Ti Kan: Hi-fi Audio Multimedia

News! My recent projects:

The β24 fully-differential stereo power amplifier The β24 fully-differential stereo power amplifier
β24: All discrete, fully differential, fully complementary, cascoded topology with JFETs, BJTs and power MOSFETs. A reference class power amplifier of no compromises, and a sight to behold both inside and out.

The β22 stereo amplifier and σ22 power supply The Cavalli-Kan Kumisa III stereo headphone amplifier
β22 and σ22: Brawn and finesse taken to a new height. All-discrete, fully complementary, cascoded pure class A topology with JFETs, BJTs and power MOSFETs -- the ultimate headphone amplifier and a superb low-power amplifier for speakers, and an equally capable companion power supply too.

Cavalli-Kan Kumisa III: An all-discrete, fully complementary, no global feedback headphone amplifier that belies its modest cost and size, delivering sound that is simply sublime.
The M³ stereo headphone amplifier The Gilmore Dynahi headphone amplifier
The : Three-channels of pure class A MOSFET power and exquisite sound. Maybe you could build one for yourself too?

The Dynahi: Big, bold and hot, this pure class A discrete amplifier exudes Kevin Gilmore's mantra that too much is not enough.

The Mini³ portable stereo headphone amplifier γ1 DAC
The Mini³: Miniature in size and cost, but big in performance. This amplifier is rocking the DIY portable headphone amplifier scene.

The γ1: A full-featured miniature DAC that's proven to be a superior companion for the Mini³.

γ2 DAC AMB β18 stereo headphone amplifier
The γ2: A compact high performance upsampling DAC upgrades the γ1 and its modular concept deep into the high-end without the high cost. The β18: A modified SDS Labs MOSFET amplifier originally designed by Sheldon Stokes. This one started my headphone amplifier infatuation.

Also see the σ11 and σ22 power supplies.

About Me

I am a hi-fi audio enthusiast and hobbyist, and enjoy designing, building, tinkering and listening to music systems. Those who read Chinese and have similar interests may remember me as the author of a couple of regular columns in the Audiotechnique monthly magazine (音響技術) from Taiwan in the 1980s.

Audio Stuff & Events

AMB Open Projects

My Audio Equipment Collection

Below is a sampling of the audio gear in my collection. All components designated below as AMB brand are designed and built by myself.

A high quality analog turntable still feature prominently in each of my systems because there is a certain magic in a good quality analog LP and many of my record albums are not available on CD. I built my own turntable and I also have the ne plus ultra of analog cassette deck technology: the Nakamichi Dragon and Nakamichi CR-7A.

Contrary to what some might think, audio technology has not advanced all that much in the past couple of decades, and some of the famed old gear can still stand head and shoulders above much of the new stuff. This is the reason why I still have several classic pieces in my collection.

AMB θ6 speaker system AMB θ6W subwoofer close-up AMB θ6W subwoofer electronics AMB θ18 AMB θ19 AMB θ20
AMB α6 and β3 AMB α8 AMB α8 with cover open AMB β8 Various system components Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck
Nakamichi CR-7A Cassette Deck Technics Surround Processor, Sony DVD player and VCR Sunfire True Subwoofer AMB λ1 turntable, Linn Basik Plus tone arm Systemdek IIX turntable, Linn Basik Plus tone arm Dynavector Karat 17D2 Mk.II cartridge
Ortofon Super OM-40 cartridge Hafler DH-120 and DH-220 power amps Hafler DH-100 series 2 pre-amplifier Benchmark DAC1 D/A convertor Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 Velodyne SMS-1

For the systems listed below, click on the lightbulb icon [] to see further details about each component.

Source Components

A broad mix of old and new, featuring several analog turntables, cassette decks, CD player and Wifi network music player with separate DAC, and high performance computer sound interfaces.
[]   NAD C520 CD player, used as CD transport only
[]   Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 network music player
[]   AMB γ1 DAC digital-to-analog converter with USB, S/PDIF coaxial and optical inputs
[]   AMB γ2 DAC compact high performance upsampling digital-to-analog converter
[]   Benchmark DAC1 digital-to-analog converter
[]   RME ADI-2 analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters
[]   Alien DAC digital-to-analog converter with USB interface
[]   E-MU 0404 USB 2.0 audio interface
[]   M-Audio Firewire Audiophile audio interface
[]   M-Audio Transit USB audio interface
[]   AMB λ1 turntable
[]   Systemdek IIX turntable
[]   CEC BD-5200 turntable (heavily modified), stock tone arm
[]   Linn Basik Plus tone arm (two, one mounted on AMB λ1, another on Systemdek IIX)
[]   Dynavector Karat-17D2 Mk.II moving-coil cartridge (mounted on AMB λ1)
[]   Dynavector Karat 23R moving-coil cartridge (mounted on CEC BD-5200)
[]   Ortofon OM-40 Gold moving-magnet cartridge (mounted on Systemdek IIX)
[]   Nakamichi Dragon 3-head auto-reverse stereo cassette deck
[]   Nakamichi CR-7A 3-head stereo cassette deck
[]   Pioneer CT-F1250 3-head stereo cassette deck (two)
[]   Kenwood KX-660HX stereo cassette deck
[]   Rotel RT-850A FM/AM tuner

Amplifiers

Lots of DIY amps, and a good collection of classic Hafler gear.
[]   AMB α3 moving-coil pre-preamplifier
[]   AMB α6 stereo pre-amplifier
[]   AMB α8 stereo pre-amplifier
[]   AMB β3 stereo power amplifier
[]   AMB β8 stereo power amplifier
[]   AMB β24 fully-differential stereo power amplifier
[]   AMB ε10 Line level summing amplifier
[]   Sound Valves SV100 JFET stereo pre-amplifier
[]   Hafler DH-100 Series 2 stereo pre-amplifier
[]   Hafler DH-120 stereo power amplifier
[]   Hafler DH-220 stereo power amplifier (two)
[]   Hafler DH-200 stereo power amplifier
[]   Dayton Audio DTA-1 "class-T" stereo amplifier (formerly Sonic Impact T-Amp)

Speakers

I had been an avid speaker builder for some time, thus the only piece in my collection that isn't DIY is the Sunfire subwoofer and the Velodyne subwoofer management system.
[]   AMB θ3W subwoofers
[]   AMB θ6S satellite speaker system
[]   AMB θ6W subwoofer (with integral electronic crossover and 100W negative output impedance amplifier)
[]   AMB θ18 speaker system
[]   AMB θ19 speaker system
[]   AMB θ20 speaker system
[]   NHT VT1 speaker system
[]   Sunfire True Subwoofer (with integral adjustable electronic crossover and 2700W tracking down-converter amplifier)
[]   Velodyne SMS-1 subwoofer management system

Headphones and Headphone Amplifiers

This is an area where I've been spending a lot of time in.
[]   Sennheiser HD800, HD600, HD580, PX100, HD410SL and HD50 headphones
[]   The β22 stereo amplifier and σ22 power supply
[]   The M³ stereo headphone amplifier
[]   The Cavalli-Kan Kumisa III stereo headphone amplifier
[]   The Mini³ portable stereo headphone amplifier
[]   The Dynahi stereo headphone amplifier
[]   AMB β18 stereo headphone amplifier
[]   Millett Hybrid stereo headphone amplifier
[]   σ11 linear regulated power supply
[]   STEPS linear regulated power supply

Video

I am not a videophile, but I do watch DVD movies on occasion and these are more than nice enough for me as a 5.1 surround system.
[]   Philips DVP5982/37 DVD player with HDMI and 1080p upconversion
[]   Technics SH-AC500D Surround Sound Processor
[]   Ölevia 242T-FHD 42" 1080p LCD flat-panel HDTV

Music Server

These are the key components integrating my home computer and LAN with the music systems. All music files are encoded either in FLAC or Ogg Vorbis formats.

Portable Audio

All music on the iPod are encoded either in FLAC or Ogg Vorbis format (same content as on the Squeezebox Server at home), playable only with the Rockbox firmware running on the iPod.

Mobile Audio

This is the system found in my Audi S4 biturbo quattro. All music encoded either in FLAC or Ogg Vorbis format (same content as on the Squeezebox Server at home).

Cables

Cables are a necessary evil. The best cable would be no cable at all, but that is not feasible especially in a high-end system where there are many separate components. On the other hand, I do not believe in the snake oil and voodoo magic touted by many premium cable brands to justify their lofty prices. To that end, I use all home-built cables for component interconnect, and put good quality connectors on the ends.

For audio interconnects, I use Belden 8451 or 9452 dual conductor BelfoilTM shielded cables. The shield wire is connected to the "ground" conductor on the output end only, which means that the cable is directional. The choice of these cables is for their superior shielding characteristics and excellent sound.

For digital coaxial and composite video interconnects, I use Belden 9221 or 8216 shielded coaxial cables. These cables are characterized by very low capacitance and is thus suitable for use in high frequency applications. I also use these cables as audio interconnects where long runs are a necessity and where induced noise interference is not a major problem.

All of these Belden cables I use are slim and flexible, making cable routing very easy. In addition, they all feature very thin stranded copper conductors. I am very pleased with their performance as used in my system and I don't think high-end cables costing 100 times as much as I spent on these would offer any further advantage.

For speaker cables, I use Monster Cable products. I believe that minimizing the cable impedance (and maintaining a high effective amplifier damping factor) is of paramount importance. The heavy gauge Monster Cables, with their copious thin strands and flexible jacket fit the bill nicely. All my speakers and amplifiers use gold plated banana plug connectors, which offer good contact surface area as well as being easy to plug/unplug.

Power Surge Suppression, Line Filtering & Outage Protection

Each system is connected to the AC mains via high quality outlet strips with surge suppression and overload protection breaker. In addition, System 1 uses a NewPoint 2030 Joule AC/cable/phone surge suppressor and AC line filter unit. The System 3 computers are protected by APC Back UPS 650 and Back UPS 600 uninterruptable power supplies.

Audio Accessories and Test Equipment

Here are some of the audio accessories and a sampling of the various test equipment I use.

Misc Audio Projects Images

Building the AMB θ19 speaker system using Dynaudio drivers, and the AMB θ20 speakers using Audax and Fostex drivers.

Drivers and finished crossover network board The beautiful Dynaudio 15W75 Esotec 5" drivers, with 3" voice coil and die-cast frame Finished enclosures Finished system with grill
Finished system without grill AMB θ20 parts, with crossover already installed AMB θ20 finished, without grill AMB θ20, front and back

Me, the speaker-building wizard, back when I was only 18...

Me, the speaker-building wizard, back when I was only 18...

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Last update: 05/10/10 03:23:43