Advice for an absolute beginner

[georged]

Hi! I am a first year engineer at Oxford and i've recently become very interested in building my own soundsystem. I would like to ideally do it from the most basic parts possible so i can really learn about how it all works, however I have no idea where to start! I have been studying electronics this year but I would by no means say i was an expert. Could anyone point me in the direction on books/websites to go to? Also I know it's a vague question but how much time and money would you reckon is involved when making your first speakers/amps?
Thanks alot!

[Enzo]

Welcome to the forum.

Define your goals better. We largely deal in guitar amps here, though other topics are fine, to me "sound system" suggests more of a PA system than a guitar amp. SO just what do you want to make? All your questions rather depend upon that.

[Chuck H]

That IS a vague question. All I can say is that it all depends on how far you want to take each venture. It can't be disected based on the term "sound system". Do you intend to build a preamp, power amp, L-pad, crossover and speaker system? And will the speaker system be simple stereo console speakers or a more elaborate 5 or 7 way system? Do you want to build the cabinets yourself? Do you want to build with transistors or go all out with a tube preamp and power amp? How many watts will you require for THIS system. Each wattage range can have different requirements and limitations.

I am not an engineer. I don't even do sound systems. I design and build guitar amps and have for almost two decades. But the shortcommings of your inquiry struck me when I considered the number of amps and related electronic projects I have built. There are probably much better ways to get your feet wet than to build an entire sound system from the ground up. Consider that there are many notable examples of some reputation that are copied and cloned over and over again...Why? do you know? these are good things to learn. Lots of really cool tricks and techniques that are slick as hell are hidden in the revered designs. Even the older ones. Especially the older ones.

I might start out doing some repair and refurbishing of some of these designs. Getting to know them will reveal their secrets. You could extrapolate your own uses or modifications of these design ideas from there. But coming out of the gate trying to design entire systems from the ground up is really just an exercise in troubleshooting. The level of genius that is revealed in learning the great designs will rub off to some degree and give you a better handle on how to manage your own designs when you feel you can meet the challenge and compare.

Not that you shouldn't start designing right away. You should. But perhaps not entire sound systems. It's alot of work and expense for what you'll get back at this stage of the game. There is more education and good fidelity to be had by restoring an old Fisher 500C or a similar amplifier. And that's just the amplifier. Speaker design and choice is another can of worms. After restoring said amplifier you could then go on the hunt for good sounding speakers. And the experience would raise the question 'Why did these speakers sound better?' And you'll be gaining the experience to know. Build from scratch and you have to work out all the bugs and re-write the book on your own. There is no reason not to benefit from the designers that have gone before you. Thats how technology advances. You see a great idea, and then another, and then you do some personal cross referencing and experimenting, throw in a solution of your own and then presto, new technology.

This is easy for me to say because there are so many incredible sounding guitar amps from yesteryear. But there are revered designs in high end audio too. Don't miss the boat. Learn the good stuff that has gone before.

Chuck

[dewets]

I'd suggest you take a peek on the following website:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/

There are a few sub-forums there for Solid State, Chipamps, and Tubes , etc.