"Amp deal of the century" mods

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madmax
madmax Posts: 12,434
edited January 2008 in DIY, Mods & Tweaks
I know there is another thread on the "Amp deal of the century" but I couldn't find it quickly. (Amp deal of the century was the Accurian amps sold at RS for as low as $15)

Anyway...

I substituted an Accurian for my Manley mono blocks just to see how it sounds. I had it powering a pair of inefficient DQ-10's with my fairly high end LP source/preamp setup feeding them. Overall the sound was a bit noisy. Also, there was a slight buzz and when I turned on a dimmer for my lights it buzzed even louder. The high frequencies were a bit rough too.

For the fun of it I disconnected the preamp board completely and ran the input directly to the main amp board. This totally eliminated any and all noises. It still has a fair amount of gain this way too. (I could still over power it with my standard preamp). All the harshness in the highs went away too.

This got me to thinking, can I make it sound even better? I was thinking maybe I could us batteries to make up the + and - rails to the transistors and supply whatever other supplies with DC as well. Does anyone have any other ideas like this? I was thinking maybe the transistors could be changed to something of better quality but I wouldn' t know what to pick. I'm open to suggestions here.

madmax
Vinyl, the final frontier...

Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • bigyank
    bigyank Posts: 224
    edited January 2008
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    I jumped on the Accurian as well last year and use mine as a computer amplifier. I too have noticed a fair share of noise through this amp (hey 15 bucks what do you expect). I cannot use my cell phone within 2 feet of the amp due to the noise being generated!:mad:

    I think I am going to shield my amp to see if that works.:D

    Yank
    Polk Monitor 7
    Polk Atrium 55
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited January 2008
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    I eliminated the pre-amp board and installed new binding posts, it's not a bad little amp, but it does need efficient speakers. Paired up with a pair of Monitor 10's, it was hardly loud at all.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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