AKSA-55 Power Amp: A re-housing project

[raghupb]

Planning to build a new enclosure for the AKSA-55 amp that I acquired in 2019.
The current chassis/enclosure is a little cumbersome due to the placement of terminals.
Also want to put an IEC connector, LED on/off switch and an extra pair of speaker outs for sub-woofer.
So this is a "dress her up in new clothes" venture.

Here is how it is now:


Plan is as below:
Attempt a wooden enclosure using Bubinga hardwood and Ply/Bubinga veneer.
Have leftover pieces of wood from a previous furniture project.

- got a few cut lengths of 5mm aluminum flat bar
- make a 300x300 mm aluminum platform to host components (using 300x100 aluminum flat; 3pcs)
- rotate the channel PCBs/Heatsink 180 degrees
- this brings the input and speaker connections closer to back panel and heat sink between transformers and channel board
- place channel and PSU boards upside down to facilitate FastOn connections from bottom
- route the wires (AC, DC, Gnd) below the aluminum platform, with holes at appropriate locations
- back panel will be aluminum plate fixed to a cutout area in wood/ply
- use glass standoffs as risers for heatsink and PSU board
- use bathroom drain covers as heat vents (top and side/bottom)

Take 1 PDF and aluminum pieces pics attached below.
Final dimensions of enclosure to be decided once the platform is hosted with components.



More to come soon. Stay tuned if interested.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[MaSh]

Oh wow, this should be interesting. I am also planning to change the front plate of my power amp. Replace the fiber plate with a glass plate and add a pair of VU meters to it.

MaSh

 

[raghupb]

Oh wow, this should be interesting. I am also planning to change the front plate of my power amp. Replace the fiber plate with a glass plate and add a pair of VU meters to it.

MaSh

VU meters look good when there is a contrasting background.
Maybe the dark toughened glass will look good.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[mbhangui]

From now on, I will look at bathroom drain covers with more respect

 

[raghupb]

Small update:
Got all the leftover wood from the attic.
Bubinga hardwood in all sizes (albeit small width) and plywood with double side bubinga veneer.
Surprisingly, there is also some ply+teakwood veneer too!!
There are choices. Have to decide what will form the pieces of the cabinet.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[kaushik]

very nice plans but we can do away with aluminum apart from using in small areas
my thoughts
1) use 3 mm AL plates from amazon in front
2) make wood square ,side vernished wood and part pf back , keep cuts for front knobs
3) DIY Aluminum pillers ( refer my knob diy)


some materials i used
1)fr4 pcb .. good for backside sockets
2)ACP sheets
3)mdf 4mm

 

[raghupb]

This mini project is yet to kick off. Been busy with other small carpentry projects with left over wood.
Hopefully in a couple of weeks I can instruct the carpenter to get something going.
The idea is to make the enclosure with leftover wood.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[raghupb]

Well ... Something else got done for audio hobby. Speaker stands, still an unfinished prototype.
Again this is from leftover hardwood.
The pillar is made of 24"x1"x3" strips of Pau Rosa wood. Very hard and quite heavy.
I glued 3 pcs of them with Araldite (and a whole lot of C-clamps) and got them planed to about 2.75"x2.875"x23.5"
The top plate is 7"x9.5" and bottom plate is 8.5"x9.5". The bottom plate is not as large as I would have liked it to be.



I did try Fundermax material for top and bottom plates. It was the size I wanted it to be, wider bottom plate.
But could not get it to be stable. The plates were moving around and shaky. So it was a fail and had to fall back on wood.


These will be finished and used in my son's room.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[grindstone]

I am sure this doesn't happen with your son, but my experience around (and vaguely recalling once being) youth has fostered extra care in protection. If things cannot be bolted, welded, or buried, gravity somehow seems to play an outsized impact whenever the word son is involved. FWIW.

 

[raghupb]

These new stands are gonna replace the clay brick thingamajig!!

Wood Finishing: Tips (and possible pitfalls)

This thread maybe relevant for speaker box builders and possibly amp casing/enclosure builders I dabble in woodworking projects from time to time. My interests are design, wood selection/procurement and finishing. The actual carpentry a.k.a heavy lifting and skilled work is left to...

www.hifivision.com

Boy is very careful, but he shares the room with a rowdy/playful dog
They will be placed next to the CoD to minimize chances of toppling.

Cheers,
Raghu