Shoe box amp

[insider9]

A mate of mine had Arjen Helder Mk III amp kit for a long time. Never got round to building it. It's class D (well class T amp). I got both my boys (8 and 17) to give me a hand to see if we can get it working. It was a great way to spend some tim with my sons. Here are the bits.

I always wanted to do something like this but without any schematics or instructions it took a little longer than it normally would. Not only that but 8 year olds are not great at soldering It took 2 hours to get it running. Not bad for a family effort with no instructions. We ended up making it into a power amp with only one working input. No on/off switch, no volume pot, only one stereo input, nothing fancy.

We had a wooden box we indended on using but without knowing it will actually work I didn't bother drilling. My mate has given all the bits in an old shoe box so that's what we ended up puttin it in.

Here is the "finished" article. Both amp board and power supply are not fixed at present.

Have been running it for an hour and a half on my second system speakers and must say it sounds surprisingly good. But best part was spending great two hours wit my boys being actually interested in my hobby. That's a win-win

 

[CnoEvil]

You could start a new brand....and call it "Size 9".

 

[insider9]

Size 9... German engineering, Ja?

 

[CnoEvil]

You would also have to change your name to InsideDeBox.

 

[insider9]

Oh, I like that one

 

[Andrewjvt]

Better than the leema?

 

[mond]

That really is building a hifi on a shoestring

 

[insider9]

That really is building a hifi on a shoestring

*biggrin*

 

[nopiano]

That really is building a hifi on a shoestring

*biggrin*

...as long as you don’t tell us it sounds a bit boxy, or that it’s good for sole music!

 

[insider9]

That really is building a hifi on a shoestring

*biggrin*

...as long as you don’t tell us it sounds a bit boxy, or that it’s good for sole music!

*ROFL*

Testing so far included Bob Marley "Legend", Guns n' Roses "Appetite for Destruction"

By the looks of I should've been playing Puntera. You guys are on fire.

 

[lpv]

Better than the leema?

the box is definitely cleaner than Rick’s cowshed

 

[jimmy1]

Suprising how little you need for a basic amp

 

[insider9]

If you look at the fist pic, I've not even used all the parts. Decided not to bother with input selector switch and a volume pot.

 

[Gray]

Look and learn Cyrus.

 

[insider9]

Here's the upgraded version. I made it so you can close the lid. That's at least a £300 ugrade from some brands *biggrin*

 

[CnoEvil]

Here's the upgraded version.

Size 10? That's a Lotto amp for the money.

 

[insider9]

Here's the upgraded version.

Size 10? That's a Lotto amp for the money.

Brilliant *biggrin*

 

[insider9]

I've been asked for comparison to Leema here it is

 

[CnoEvil]

I've been asked for comparison to Leema here it is

 

Your amp looks like a shoe-in.

 

[insider9]

It's been a puntastic thread.

To be honest I really fancy building something more serious.

 

[CnoEvil]

To be honest I really fancy building something more serious.

A Freezer Box amp?

 

[insider9]

To be honest I really fancy building something more serious.

A Freezer Box amp?

I won't say the idea leaves me cold as was looking into ICE modules. Heard they're good alternative to Hypex NCore.

 

[jimmy1]

If you look at the fist pic, I've not even used all the parts. Decided not to bother with input selector switch and a volume pot.

less to go wrong i suppose

 

[insider9]

Exactly. We did have a fire blanket at hand at first use though I've dropped it off at my mate's today. Waiting for his feedback. He was suffiently impressed at initial listen.

 

[andyjm]

Suprising how little you need for a basic amp

At the risk of being picky, there are probably a few thousand transistors in the SMPS and the class D control electronics.