Gainclone amplifier

[Filterlab]

Just been reading a bit on the net about these interesting items.

Anyone made one / heard one?

Just had a chance to purchase one for £100 that need recasing, fancy a little project for those evenings when the PS3 is not beckoning. Don't know the specs but I do have some internal images coming. I'll post them up here, any comments about the construction would be appreciated.

However, if it's been built by a soldering loon with ham for fists then this thread may run quiet.

[lurcher]

IMHO, if you want to try one, spend £30 on the bits and build one yourself. But they were fun and ok sounding, but ok, just ok, certainly not great.

[Filterlab]

Mmmm, that's what I suspected. I have to be honest that the statements of 'similar to a 2 grand amp' were slightly suspect. Hehehehe.

I'll have a bash anyway!

[Filterlab]

Actually it's quite nicely made in my opinion, better than I'd have expected. However the pros that lurk on here may feel differently.

[alb]

I built one a few years ago. My first ever homemade amp. I didn't honestly expect it to work, but it did.

I built a fairly serious one with dual power supplies and decent quality components. It sounded every bit as good as the Musical Fidelity A3 i had at the time, in fact the bass was probably better. I sold the MF in disgust, as i realised that i could build good gear cheaper. The Puccini SE amp was cheaper than the MF at the time and perhaps slightly nicer than the Gainclone. Tough choice really.
So i would cautiously say that a well built Gainclone should compare to commercial designs in the region of £500-£800. That was five or six years ago, so there will likely be exceptions by now, above and below that price range.

The Gainclone cost me around £90, because i was a beginner and had very little in the way of spares, and so had to buy everything from scratch.

If a gainclone is said to equal a £2K amp then its probably a well overpriced amp. But i wouldn't like to reject the idea out of hand..
It's that law of dimishing returns again. A £2k hifi amp ain't always going to be much better than a £1K amp.

Great beginners project.

[lurcher]

That does look nicely made. Mine never got any further than a breadboard unfortunally. Mind you, thats true of most amps I have built :-)