Amp enclosures/chasis cabinets

[captrajesh]

Though I agree that the finish is top notch, I'm not sure of the advantages of having such a thick chassis which increases the cost and weight manifold. IMHO, it doesn't have any functional value.

I wanted to see how an amp chassis is made and had opened up one to find out. I'm posting a few pics here. Kindly try to guage the thickness of the panels. They are not more than 0.75 mm. The structural integrity is maintained by clever use of supports.

 

[cmsajith]

If all the panels are made of aluminium, then the whole body can act as a heat sink.

 

[santhosh]

If all the panels are made of aluminium, then the whole body can act as a heat sink.

Buddy, to the best of my knowledge (based on observations on air-cooled bike engines and electronics), only an aluminium block with fins to act as a heat sink. IMO, an aluminium sheet will not be effective enough to handle the heat of an amp.

 

[captrajesh]

+1 to Santhol. The LM 2886 based amp for stereo application would emit considerable amount of heat and the only way to dissipate it would be to have a large surface area by way of fins.

Moreover, the chassis is made up of not a single aluminum sheet but sections of aluminum sheets. Heat transfer from one section to other would not be much to be counted upon.

 

[magma]

though capt rajesh is correct in his statement about heat transfer not being ideal in al extuded panels that are joint togther
yes it does not offer the main coolling- that is offred by the sink
BUT cmsajith is not far off too
you cannot complteely disregard the fact that the chasis will partly act as a sink.

not only that
thin MS chasis rings
if you get the time please read up on what some have to say on using thick chasis on DIy audio

im not as experienced as them but i do manage to figure out that there are advantages to the thick chasis
ANother thing is that i DID NOT want to use brackets to enhance stability and rigidity
i find that it looks to messy and i personally dont like so many screw on parts

 

[GeorgeO]

I agree. I have a Hypex build underway which has 5 modules designed to be mounted onto a single plate and then fixed to the enclosure-which will act as a heatsink-no separate heatsink is needed. If minimal heat is generated then this is ok-I dont know about the gainclone so I wont comment on that application.

The enclosures look very good and I am definitely interested in one.

 

[cmsajith]

Adequate heat dissipation will happen thru' the fins and since the THICK whole body made of aluminium will again act as another heat sink, to an extend, since they are not fused together, other wise it would have be an extension of the heat sinks. Have you ever seen any heat sinks in Quad power amps? Its entire body itself is a heat sink and it really works.

 

[magma]

Adequate heat dissipation will happen thru' the fins and since the THICK whole body made of aluminium will again act as another heat sink, to an extend, since they are not fused together, other wise it would have be an extension of the heat sinks. Have you ever seen any heat sinks in Quad power amps? Its entire body itself is a heat sink and it really works.

the Quad cabinet consists of a god damn 3 side single piece extrusion
To extrude that one would need some serious investments in the extrusion die

i dont think anyone in India has acess to that kind of extrusion

 

[magma]

about pricing(exclusive of shipping)
Completely built up cab with Heatsink sides and all hardware ( as seen above ) included
i.e Basically the exact same as you have seen in above pics is priced
2U - 8k
3U - 10k
these cabs just require the amp chip/board and the transformer
P.S : i do realize that this is equal to the cost of an entry level commercial integrated amp itself!


on the other hand a regular 2U/3U cabinet with Aluminium flat side panels ( no heatsink included ) and hardware NOT included ( basically the same config as is sold by commercial cabmakers) will be much lower priced than the above all out versions (probably close to half or a shade above)
these cabs will require all hardware,heatsinks over and above the transformer and the amp chips/boards

 

[grubyhalo]

Thanks for the info., very useful...

 

[crisscross]

Thanks for the price Ali. Quick question, is it possible to get a brushed aluminum finish?

 

[gobble]

about pricing(exclusive of shipping)
Completely built up cab with Heatsink sides and all hardware ( as seen above ) included

I looked about and only saw a false ceiling .. :indifferent14:

on the other hand a regular 2U/3U cabinet with Aluminium flat side panels ( no heatsink included ) and hardware NOT included ( basically the same config as is sold by commercial cabmakers) will be much lower priced than the above all out versions (probably close to half or a shade above)
these cabs will require all hardware,heatsinks over and above the transformer and the amp chips/boards

Hey Magma

Can you list the hardware you are talking about that we need to get with a regular cab?

2U will suffice for Siva's lm3886 MyRef right? The 3U will suit the Pass F5?

Thanks

 

[magma]

I looked about and only saw a false ceiling .. :indifferent14:

im a bit slow
i didnt understand

Hey Magma
Can you list the hardware you are talking about that we need to get with a regular cab?
2U will suffice for Siva's lm3886 MyRef right? The 3U will suit the Pass F5?
Thanks

yes siva's MY ref is a comparitively smaller amp than what these cases were built for ( the cases were built for 100-150 rms amps running in parrallel in dual mono with two transformers)

Sivas amp would require a much smaller sink and even a smaller case would probably do
yes 2 U is more than sufficinet for most gainclones
Actually the F5 would require a 6 to 7 inch height so that would be 3.5U ish

Basic Hardware would be\
HeatSinks
Speaker binding posts
RCA/XLR
Switches
IEC socket
Fuse

optional hardware if designed for that ( i have not used any or included those in the above)
would be
a pot
Connecting shaft for pot
LEDs etc
wiring

 

[gobble]

im a bit slow
i didnt understand

Oops! I meant I looked ABOVE and only saw a false ceiling

How much will a a 2.5U one for my preamp be?

Cheers

 

[magma]

Oops! I meant I looked ABOVE and only saw a false ceiling

How much will a a 2.5U one for my preamp be?

Cheers

full size?
for a preamp you need a 2.5U!
that high?

 

[suri]

Oops! I meant I looked ABOVE and only saw a false ceiling

you know what? - gobble -

i think you saw a glass ceiling!

 

[anilva]

im a bit slow
i didnt understand



yes siva's MY ref is a comparitively smaller amp than what these cases were built for ( the cases were built for 100-150 rms amps running in parrallel in dual mono with two transformers)

Sivas amp would require a much smaller sink and even a smaller case would probably do
yes 2 U is more than sufficinet for most gainclones
Actually the F5 would require a 6 to 7 inch height so that would be 3.5U ish

Basic Hardware would be\
HeatSinks
Speaker binding posts
RCA/XLR
Switches
IEC socket
Fuse

optional hardware if designed for that ( i have not used any or included those in the above)
would be
a pot
Connecting shaft for pot
LEDs etc
wiring

Magma,

The F5 would need bigger heatsinks than what I can see in your 3U cabinet and probably even with 3.5U. The depth does not seem to be adequate even if the height is 7" or so.

Bottom line is, for those who are wanting to build their F5, you may want to offer a specific design which suits the size and heatsink requirements of F5.

Cheers.

 

[magma]

No anil
a 7 inch height is sufficient (as long as you use a type 3 or 4 sink)
even a 5 inch height with dual type 2 heatsinks side by side per channel would do it)
the width is also more than sufficinet as per my design

the point that i forgot to mention in that post ( though i have mentioned it in other posts in the heatsinks thread ) is that for the F5 other heatsinks will be required
This heatsink (as seen in the above amp chasis) will just not do.

see here for clarifications about sinks
http://www.hifivision.com/diy/12932-heatsinks-power-amps.html#post179121

an F5 build is being planned. i willpost on it soon
Actaully even i want to build an F5 for myself ( but as you had once rightly put it - building an F5 is not for first or even 2nd timers it requires a lot of experince which i dont have)

truth is
i know what goes into building an F5 cabinet complete with hardware and heatsinks but cant actaully build the complete amp since i have little to none electronics knowledge/good expereince

hmmm...
i should try a trade with a seasoned electronics pro

build for me the F5 (electronics) - ill build for you a cab!

 

[anilva]

build for me the F5 (electronics) - ill build for you a cab!

Deal! Let me know when you complete the F5 cabinet design....

Cheers.

 

[GeorgeO]

Anil

It might help people sitting on the fence if you could give a rough breakdown of cost for building an F5. If you leave the enclosure out-people can decided what they want to spend, the rest of it might be interesting info.

George