I think I am going to re-arrange my ClassDaudio.com amp: what should I do?

[wgscott]

Currently, I have one power supply hooked up that powers two stereo amp boards. One goes to the left speaker (with a channel for bass and a channel for mid/high), and the other goes to the right speaker. (I had read 'vertical bi-amping' was marginally better than 'horizontal bi-amping'. However, they might benefit from having separate power supplies, so I finally broke down and bought a second one. Set me back $60.

 

There isn't room enough for everything in the cabinet, so something's gonna have to split.

 

Forrest about four years ago suggested I move the transformer and power supply outside of the cabinet holding the amp boards. At the very least, I need to move the transformer (a big old toroid), so I got it a nice metal box, which should make a better Faraday cage than the current wood cabinet.

 

Should I put the power supplies in yet another metal box, or would a piece of metal separating them from the amp boards be sufficient? (I am worried about ventilation.)

 

Also, would I be better off passively bi-amping like I am now (I lost my nerve before I removing my crossovers), with 120 wpc x 4, or should I run each amp board in bridge mode (and bi-wire), with 500 wpc X 2 as monoblocks?

[sandyk]

An internal photo may be helpful for others to suggest improvements or layout changes.

Bear in mind too, that if you aren't careful you may get a marked increase in the amount of spurious rubbish being radiated, even via external PSU leads, which could possibly affect sensitive source components.

[wgscott]

Thanks. I'll post a photo when I pull it apart.

 

It is sort of a standing monument to everything that can go wrong with a DIY project. The stuff is just tossed in there currently.

[wkhanna]

i posted here and at another forum here about using mu-metal in my equipment