Hi all.
I'm a Junior computer engineering student at Boston University, looking to get my electrical chops up. I found the site looking for a way to build myself an amp for my home theatre setup. I'm a somewhat miserly nerd who really appreciates a good quality piece of electronics, and I love movies, music, and videogames. Until recently, i've been very happy with my creative gigaworks system, but this summer it bit the bucket.
I've had a class in circuit theory, and I've been a tinkerer since I was a little kid, but I think I'll need some guidance on where to start here. I've never attempted a 120 VAC project and I'm a little intimidated about plugging something that I built into the wall. I have a small multi-tester and a soldering iron, and I've done some small personal projects including replacing an op-amp in a small 2.1 system which has temporarily replaced my surround but in looking for a good quality replacement on a tight budget I decided that the best way for me to be sure I was making the right choice would be to be in total control.
My computer system is home-built, the shelf for my TV and my consoles is made out of plywood, drywall screws and 2x4s, and I think it would be quite a cool project to build myself an amp for my surround system.
I have an external decoder (the Creative DTS-100) which outputs 8 channels of discrete surround, and I have the 5 sattelites and the sub from my gigaworks, all I need is a set of analog amps to put out the signal.
I like what i've seen of the DIY projects on this site, and what I've seen elsewhere, but I'd feel a lot better having someone to hold my hand through the process of choosing a kit (or designing my own custom device) and putting it together.
I guess it would be appropriate to put forth some questions:
1. I know numbers and specs can be decieving. And it seems that the most important (RMS) can be the most decieving. The gigaworks S700 boasted a total 560 Watt RMS for the whole system (90 watts per sattelite and 110 for the sub) and as far as volume was concerned they were totally satisfactory. I know the "efficiency" of the drivers comes into play, and obviously the resistance of the speakers themselves will affect the output of the circuit. But from what I understand not all 500W systems are created equal and I've never really been able to get a thorough answer as to why.
2. What are the safety procedures for working with 120 volts? If the circuit is grounded am I safe from shock? What levels of current are *really* dangerous? If i short a circuit with my hand behind a 5 amp fuse am I in danger?
I'm going to go do some research into how vacuum tubes and chip amps work, and will probably come back with more, but any nudges in the right direction would be appreciated. I look forward to this project and I hope to learn a bit from the experts
