DIY amp kits

[sasmit]

very true...to get to the point where you know how solder like second nature will not happen overnight, you must truly be passionate enough to go on and get your hands dirty at every opportunity.. , heat sinks metal work will consist of a significant part of your work and a small set of tools and a bit of hands on with them will also help.. e.g. a hack saw or a drill , triangular file.

 

[quad]

Sorry came late to this thread. Soundsgreat, your
experience with that xfmr company was awful.
We need a separate thread to list such experiences. A few
DIYers in Hyd complained about nasty treatment from
one parts dealer here, but nothing in the same league
as happened to you.

I got a 500VA toroid for my gainclone from EMD in Hyd.
They can do R-Cores (and EI, of course) also. Prices
were reasonable, but they took their sweet time for
delivery. (they said summer power cuts ate into working hours).

I got a quote from Miracle, Blr, too. But EMD
was cheaper and it's also located close to the sheet
metal guy who makes my amp chassis, so I went for it.
The toroid performs fine, but there is no interwinding
shield, and it looks a little crude compared to the
foreign ones.

Here's the contact info -

Electro Magnetic Devices
(Mr. Aravind or Suresh Hebbar)
B-1, E.C. COMPLEX, ECIL 'X' Roads, Kushaiguda, Hyderabad
Tel: 91-40-27122326
Fax: 91-40-27121513
Email: [email protected]
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Web site:Designers & Manufacturers Of:LF & HF Power magnetics,Transformers,Inductors,Coils for Industrial,Power & Medical Applications

- Prasad

 

[GeorgeO]

Link to a low cost preamp kit:

Euterpe Preamp Level 1

Discussion thread on Audiocircle about this here:

gauging interest in a low cost tube preamp


$250 is a pretty low price in my view. If you choose to source the transformer here, suited for 220V the price may fall, and so will shipping. There arent too many kit amps available in the market now.It is absolutely essential that detailed assembly and wiring instructions with plenty of photographs accompany the kit-I have, in the past, had serious problems with incomplete instructions.

Many mfrs of such products do not want to offer kits because of the high degree of support that inexperienced assemblers need.:sad:

George

 

[magma]

im wondering if any one has tried the peter daniel kits.
im almost tempted to order myself

 

[prasen_b]

im wondering if any one has tried the peter daniel kits.
im almost tempted to order myself

I was thinking of ordering the SPDIF NOS DAC . His gainclone amps are also well regarded. Cranky knows more about this. If you do order please post your experience.

 

[anm]

I am too looking for a quality DAC - maybe I can stuff it inside my lyrita pre amp.

 

[grubyhalo]

I am too looking for a quality DAC - maybe I can stuff it inside my lyrita pre amp.

The Opus and the Buffalo are 2 solid choices on 2 different price points. Ofcourse, the Opus is currently out of stock but you could try emailing them on availability. They are apparently extremely easy to put together from what I've been reading. On another note, I think trying to put the DAC inside the pre would be a bad idea on many counts...

 

[GeorgeO]

I have his premium NOS dac, bought it as a kit and assembled it.It's excellent.

George

 

[grubyhalo]

I have his premium NOS dac, bought it as a kit and assembled it.It's excellent.

George

I didn't realize TPA had a NOS DAC in it's lineup. Could you please give me a link?

 

[GeorgeO]

Sorry didnt understand what you meant by TPA. I referred to Peter Daniel of Audio Sector. This is a long thread which has to be searched to get info(pricing, ordering, options, etc) about it:

diyAudio Forums - AudioSector-chip amp kits, dacs, chassis - Page 1

 

[grubyhalo]

Sorry didnt understand what you meant by TPA. I referred to Peter Daniel of Audio Sector. This is a long thread which has to be searched to get info(pricing, ordering, options, etc) about it:

diyAudio Forums - AudioSector-chip amp kits, dacs, chassis - Page 1

No worries, I mistook the NOS reference to Twisted Pear Audio DACs and not Peter Daniel ones since I had mentioned Twisted Pear DACs in my previous post...

 

[ajinkya]

I think it's very easy to order the audiosector kit. Just go to this link:
DIY Chip Amplifier Kits, PCB's, Components and Information.

There is an option for international shipping (~$11) and the basic kit is just $59. I have heard good things about this kit, though haven't yet assembled one myself. You can also email Peter directly in case you have further questions about shipping to India.

 

[quad]

Any opinion on this ebay DAC? Looking at the feedback,
seems like lot of people have bought it.

Hi End 24bit/192KHz Up-sampling DAC Kit with USB input - eBay (item 120449856346 end time Jul-26-09 10:00:39 PDT)

For ref, the seller is gigawork shop.

eBay Store - gigawork shop: Amplifier Kits, Component, DAC Kits

Another interesting item was this mp3 decoder board -

MP3 hardware decoder+Remote control unite - eBay (item 200365187957 end time Jul-23-09 20:53:18 PDT)

Prasad

 

[quad]

And what makes you so sure that the $99 magic DAC uses original parts?

Getting stuff from ebay, one can't be sure, of course.
But a couple of points - the board looks excellent and
well laid out, the tech info provided is accurate and sufficient, and the ebay feedback for the vendor is
pretty good, even for this specific product.

I haven't ever bought anything from any Chinese or Hong Kong sellers, but man, the stuff they peddle is almost
too tempting. Like those $15ish stepped attenuators.

Some of the Chinese diyers do excellent work - as good as
any in the world. A few of the Chinese vendors on diyaudio
come across as very competent. Unfortunately, the
general perception of Chinese quality is probably
more often true.
And I haven't clicked the BIN button for this DAC

Prasad

 

[gobble]

Unfortunately, the
general perception of Chinese quality is probably
more often true.

The really good Chinese made stuff ( everything not just electronics) goes to Europ and US. Only the rejects are dumped in India.

I've seen their stuff in stores abroad - they are too good and cost much less than Indian goods of lesser quality! The best is that shopping for that kind of quality stuff anonymously indifferently and matter-of-factly is a cool experience as compared to the slimy down in the dumps dealers in India showing arrogance and attitude to you for asking for a better price and passing a subtle slurs at your social status for wanting a discount ... hyeah:

Cheers

 

[grubyhalo]

This particular DAC from this seller has been tempting me no end. I've been following the progress of a build by a diyaudio user using this kit. Though I'm pretty certain I'll go with a Buffalo32, I just might give into this one as well...

 

[kaushik]

In the toroidal transformer front , I got a quotation from Salzer Electronics for 250Va 18-0-18 for 2.k

qty: 1 - 2

 

[grubyhalo]

In the toroidal transformer front , I got a quotation from Salzer Electronics for 250Va 18-0-18 for 2.k

qty: 1 - 2

Nice............

Edit: BTW, did you contact the company directly or did you get the info. from one of their dealers?

 

[gvenu]

Hello all,

I am planning to get the TPA Buffalo DAC kit. Anybody is experienced with this? Is it worth USD 550/-?

Thanks & Regards,
Venu

 

[gvenu]

Dear Cranky (hope I can address you like this):

Thank you for your advice.

Regards,
Venu