John Quin Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 (edited) Hi All I have just purchased an intel NUC as a HTPC for our spare plasma TV and hence created a requirement for half decent sound system to go with it. I have a DIY bookshelf speaker left over that I am hoping to utilize. ( Details below ) I plan to buy a bluetooth or USB soundcard then combine both stereo channels to monoThen the plan is to use an active crossover and bi-amp the speaker. Now I have no experience with Class D / Class T amps, my sound requirements are modest, I really just want to beat the bose/logitech bluetooth speakers out there. So just as long as the Class D isn't regrettable I'm be happy with that, the same with a switchmode PSU. Class A/B with linear supply would also be fine.Low standby power would be nice. My aim is to keep cost low and size small. So $200ish for PSU and dual mono AMP. I can pirate parts (PSU) from an Altronics kit (K5173) that I have built previously. It has a 300VA (45V + 45V) toroidal and the PSU rectifies to give +- 70V DC. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm happy to do my own research but a push in the right direction would be very helpful Thanks John ============================================================================== Woofer rated @ 60W RMS & Tweeter @ 100W RMS http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php?13154-RS180-Modula-MT-you-asked-for-it-you-got-it! Edited April 22, 2014 by John Quin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry218 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 connexelectronics have plenty options for you i always wonder how those dayton drivers sound, many praised them for great price vs performance ratio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Thanks! Any words of wisdom on Class D? Have they 'arrived' or do they still have some ways to go. W.R.T. the Daytons I can't compare them to other metal drivers but I can say I am a huge fan of metal woofers. I don't think I'll go back to anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murrmax Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Given your requirements class d should be ok; they're pretty good now - something like this would do the trick i would think - http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-X-100-Watt-4-Ohm-Class-D-Audio-Amplifier-Board-STA508-100W-Stereo-T-Amp/351049863307?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222003%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D21396%26meid%3D6381093923324398210%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D9409%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D111328636745&rt=nc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 I'm in love http://connexelectronic.com/product_info.php/products_id/115 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 (edited) Given your requirements class d should be ok; they're pretty good now - something like this would do the trick i would think - http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-X-100-Watt-4-Ohm-Class-D-Audio-Amplifier-Board-STA508-100W-Stereo-T-Amp/351049863307?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222003%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D21396%26meid%3D6381093923324398210%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D9409%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D111328636745&rt=nc Wow! Thanks Edited April 22, 2014 by John Quin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 how those dayton drivers sound Very good. They are not low quality at all. I plan to buy a bluetooth or USB soundcard then combine both stereo channels to mono Then the plan is to use an active crossover and bi-amp the speaker. Now I have no experience with Class D / Class T amps, my sound requirements are modest, I really just want to beat the bose/logitech bluetooth speakers out there. Good plan. Your competitors are all using Class D type amps anyways.... so :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry218 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 connex is not at hypex level, but so is the price, they are great alternative and reasonably sound design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 Forget it. I just found this product by hypex. It does everything I want all in one package. Game over http://www.hypex.nl/product/2012-11-23-13-44-01/2012-11-23-13-46-04/as2-100.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 In that case I would have suggested this (it was outside your original 'budget', so I didn't) http://www.minidsp.com/products/plate-amplifiers/pwr-ice125 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Thanks Dave When I saw how useful it was I just decided to expand the budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry218 Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 hi John, pls make sure you ask hypex if the plate amp module was updated with ncore tech, as the UCD180, 400 & 700 was updated, but not sure for the plate amps and smaller modules like ucd100 oem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 OK thanks. I'm probably a little way off buying it now as the budget has blown out. LOL The hypex product is interesting in that they are using a linear supply. I guess they figure it's low enough in power and will be cheaper to produce. I'm guessing the miniDSP version REQUIRES an analogue in and that the ethernet is only for control. I'm pairing this up with an intel NUC and the USB audio option on the hypex is attractive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john.reekie Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I'm guessing the miniDSP version REQUIRES an analogue in and that the ethernet is only for control. Hi, as a factual matter the miniDSP plate amp does have a digital input, but not over Ethernet (or USB, obviously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 Sure, I was being a bit sloppy. What I meant was that for the NUC that I am using for my application I would need to use the analogue output of the budget soundcard in the NUC. I could get a usb soundcard with spdif out but really the hypex seems the way to go at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zog Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I have some ConnexElectronics modules, and they are good - currently using the TA3020 v3c to power the woofers in my active system. Another vendor of assembled Class D amp modules I like is Hifimediy, I have 3 of their TK2050 amps and like them a lot, I think they are a step up in quality from the Sure Electronics modules that use the same chipset. https://hifimediy.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 This is a nice producthttp://hifimediy.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=146 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 I just took delivery of and installed my hypex plate amp. So far it is an awesome product. I've yet to design the xover yet.I'll post pix soonish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Quin Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 hi John, pls make sure you ask hypex if the plate amp module was updated with ncore tech, as the UCD180, 400 & 700 was updated, but not sure for the plate amps and smaller modules like ucd100 oem I asked. It hasn't been updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry218 Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 i was affraid thats the case, as its ucd oem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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