???

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Wow! That's a steal for me, thanks.

So, can I assume that I have to make two cabinets to get one Jean Hiraga or such wonderful amp circuitry ready with its components?


Really???

I think for hiraga, we need to source all the comments by ourselves. I have checked that this is not available as a kit anywhere.
Again another pain would be matching pair of 2sk170/2sj74. They are not readily available and certainly not cheap.

 

[Sumanta]

I think for hiraga, we need to source all the comments by ourselves. I have checked that this is not available as a kit anywhere.
Again another pain would be matching pair of 2sk170/2sj74. They are not readily available and certainly not cheap.

Going OOT, so I will stop here. for your cabinet making (any of you), I will explain how to make it in mdf once you give me your size requirement. It is pretty easy really. I made an active crossover cabinet with 6mm mdf.

This cabinet can last long if you
1) paint it in and out side both
2) handle it with care
3) do not keep heavy item on top of it. I kept a CDP on top of my cabinet, it didn't collapse or deformed at all.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Going OOT, so I will stop here. for your cabinet making (any of you), I will explain how to make it in mdf once you give me your size requirement. It is pretty easy really. I made an active crossover cabinet with 6mm mdf.

This cabinet can last long if you
1) paint it in and out side both
2) handle it with care
3) do not keep heavy item on top of it. I kept a CDP on top of my cabinet, it didn't collapse or deformed at all.

That's great. I really appreciate it. Will get in touch with you offline on this.

I just have one doubt. If there is no metal casing, will there be any electro magnetic interference or anything else of that sort?

 

[IndianEars]

The JLH 1969 is a Superb Class A ( 10 Watts to 15 Watts) amp. I have built it more than 40 years ago. First published in Wireless World magazine.

Ideally you should NOT use an SMPS with this amplifier, since its Power Supply Ripple Rejection is poor. Sound quality will not be optimal with a SMPS Power supply.

Also, for better heat conduction ... TO-3 Metal can transistors are recommended.

 

[raj_krish]

The JLH 1969 is a Superb Class A ( 10 Watts to 15 Watts) amp. I have built it more than 40 years ago. First published in Wireless World magazine.

Ideally you should NOT use an SMPS with this amplifier, since its Power Supply Ripple Rejection is poor. Sound quality will not be optimal with a SMPS Power supply.

Also, for better heat conduction ... TO-3 Metal can transistors are recommended.

Mine is a 10W version kit, as i couldn't able to get the PSU kit/PCB, so using the SMPS.
If you (or any one) could help me out in procuring the PSU kit/PCB, it would be great and thanks in advance.

0-24VDC per channel with 1.25A Quotient current is the requirement.