Greetings,

I thought fellow beginners might be interested in these efforts.

Background: I am in the process of combining my 'music' and 'video' sound systems. A year ago I built a TXO-2 (amp 1) for mid/high frequencies in the music system. I have enjoyed that amplifier very much so the TXO was a natural choice for adding 4 new channels. I also needed an attenuator for 6 SE channels and switching between balanced and SE inputs - that was easily accomplished with Twisted Pear components. The cases are from Par Metal.



Modules: I made modules from modules (as other builders here ably show ). Modularity is one of the great features of the Twisted Pear design philosophy! Heat sinks on amp 1 are about the minimum in safe disipation capacity - hence the flat black paint to increase radiance. I'll probably also paint the heat sinks on amp 2 because they will be enclosed by rack cabinet sides.



Layout: The ample open space in the passive pre- is reserved for future components.
The 4 channel amp (amp 2) contains four 12 VDC power relays controlled by an independent power source (the wall-wart transformer). The relays change the power mode between dual mono-block (2 channels powered - music) and dual stereo (all four powered - video). The relays on the unregulated supplies are rated at 15 amps. Power distribution to the TPM modules was greatly aided by terminal strips!

Performance report for amp #2 (a couple of months after completion): in dual mono mode the TXO is proving to be extremely well suited to drive my high efficiency woofers (JBL 2235H). Bass is tight, solid, and detailed. The amp runs surprisingly cool even with extended use at high volumes. Single-ended performance is very good, but balanced signals really bring out the best. In four channel 'surround mode', the amp's sweet fidelity is rarely evident in much of the rear channel content but the low noise floor remains obvious. While a less elegant circuit might power those rear channels equally well, future plans include Opus DAC processing of multi-channel SACDs plus upgrades to the rear speakers. This will easily justify the Overture's quality components. Bottom line: This TXO is a quiet, refined workhorse and with it's sibling (TXO #1) provides a great foundation for future fun DIY projects.

Edited by user Tuesday, July 1, 2008 2:49:36 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified