The Zen Amplifier

Howdy, I finally stopped reading about this stuff and actually built something. I've read Nelson Pass's stuff for years, and a friend bought the Pass Labs Aleph 3 amp with great results, so I decided to go for it. Its my first real DIY effort, so it was a real learning experience. Fig_1 is the inside of the Zen amp. Its over-built, but its the only ready-made large chassis / heatsinks I could find, and Mr. Pass said that "you can never have too much heat sink". The power supply has extra filtering per Mr. Pass. Fig_2 is the front. Fig_3 is the inside of the Bride of Zen preamp. Again, over-built. I added a little extra PS filtering with some spare parts, and I used a 10k Alps pot. Fig_4 is the front. Notice the "rats-nest" wiring job and official Radio Shack knobs. Fig_5 is the system. Musical Fidelity CD player, Sota turntable, and Super-12 speakers by Hammer Dynamics (kit, 97 db, 8 ohms, review at http://www.enjoythemusic.com ). The system is still half on the floor, half on the stand, due to experimentation and break-in, but I'm getting some great sound. That's my spark-chaser friend Bruce on the right. Between Mr. Pass and Bruce, I received enough help to finish the project. Thanks to Mr. Pass, Bruce, and John Wyckoff (Hammer Dynamics) for all their help. Chassis : Borbely Audio http://www.borbelyaudio.com Speakers: HammerDynamics http://melhuish.org/audio/hammerdynamics.htm Parts : Welborne Labs http://welbornelabs.com/home.htm Digi-Key http://www.digi-key.com/DigiHome.html Boards : Old Colony http://www.audioxpress.com Thanks, Reed Rehorst