Official M2 schematic

Founder of XSA-Labs
Joined 2012
Paid Member
Wdecho,
Thanks! :)

This amp is for testing only and probably won't get a box (like 99% of my amps). However, good point about being careful with covering it in case one drops a screw driver or other piece of metal - be prepared for arc welding.

I learned accidentally the power of a 400va toroidal trafo. I was testing something and did not have a fuse yet. Accidental short instantly smoked the piece of 16ga copper wire in 2 seconds. Vaporized the insulation and left a mess. Nonetheless - learned my lesson to always have a fuse in place when testing.
 
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Founder of XSA-Labs
Joined 2012
Paid Member
Now that I have run the M2 for a while and measured the max current draw at 1.3amps. With class A the current doesn't seem to change with music playing. So I am thinking to myself: do I really need a big 400va trafo to make 25v rails? I have a 24v 3amp SMPS that I could easily put two in series with a center tap for a 24v dual rail supply that should handle the 1.3A no problem. I could technically power a stereo pair of M2's from a pair of the SMPS as the rating is 3amps. I may just try it and see. I think ripple of the SMPS going through the CRC PSU's should make ripple even less than 19mV. Maybe 1mV even?
 
Official Court Jester
Joined 2003
Paid Member
build bigger FW amp = BA3

Greedy Boyz are sometimes too greedy

lets see few moments , needed for more watts :

-greater swing ....... means more Vpp through autoformer ; test behavior by your self

-higher PSU rails , input Jfet needs cascoding ; no problem , shown and done myriad times ..... but you need to choose cascoding way which will not impede swing envelope
:devilr:

-need for increased gain through autoformer ....... demanding different one ; issue of output impedance of buffer/autoformer combo ; test behavior by your self

-more output pairs ; not overly critical , but still of importance , in combination with previous issue ; test behavior by your self
 
Founder of XSA-Labs
Joined 2012
Paid Member
Just built this simple Apex Audio preamp (10.3dB gain):

165433d1270333407-100w-ultimate-fidelity-amplifier-apex-bjt-preamp.jpg


http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/soli...imate-fidelity-amplifier-861.html#post4822088

568258d1473147745-transistor-preamp-apex-3.1-preamp-m2.jpg


Clean and transparent with just enough gain to make the M2 loud enough with my usual inputs. Conveniently, it uses same 25v rails as M2, so it's easy to add on without any extra PSU considerations.
 
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Founder of XSA-Labs
Joined 2012
Paid Member
It's all symmetric and that's two channels - just look at veroboard implementation. I agree 6 transistors is a lot more than the 4 on the M2 but there's very low distortion as a result. Yes, this is usual stuff from SS forum but it drives me nuts that a power amp doesn't come standard with 24dB to 30dB gain like the usual designs on SS forum. We don't need no stinkin' preamps for those cases. Also, let me ask you all this question: is an amp with 4 transistors really a simple 4 transistor amp when it requires a preamp to be useful?
 
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