# Two versions of a LM3886 chip amp



## Wardsweb (Apr 2, 2010)

Here I went with the higher power LM3886 chip from National Semiconductor.


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## Wardsweb (Apr 2, 2010)

With the lid on, a nice simple and clean 130 watt amplifier.


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## Wardsweb (Apr 2, 2010)

Then I went for the more compact design.


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## Wardsweb (Apr 2, 2010)

All together now.


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## Wardsweb (Apr 2, 2010)

And last, but not least, powered on. Have I mentioned I love blue light?


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Wardsweb said:


> And last, but not least, powered on. Have I mentioned I love blue light?


Oh wow, I love that face Luther - I agree that blue light really looks good on equipment. Well done!


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## paskal (Dec 1, 2011)

i've been building quite a few iteration of the lm3886 for a few years now.
from the simple inverted, non inverted, buffered, valve buffered, regulated, to the more complex current iteration of the multiloop/current pump lm3886.


























they sound really nice. my current resident amp powering my HT setup is based on a bridged, balanced lm3886.
though i could afford poweramps from onkyo, marantz, rotel, emotiva and the such, i still prefer to DIY for the fun (flexibility) of it.


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## Wayne Parham (May 5, 2013)

I kinda dig those, guys. Especially the blue light. But seriously, those LM3875 and LM3886 have been favorites of mine for a long time. Inexpensive, easy to design with and great sounding!

I must say, I've never taken a liking to the T-amps. Even though the technology is interesting and makes sense, I just don't like them. But the LM38xx amps are more my style. Hard to say if this gives me a preconceived notion or not, but I do think they sound better.


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## goldkenn (Jul 7, 2013)

Would you share more about the circuit?


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

I cannot BELIEVE how beautiful your builds are. You must have some metal working gear around. Wow!

I could probably drive headphones with a pair of those without even heat-sinking the cases. There are some nice made-up board and power supply combos out there for under $40 a set. Anyone have experience with them?


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## Rene2.5RS (Nov 15, 2012)

goldkenn said:


> Would you share more about the circuit?


I second this!!


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

Here is a link to the Data Sheet.

Observations:

Looks like a fairly typical integrated circuit design.
Open loop gain not super high, high enough for low distortion. Some say you do not want it to be too high, it won't sound as good.
Protection from almost any fault condition, load, heat, supply voltage, input, you can't hurt the thing.
Connect directly to a heat sink, requires no external power transistors.
Super stable.
All linear class A/B design.
Good slew rate, good full-power performance at high frequencies.
Minimum additional components needed for a complete power amp.
Great specs all around, extremely flexible.


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## Wardsweb (Apr 2, 2010)

Here is a link to the manual.

 Non-Inverted LM3886 Kit


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