Build Projects
DIY audio projects — designed, built, and documented from scratch.
Built from scratch amplifiers to custom measurement rigs and modifications, this is where the hands-on work lives. CharlesAudio documents each build project in detail — the design decisions, the mistakes, the measurements, and the results. Whether you’re here to follow along or build your own, there’s something to learn from every project.
Latest build projects
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SRC Amp 1
Starting the amp build journey My journey of building high-performance amplifiers started in 2015 with an AudioSector LM3875 kit. This comprised a couple of simple PCBs and a bag of components. The “gainclone” design was something discovered by a Japanese engineer – who realised that Texs Instruments had developed a very high performance set of… Continue reading
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mVista 2 preamp
Background In 2017 I made the first version of the mVista preamplifier. This was an ambitious project which met the functional goals, however the noise and cross talk performance left much to be desired. The key learning was that the attention to layout, build technique and mechanical layout is very significant to achieve the high-end… Continue reading
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mVista 3 ultra-high performance preamplifier
Design Goals: ultra-low noise high performance user interface with remote control music visualisation, VU meters, spectrum displays, all configurable DIY capable – 4 layer PCB build, front panel machining build cost <£500 Specification 6 input: 6dB & 18dB selectable per input: RCA, XLR 3 output: fixed, variable, sub-woofer x2: RCA & XLR S/N >120dB, Channel… Continue reading
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Spectrum Analyser
Being able to see dynamically the frequency content of the music playing is a goal of mine for a long while. I remember studying about Fourier Analysis at University so understand the principle of taking samples and then performing the mathematical transform into the frequency domain. In today’s world of high speed microcomputers, even an… Continue reading
