We studied the stealth in University my Prof was obsessed with it

Pretty good explanation. My first amp was a single ended triode built from a schematic and a parts list. I was so happy it didn't explode when I turned it on. Other than a failed power transformer, and an occasional retubing, it has performed flawlessly for over 20 years.

@sdriza

5 ай бұрын

There's an internal satisfaction that is tough to describe - when listening to something you built yourself....

The first real amp I built from scratch was from a schematic I found in an audio magazine. Now you can get almost any schematic on line. You will need to dig deeper, as most have missing parts deemed unimportant for the schematic.

Hi Paul thanks for the video! This was a good question and you explained this complex stuff in a practical way. If you use one pair of mosfets, i would say it is not to difficult to build an amp, because you have no issues with different Ugs voltages and thermal stability. It can be a challenge to sync. and stabilyze a multi bjt outputstage in a diy project. I have designed over 40 amps in my career and it is a "big deal" to get everything unconditionally save and stable. Best regards from Berlin!

Paul has voiced his opinion in the past on offering PS Audio DIY kits, I still think it makes sense to offer a simple enough amp model that can be purchased either assembled or not assembled. I think I am going to put a kit together sometime later this year myself. Gonna go for pre-populated PCBs, The toshiba 2SC5200/2SA1943 set seems to be a popular "go to" for class ab , a dual mono board set can be gotten surprisingly cheap that are capable of putting out 800 watts! If im happy with it, I may move onto a sweet Nelson Pass kit next.

Love this video. More of these please!

Paul, refer this guy to Nelson Pass! Although your answer and generosity is very great!

@charlesferguson6678

4 жыл бұрын

@@jim9930 Absolutely, yes!

@stimpy1226

2 жыл бұрын

If they are available build the PASS DIY Amp Camp amplifier. For a total cost of $330 I believe including a quality chassis and all parts he will be stunned at the music quality. Combine that with the PASS Korg preamp kit at $300 and you have the beginnings of an incredible sounding system. The only downside is that you need high-efficiency loudspeakers to get them to bloom properly.

Congratulations. You picked the right person to ask.

The ME 1500 amp I have is bipolar transistor and it's the collectors of the output stages that drive the speaker load ..

Thanks Paul Yamaha done a great job with the Mosphetes in me Yammy AS-1100 52 pound Beast of an Integrated build quality sound quality is outstanding for price point i don't know many amps on this level at $2500.00 U.S. Theirs nothing but Nichicon gold inside i have a pop the hood video on me Yammy and speaker terminals are insane ! Thats why the Yammy AS-1100 was one of the number 1 top salers on the market for entry level !

great post Paul.... TYTY!

My ME1500 power amp uses bipolars in the output stages and they can be operated in either strict class A or AB no gradual crossover . The collectors of these transistors connect to the speaker load instead of the usual emitters too .. this amp will go from DC to 400KHz within 1 dB too !

Paul just showed us yet again how much he knows his stuff... doing the pnp and npn diagram with his hands...lol... "drop me a note"...what a nice guy.

Total respect ✊

these videos are great!

hi Paul, what about the resistor that connected to the power rail and the collector of the BJT? How can i get rid of that resistor to get the full 50V to my amplifier BJT? Its only getting arround 20V (on the collector of the BJT ). The resistors are 2x22ohm at parallel. Im limited by that resistor, speakers is 2x 8ohm (now i using 1x8ohm speaker due its closer to the 11ohm limitation of the voltage and current to the transistor.) My question is actually why we need that resistor, and how can i bypass it? Its a class A amplifier.

My understanding JFET's have the best sound quality next to tubes of course you can search Nelson Pass from Pass Labs.

@gtric1466

4 жыл бұрын

@Phil Allison if you look on Newark electronics website they are still JFET's available. although you do have a good point they are only used as Class A in the First Watt amplifier. there are also a list of MOSFET's which are the choice in high output power amplifiers. i think i would investigate more using JFETs for the pre-amp stage. But i'm no amplifier designer.

@mozeskriebel7170

4 жыл бұрын

@Phil Allison Also Exicon lateral mosfets from Profusion in the UK are very good and direct replacements for the Hitachi's. I used them in my DIY poweramps designed by Rod Elliot (ESP, Elliot Sound Projects), project 101. Very good power amplifiers!

@gtric1466

4 жыл бұрын

@Phil Allison Ahh Gotcha, MOSFET's it is. Thanks for your help..

@H-77

4 жыл бұрын

@Phil Allison Interrestingly, there are some high-power silicon-carbide JFETs that have come available in the last few years. They're super expensive, and I have not looked at the DC safe operating area, so they might be completely useless for this application. That said, they do exist. +1 on the laterals, they're about as easy as it gets since their temperature coefficient is pretty close to zero.

@tristanjones7735

4 жыл бұрын

@Phil Allison Just as a quick side note, if you look on mouser, they do actually carry UnitedSIC power jfets.

Yesterday, I designed and made my own yardstick.

@kjbunnyboiler

4 жыл бұрын

In another 50 years you can design a metre stick!

@ThunderStruckMTB

4 жыл бұрын

@@kjbunnyboiler Whoa, whoa, whoa..... I can't work with all this pressure. 1s, 10s, 100s and 1000s?? I can't even begin to wrap my head around that.

@NickP333

4 жыл бұрын

Fat Rat Lol! That’s 2 laughs you’ve given me today. Haha

@NickP333

4 жыл бұрын

Fat Rat I should throw a party and fly you over to the US from Australia, just so you can be ‘that guy” at said party. People need to have a sense of humor, especially these days, and I like having an audiophile buddy on the other side of the world.

@NickP333

4 жыл бұрын

Fat Rat Yeah, man. Alda and Williams were true masters of their craft. I’m very aware of your intentions when leaving a comment, but it’s too bad not everyone does. I certainly do appreciate it. 😜

I've got a question. I have about 5 of these vintage Pioneer SA 940 amplifiers (Produced in 83 - 84 I think) that currently do not work. The problem is the heat Sync. For all amps, there has been a time where the fuse blows whilst playing. When I opened it up to change the fuse, the amp powered on as normal without the heat sync. However, when I put the heat sync back in it blows the fuse straight away and this is the problem will all my 940's at the moment. I don't want to get rid of my amplifiers because they sound fantastic with only 70W per channel, but I have no idea of how to solve my problem. I realised that this is a common fault with the amplifiers but I am determined to fixing them!

@EricBurbeck

Жыл бұрын

Probably too late for this reply, but is the heat sink shorting something such that you need to add / replace some insulating material?

a nema17 stepper motor as a motorized volume knob... interessting, havent seen this one before.

@__Dude_

4 жыл бұрын

I don't know how PS is using it. I use one as an encoder to control the volume of my HiFiBerry Amp (sitting atop a Raspberry Pi).

@gamerpaddy

4 жыл бұрын

back emf as a rotary encoder, also a interessting idea. i would have used a optical encoder on the same shaft.

@H-77

4 жыл бұрын

@@__Dude_ How do you like the finished product? I was actually thinking of doing exactly the same thing. Does it feel as nice as I think it would, or is it super annoying?

@maxpert1540

3 жыл бұрын

Remote volume control. The remote or bluetooth controls the motor, the physical position of the knob remains the volume control

Hi Paul what is the best Cd player you think that has the best sound quality 16bit. Or 24 bit

woow information

Use a compound output stage. Use 2SC2922 and it's PNP counterpart as output transistors.

@H-77

4 жыл бұрын

All MT-200 package transistors are obsolete. Sanken discontinued them several years ago. I would never suggest building around obsolete parts. The best options are probably MJL1302 / MJL3281 , MJL4302 / MJL4381, 2SA1294 / 2SC3263. MJL21193 and MJL21194 are slower but have good power handling. 2SA1943 / 2SC5200 are a good value, but their SOA isn't great at higher supply voltages.

@airgead5391

4 жыл бұрын

@@H-77 I didn't know. I have of both of them 100 pcs lying around, but that is bad news. MT 200 has the advantage of two mounting points and better heat transfer. I use one pair for 50W class A.

@H-77

4 жыл бұрын

@@airgead5391 It has excellent thermal properties, however, the transistors themselves were quite costly and took up a fair bit of real estate. TO-264 and even TO-3P can have quite a good thermal transfer if used properly. A clamping bar helps considerably with this. A look at the design of 1990s amps (MT200 packages would have been easy to get, and Class AB design was at its peak) like the Crest 4801 or the MC2 MC650 or QSC amplifiers reveals large numbers of 2SC3281 / 2SA1302 output devices (same as the MJL3281 / MJL1302) indicating that for the price and size, these transistors make more sense than the MT-200 packages.

@airgead5391

4 жыл бұрын

@@H-77 Well, the point in my case is that I looked for the best performance which at the end turned out to be a single output pair of transistors and class A. Using 2SC5200 and PNP counterpart for instance, which I have also 100 pcs each would demand two in //. Pivotal specs I for me are Cob and fT. Double pair = double Cob for instance. Using a clamping bar is interesting. I did consider this but not for thermal considerations. I will give it a try and measure temperatures.

For lower power amps (around 50 watts) you can use a MOS-FET based "chip amp". I feel these pre-fab devices have better sound than discrete bi-polars.

I started with bogan pa amps and military stuff,than Hafler stuff 50 years ago.tried to copy a big yamaha amp and it smoked . Now the various boards satisfy me. Waiting patiently for a Gan fet.. board on Amazon with peripherals. I hope i live long enough to build one.

Ohh, how I wish we still had Heathkits and Dynaco kits, and Old Colony Sound Labs. I’m sure there are still kits to be had if you look hard enough, but the ones I mentioned were easy to come by, well thought out, and top notch products.

@StewartMarkley

4 жыл бұрын

Neil, I really miss those days when one could build a great piece of equipment and get so much for your money. I built a lot of kits from Dynaco, Heathkit, Knight Kit, Old Colony, Marchand and some I probably don't remember. Nowadays, I think that it is better in the audio DIY world to spend your time and money building speakers which will yield far better payback than building electronics. That said, I am building a class D amplifier now using ICE Power modules which isn't the same as building from scratch but still worth the effort I think. Then I will build some speakers using components from GR Research to get high end sound at bargain prices.

@jimfuquay7116

4 жыл бұрын

Stewart Markley then you’ll have your own version of my DIY setup: Pass preamp into two Pass Amp Camp amps driving “full-range” bookshelf speakers sourced from Parts Express (augmented with a subwoofer, because full-range doesn’t really mean full range when it comes to bass). I’ve really enjoyed learning what components work together and how to change the sound of speakers with ports, stuffing, etc. Happy tinkering.

I am thinking about DIY 132.3kHz sample rate DAC coz I watch KZread video at 3x speed. How should I start?

I gotta learn how to make amps

You can: Buy a new amp, buy a used amp, buy a module amp (e.g. IcePower), buy a kit amp (e.g. Welleman), do your own amp based on existing schematics (e.g. using parts from DigiKey) or start from scratch. If you start from scratch designing and calculating the circuit doing the first power amp in your life, definitely keep it simple. One way to make a great first DIY amplifier is to rely on an amp IC (either class D or B) rather than completely discrete transistors. Going completely discrete with your own schematics takes some in-depth electronics engineering knowledge and experience to make a good product.

@NickP333

4 жыл бұрын

ThinkingBetter Excellent advice, especially for someone that’s never built an amp. Start small and simple, and learn the basics first.

Wow....just googled a photo of "the Stealth" amp....awesome!! That ain't no teenie weenie class-D amp thats for sure!!

I'm a beginner and I understand you. Thank you. Where can I find the schematics to build a powerful yet simple audio sub amp? Again thank you very much!

@marcialcarrillo9513

3 жыл бұрын

I forgot to mention its diy from parts I can find at home ? Salvaging parts from other household electronics if possible ? It a project that I can hopefully create? Where can I find the right components? Thanks again!

mosfets aren't as linear in the triode region as BJTs are in the active region

Hypex ncx500 vs purifi 7040 ?

Hex Fets your thoughts?

@H-77

4 жыл бұрын

Can be good, but their DC safe operating area isn't what it looks like. They still suffer from something that is basically the same as secondary breakdown. Lots of people use the IRFP240 and IRFP9240 successfully, but there are caveats. Back in the 1990s, BSS successfully used (a whole lot) of IRF640s and (I believe) IRF9640s in the EPC780s, which have a reputation for being excellent amplifiers. In other words, they aren't quite what people think. I've played with quite a few vertical MOSFETs in higher voltage linear applications, and the older devices with a higher R_dson handle it much better, but they are all prone to hot-spots on the die. It's basically secondary breakdown, but it isn't always shown in datasheets.

Do you think super audio CDs are way better than CDs and DVDs and blue ray but can you make blue ray supper audio with video file

Question for everyone here, what speakers would you recommend for vinyl playback under $500? Sorry my budget isn't crazy high but oh well I'm sure I can get a satisfying sound. I don't like coloration in my sound by the way, I like my system to be neutral so that the pressing can shine through.

@sanman8813

4 жыл бұрын

Take a look at Klipsch RP 600 M. Check out u tube vids. I think u would surprised at the reviews. I have klipsch cornwall and I'm a big fan of klipsch. I hope this helps.

I made 150w class AB amps for myself and friends for our cats before all the ye high power systems got popular. Only speakers that would handle that power was floor standing speakers sitting in the back seat!😀

I love hypex.. not really DIY (half) 🤔😊

Lateral MOSFETs are by far the easiest, because thermal tracking is a non-issue. Cost is the main downside.

LM3886 is best DIY component.

@janinapalmer8368

2 жыл бұрын

I agree yes

How Paul how do I. Build a new radio tuner with rds build into the tuner diy

HexiBase sent me!

i remember my old e12, i dont think its better than nowadays topend but still better than c9 i guess

Tda 8950 class D vs tda7294 class AB bridge diy amplifier

Just build a diy amplifier based on the Purifi 1et400a modules and spend your time enjoying your music through the best amplifier you can diy.

@SheikhN-bible-syndrome

Жыл бұрын

Got a link to one?

Two back-to-back questions that are relevant to %0.79 of the HiFi audience??? 🤔 Come on guys, SEND MORE QUESTIONS! Help my man Paul out. He's a living legend and the hardest working man in HiFi.

Does anybody know this American company who sells kits and built amplifiers transistor and valve kits, looked very good in 2015 but forgotten the name and can't find it on a Google search anyway I'm sure they still going? what about a GBT graphene-based transistor or and GFET

IMHO, if someone is asking this kind of question, they are better off trying off a preamp. Less chance for the white smoke escaping and easier debugging. Even if building a kit.

@jimfuquay7116

4 жыл бұрын

Savvas Sidiropoulos Maybe, except the wiring. Selector switch, potentiometer, multiple inputs. I don’t think you can do better than the diyAudio Amp Camp Amp kit. Step-by-step photos and instructions online, sweet sounding Class A, and a switching power supply so you don’t get into high-voltage. Only downside is not much power - 8 watts a channel. I built two for monoblocks and then a preamp, which was much harder because you had to source your own parts. But those a pass diy projects are outstanding. The amps are MOSFET-based, by the way.

@savvassidiropoulos5952

4 жыл бұрын

@@jimfuquay7116 8 Watts? No problem. Who needs more? Surely Nelson Pass doesn't :)

@H-77

4 жыл бұрын

Not necessarily. The FET vs. BJT debate will never end- everyone has their favorite, and neither one is the "right" choice. Preamps are also tricky because noise can be a huge challenge.

the quick answer is build a tube amp

Transistors have sexes? I learn something new every day.

Wait, what? 🤔

Numero Uno

My DIY amplifier has a BIPOLAR personality !!! Moss FETs Gather more moss

@HareDeLune

4 жыл бұрын

What if you roll your FET's?

@HareDeLune

4 жыл бұрын

@Fat Rat Ha! Excellent riposte! XD

3:32 transistors have sex?

Easiest way is to buy a power amp from PS AUDIO

@StewartMarkley

4 жыл бұрын

The only thing with that that is DIY is ordering the amp. Not very rewarding.

@StewartMarkley

4 жыл бұрын

@Fat Rat that's it, time for bed here. Gooday mate!

@StewartMarkley

4 жыл бұрын

@Fat Rat I meant to wish you a good day as it was your daytime then. You are 14 hours ahead of me 😉

I personally prefer common emitter amplifiers because of their ability to have almost a rail-to-rail output voltage swing. I have developed a very simple design as a boostered opamp ibb.co/nPY7zRH . It is a non-inverting amplifier. The output of the opamp is not connected to the amplifier output stage, because they are controlled by use of the rail currents of the opamp generating the base emitter voltages across R4 and R5. The quiescent current of the output stage ist set by the adjustable current source (LM334, R8 as fine trimmer) between the bases of the output transistors (Q1, Q2). Both transistors are Darlingtons. If you likes more thermal stability you can add emitter resistors to the power rails. I recommed it if you asseble the Darlingtons or Sziklais from single transistors as their current gain and threshold voltages can differ a lot. I also recommend to use base emitter resistors for each of the transistors of the pairs in order to limit the total current gain. The TIP120, TIP125 have their base emitter resistors internally, so thei can paired easily. The gain of the amplifier can be set by the ratio between R7 and R3. The required power can be set by changing the voltages cc and ee with respect to the speaker impedance.