Zigisg Portable Amp

[PinkFloyd]

Jan 30, 2013 20:49:11 GMT @iancraig10 said:

Zigis, does anything hold the batteries still?

German plasticine!

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2013 20:54:42 GMT PinkFloyd said:

Jan 30, 2013 20:49:11 GMT @iancraig10 said:

Zigis, does anything hold the batteries still?

German plasticine!

;D

Bitumen? >:(They'll NEVER come out then.

[Zigis]

Hi Heliharris, inside amp are charger schematic, allow charging 3x9V batteries from simple 12V adapter and control charging current. 12V addapter is not included, you can use any cheap 12V DC PS, even noisy switch mode can make the job, no need for audiophile grade. Or maybe you can use something you have at home. External addapter must be with 5.5/2.5mm or 5.5/2.1mm plug, central connector positive.
Charger schematic is little noisy, so I make amp this way - wen you plug in 12V addapter, amp's part disconnected and batteries start charging. So, you can't charging batteries and listening to music (with small dirt) in the same time. Battery charging time is somewhere 8-12 hours, overnight charging is OK.
Amps price is 130 Euro + 10 euro shipping, 140 total.

Thank you, PinkFloyd !

Chris, what kind of knob is it, plastic, metal? Any link?

[Zigis]

Hi Ian, actually batteries sit very tight between PCB and lid, there is no motion, no rattle. Actually little too tight, hard plastic battery connectors interfere good top lid sliding. It is doable, but not easy. Good news, with rechargeable battery you don't need open amp too often.
Anyway, on next build I plan to use those soft battery connectors, this will save up mm or so.

[Deleted]

Hi Zigis,

I have no idea for links to the knob, I bought it from a music store, choosing from a loose selection in a box.

It's a plastic outer, brass inner with an inside "barrell" constricting screw, then a plastic cap fits on top to give a nice finished look.

[Deleted]

My batteries finally rolled up today and have been charged.

Fired up the Zigis 3x9, 'kin 'ell!

Although this is my first serious portable amp I was taken aback at how capable it is.

I only have my own cmoy and the line in of my NG27 to compare against but the void between them and the Zigis is huuuuuuuuge.

Authority, openess, detail and space.

I'm thinking some of you guys are already used to this from existing portable units but it is a very nice shock to me.

Dredge "The Pariah...." playing now. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

More to come when I have some hours on it, initail impression = best dosh I've spent in along time.

[Deleted]

I'm glad you like it, Chris. I must admit, I'd like to hear one myself and I'm very tempted because I do like Zigis little amp a lot.

It has plenty of power and has a slightly less edgy sound than the Neco with its 8610 op amps. I'm not that fussed about these op amps. They seem a bit brittle to me - I need to get in there, but the extra power the Zigis has is very attractive.

By the time I've made up my mind, he'll have sold them all!!

It's a full sized stereo out too hasn't it?

The knob looks a bit like a guitar amp knob.

[Deleted]

Ian,

The more I listen to this amp the more I like it. I'm occasionaly switching to other amps to check I'm not just aclimatising to this one but no, it really is very capable.

It doesn't extract the nth degree of nuances that some very good static amps can but it has a very well balanced presentation that never sounds like it's straining, with a good sense of effortless power, sound staging is also surprisingly good.

I've tried most of my headphones on it to see if there are weaknesses or preferencial pairings. The Zigis has taken on all of them with aplomb. A quick round up below;


Senny PX200 mkI.........more puch and clarity, the unwilling top end is pushed a tad further.
Senny HD238...............is this the same headphone? It's never sounded this well balanced from a small amp, more like it does from a mains amp!
Senny HD600...............Asking a lot here and no surrprises, the very typical 600 sound remains the same, only bettered by using a serious mains amp.
Senny HD560 OV mkII..Sounding good, no noticeable loss of anything in the 'phones character and driven well.
S'Lux HD661................Really bombastic, turbo charged fun.
AKG 280......................Again, character unchainged from what I'm used to, driven without any problems

The big surprise?


The Zigis makes a lovely job of the K701s

Very well balanced WITH BASS. Some supposedly good mains amps can't match this! Again, you cannot expect top notch detail, openess, clarity, blah blah. What you do get is very enjoyable presentation from a notoriously difficult headphone.
It does draw more battery effort though (remembering I'm a bit of an animal with the volume control) with the charge being used noticeably faster, a small price to pay for the quality of sound.

Just in case you're not sure, I am well impressed with this Zigis 3x9 amp, missing it right now as it is back on charge, oh well, tether myself to the mains again

[Deleted]

I'm glad you're liking it, Chris. I presume that the batteries stay put while you charge and it doesn't play while charging?

Also, I wondered why kind of battery life are you getting out of a charge?

I must admit, it looks really nice and I really do like the Cmoy that I bought. It has plenty of power but I needed something with more voltage swing available. It looks like this has it.

It could mean that I could use my T50 mobile with this amp!!!

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2013 9:58:38 GMT @iancraig10 said:

I presume that the batteries stay put while you charge and it doesn't play while charging?

That's correct Ian. For listening it is battery only.

Also, I wondered why kind of battery life are you getting out of a charge?

I should be able to tell you by the end of today. I have left it running at full listening volume with a typical load (senny hd 238).

I needed something with more voltage swing available. It looks like this has it.

The fact that it drives the 701s in such a pleasing way I'd say yes indeedy.

[Deleted]

The result of continuous use at full listening level is;

For 3x 280mAh PP3 9v batteries = approx. 4hours

---

@ zigis, does that seem correct?

---

I must admit that is much less than I assumed but the quality of sound is very good.

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2013 17:49:34 GMT @cjarchez said:

The result of continuous use at full listening level is;

For 3x 280mAh PP3 9v batteries = approx. 4hours

---

@ zigis, does that seem correct?

---

I must admit that is much less than I assumed but the quality of sound is very good.

Wow, that is using some power!! How many milliamp hours are your batteries rated at?

While that's probably good for sound if it's making a lot of current available, that means the batteries will unfortunately have a shorter life, Chris. That's quite a drain rate; especially for the Senns which aren't power hungry.

I had that with the Ipod Touch. The battery inside is too low powered for what I want, so I had a much higher MaH battery installed so time between charges is much greater and battery drain is relatively slower in comparison to the original batter, which was pants.

It's very surprising though since there are three batteries in there which is 1 1/3 hours per battery. (Av) 8 volts used up in and hour and a third? That's going some. (Rechargeables normally reach 8.4v I think when they're good)

The Neco runs at 18v but uses nothing like. I can refrain from charging for two - four weeks use. Not sure how many hours on continuous since I've never done it. It's a very long time though.

I hope all is well with the amp. BTW - also yourself.

[Deleted]

It's possible I may have judged too soon on the battery consumption.
Our neighbours said we had a long power cut the night I left it charging so it may not have had a full charge.

Redoing test today...

[Deleted]

.....Hmmmmm,

approx 3 hours to red light. 3 x 9v 280mAh. Is there a simple way of checking if a battery is performing correctly to spec?

Zigis, over to you. Is this sounding correct to you?

[Deleted]

Crikey, that's short - which kind of defeats the 'portable' idea since it won't run while charging.

The LM4562 apparently draw more current on idle; sounds like they need a lot of power? That's just enough for a couple of albums. Sorry, didn't see the mAh rating you posted before I asked my daft question!!

It seems extremely low.

[Deleted]

Crikey, that's short - which kind of defeats the 'portable' idea since it won't run while charging.

Read more: rockgrotto.proboards.com/post/new/7708#ixzz2LBdrxRo2

Yes, I agree Ian.

I'll wait to see what Zigis has to say on the subject, I've emailed him.

[Deleted]

I just finished testing my older Lidl brand batteries i.e. I found them and I know them to be good. On my own cmoy two of these last nearly 2 days uninterupted playing!

3 x 9v 200mAh, charged over night last approx. 15-20 mins less time than the 280mAh above.

[Deleted]

OK,

Have been talking with Zigis in the background.

After a very small mod to the amp and using an appropriately powered psu we have reached good charging times.

With easy load headphones I'm now getting 15 hours playback off an overnight charge.

I am now satisfied that this amp is not only stonkingly good but also appropriate for portable use even with hard to drive 'phones.

[Deleted]

I couldn't resist trying a metal can 4562HA in place of the stock 4562NA seeing as this beastie has a decent voltage available.

Initial quick impression, very different. Much more open and seemingly less bass. TBC...

[Rabbit]

What was the mod Chris?

[Deleted]

The mod involved a change in value of the resistor that controls the charging rate. I'm guessing Zigis will make this the standard.

With the HA chip in place the accuracy and openess is noticeably improved. It also makes the amp more "honest" with bass, good recordings or bass driven music has plenty of depth and slam but others are suffering from less forgiveness in this department, being a little lightweight compared to the NA chip. Any coarseness is also laid bare with the HA chip in place. if you're a total bass head then I'd stick with the LM4562NA as supplied or look to other compatable chips.

Strangely but in a good way, the 701s are still happy being driven by the 3x9 with the HA as well, though obviously any hf nasties in the recordings can now be quite grating. On the flip side the HD600s open up a lot more with a far more even response and are generally a really nice listen here.

I think the fact that I'm happily talking about successfully using these kinds of cans on the amp speaks volumes in itself. A very capable mini power house.

The cj stamp of approval

[Rabbit]

So the charging switched off way too early?

Changing the opamp might give you a bit more battery life. The LM4562 are good but they draw quite a bit in idle apparently. Strange because the Neco goes on for a helluva long time. In fact, I lose track because it's such a long time but in this case, he's fitted quite a large lithium ion battery that you recharge.

The only thing I'm not keen on is the op amp that Neco tends to prefer and I can't be too bothered at the moment to open it up and change it. Last time I did one with a lithium battery, it was so tight, I took the battery's skin off on the way out. I think this one is going to be like pulling a rat through a drain pipe.

There was an Intalian portable amp (can't remember its name) that I really fancied, but the maker was very unreliable so I left it. The other ones I would like to try aren't cheap but I am quite interested in hearing some of them - those American ones - Ray Samuels.

Trouble is, I'm just curious and not sure if I'd actually want one to keep. Same with the O2.

We need an amp library!!

[Deleted]

So the charging switched off way too early?

No, not quite. It was not giving enough charge to the batteries (trickle charge) so the full charge time would be rediculously long.

I'll try your less hungry opamp idea, I dug out a 2134 and will see if it does significantly better.

Is there another appropriate chip that has similar qualities to the 4562 but is less "juicy"?

[mrarroyo]

I like the old NE5532 or the OPA275.

[Deleted]

Cheers Miguel, I'll add them them to the list of cmoy favourites, currently standing as;
OPA275
NE5532
AD8066
TLE2142
LM6172
OPA2228
TLE2072
OPA627
OPA2107
LT1364
JRC4556

Phew! Any of those fit the "Walk like an LM4562" but less power hungry bill?

I finished trying the 2134 for charging time, it achieved a 33% increase to 20 hour total. Unfortunately it also sucked the life out of the amp, making it sound very ordinary