@inna
I think the lack of forthcoming information has been a big frustration in this thread.
Mike,
I'm looking at the page right now. How exactly are you making 20g wire, which only has a maximum rating of 11 amps as hookup wire, carry 20 amp? You're typical UL rated 3 outlet cheap chinese Walmart extension cord is at least 16g which gives it the current carrying capacity to at least pop the breaker if something goes south. Your 6 outlet power strip will burst into flames way before the outlet is tripped. There's no way you got that thing past UL.
As for what I've built, there's no way I'd sell that amp I built. I fully acknowledge it's a risk every time I flip the switch. It runs hot as a toaster, has exposed components, the most basic inrush current limiting imaginable, and it was built by an amateur for the purpose of using in a room no warmer than 74 degrees. I watch it like a hawk and measure the it's temp once it's warmed up before I listen. Nobody should ever sell an amplifier like that. I'd have real reservations about selling my old Marantz 2238B too. I bought it out some guy's trunk in Detroit for next to nothing and it was the first thing I ever really worked on. Not knowing too much, I didn't use the right parts in some places and I kinda cobbled it together in ways that would make a serious tech cringe. My other work is a lot better. If somebody wants to know what it would cost to build another amp like the F5 I tell them "A lot more than I spent because I'm not going to hand you something that runs right on the edge like that thing does".
I can relate to wishing people dug into the nuts and bolts of their gear a little more and better understood that there's no magic hocus-pocus going on in those boxes. It's just cold, hard science and totally understandable if you just apply yourself to it. I'm NOT a fan of this mentality that tells people to just buy and experiment and buy some more. I don't have $99 to blow to find that $1 worth of improvement and I don't think most sane people have it or even want to spend it. I strongly believe in a more analytical approach to the question. I think the experience of listening should be taken with a healthy dose of knowledge and understanding so that the next choice is efficient and informed. I'm in NO rush to make my next equipment choice because the more I learn the better my choice will be. And if I have it my way, it will be a choice that furthers both my experience and my understanding though experimentation and study. I don't suspect too many can say their amp was voiced specifically for the speakers they're using, but I can. I think more people should give that a try, but I'm not showing up starting threads lording what I've done over anybody's head.
I think the lack of forthcoming information has been a big frustration in this thread.
Mike,
I'm looking at the page right now. How exactly are you making 20g wire, which only has a maximum rating of 11 amps as hookup wire, carry 20 amp? You're typical UL rated 3 outlet cheap chinese Walmart extension cord is at least 16g which gives it the current carrying capacity to at least pop the breaker if something goes south. Your 6 outlet power strip will burst into flames way before the outlet is tripped. There's no way you got that thing past UL.
As for what I've built, there's no way I'd sell that amp I built. I fully acknowledge it's a risk every time I flip the switch. It runs hot as a toaster, has exposed components, the most basic inrush current limiting imaginable, and it was built by an amateur for the purpose of using in a room no warmer than 74 degrees. I watch it like a hawk and measure the it's temp once it's warmed up before I listen. Nobody should ever sell an amplifier like that. I'd have real reservations about selling my old Marantz 2238B too. I bought it out some guy's trunk in Detroit for next to nothing and it was the first thing I ever really worked on. Not knowing too much, I didn't use the right parts in some places and I kinda cobbled it together in ways that would make a serious tech cringe. My other work is a lot better. If somebody wants to know what it would cost to build another amp like the F5 I tell them "A lot more than I spent because I'm not going to hand you something that runs right on the edge like that thing does".
I can relate to wishing people dug into the nuts and bolts of their gear a little more and better understood that there's no magic hocus-pocus going on in those boxes. It's just cold, hard science and totally understandable if you just apply yourself to it. I'm NOT a fan of this mentality that tells people to just buy and experiment and buy some more. I don't have $99 to blow to find that $1 worth of improvement and I don't think most sane people have it or even want to spend it. I strongly believe in a more analytical approach to the question. I think the experience of listening should be taken with a healthy dose of knowledge and understanding so that the next choice is efficient and informed. I'm in NO rush to make my next equipment choice because the more I learn the better my choice will be. And if I have it my way, it will be a choice that furthers both my experience and my understanding though experimentation and study. I don't suspect too many can say their amp was voiced specifically for the speakers they're using, but I can. I think more people should give that a try, but I'm not showing up starting threads lording what I've done over anybody's head.