Parts: the Rest of the BOM

Now that you've got everything that the DIYAudioStore can provide, and your transformers from Antek, it's time to tackle all the rest of the parts listed on the Bill of Materials (aka BOM) for the Aleph J amp boards, as well as the Universal Power Supply board, plus a variety of connectors, hardware, wire and such, so that you've got everything you need. 

Here's the quick rundown of all the other bits and pieces you will need and where to get them:

MOUSER: Start with this Mouser saved cart, which covers all the components from the BOMs. If something is  listed as out of stock: 

1. look for substitute parts on the BOMs (amp board, power supply), which list multiple substitution options;
2. if you can't find any of the substitutes listed in the BOMs, ask for substitutions on the "illustrated build guide" or the "noobs guide" threads). 

AMAZON: You'll also need 16 gauge multicolored hookup wire for the power supply wiring, which we got from Amazon (3 feet here, even better is 5 feet here). There are lots of perfectly good alternatives for this hookup wire, but the difficult thing is finding a bunch of colors in relatively short lengths (under 10 feet), so that you're not left with a bunch extra. You will also need some 3 amp, 250v, 5mm x 20mm slow blow fuses (to replace the 2A fuse supplied in the back panel kit for the IEC AC inlet module, which is too small a value for the Aleph J).

HARDWARE STORE: Take a trip to the hardware store and get the following: 

• 8 M3 size split washers (for securing MOSFETs to heat sink)
• 2 machine screws, M4-20 size (this means M4 screw, 20mm long), along with matching nuts, flat washers and split washers (to secure rectifier bridges to chassis base)
• 2 machine screws, M4-16 size, along with matching nuts, flat washers, and split washers (to secure the 4-position terminal block to chassis base)
• 2 machine screws, M3-18 size, along with matching nut and split washers (to secure 2-position ceramic terminal block to chassis base)
• 4 machine screws, M3-16 size (to secure plastic feet to bottom of chassis)
• 8 additional M4 split washers and 8 M4 flat washers (for chassis assembly screws that lack washers)
• a 3/8" drill bit (suitable for metal, to drill out the mounting hole for your transformer)
• 800 grit sandpaper (for smoothing down the MOSFet surfaces)

PARTS CONNEXION: You'll need hookup wire for the amp-board-to-input-jacks and amp-board-to-speaker-terminals. There are a wide variety of options to consider, but most agree on small gauge, high quality wire for both. I bought mine from Parts Connexion, an established Canadian vendor of audiophile parts. They have a good array of hookup wire options at various price points. Here's what I went with: 

• input signal wire: Small-gauge, solid core, twisted pair, was what was recommended on the forum. A good option would be Kimber DTC 23, 23awg solid-core copper, 2 feet each of two different colors, $1.89/ft as of this writing. I went for something more esoteric, the DH Labs solid core 23awg silver wire in black and white, 2 feet of each, which I twisted together myself. At $15/ft., it's spendy, but it's peanuts compared to most fancy audiophile wire. Does it make an audible difference? Without two otherwise identical Aleph J amps side-by-side, I couldn't possibly tell you. But I figured it wasn't that much extra money, so I splurged. 
• speaker connection wire: stranded, small-gauge, twisted pair seems to be typical, and I went with Kimber TCSS, a twisted pair, 19awg stranded copper wire, $2.65/foot. 2 feet should do it. 

OK, that covers the rest of the parts you'll need. Read on if you want the longer explanations.

As of this post, the latest BOM for the amp boards is "Rev. D", which is included in the first post of 6L6's excellent Aleph J "illustrated build guide" thread. Be sure that you are using the latest revision, as there are some older ones floating around. The latest BOM for the power supply board can be found on the DIYAudioStore page, or in the first post of the Universal Power Supply "illustrated build guide" thread. 

The BOMs can be a little confusing, if you've not seen one before (at least, it was for me!). The ones we're dealing with here include lots of alternative parts recommendations, all listed together in one spreadsheet. For example, on the amp board BOM, you'll need two of capacitor C4 (one for each board), but the BOM shows you four different part numbers. Those are all acceptable alternatives, for you to choose based on supplier stock. 

Unfortunately, neither of the BOMs (at least the revisions as of this writing) tell the whole story. Over the course of more than 5,000 posts on the Aleph J "illustrated build guide" thread, several parts changes have been suggested. To save you reading the whole thing, here's the parts changes from the Rev. D BOM that we made: 

• R6 and R30 should be jumpers
• R8 should be a 1k resistor, rather than a potentiometer

The Universal Power Supply board BOM is also not the whole story. First, because we're trying to make this as simple a build as possible, we're going to use monolithic bridge rectifiers, instead of building our own discrete rectifier section (more about this in our discussion on the build, see here). That means that we will omit many of the parts on the BOM.  

Second, in order to faithfully duplicate the power supply shown on the Aleph J schematic, we will need to add two terminal blocks that will attach to the chassis baseplate. These terminal blocks will be used tlo connect thermistors (to limit inrush current when the amp is turned on), as well as a capacitor for spark suppression across the AC switch and noise filtering. (If some or all of this vocabulary is over your head, have no fear, we'll explain in more detail in the power supply build post). So, to sum up, here's what we changed or added to the Universal Power Supply BOM:

• deleting D1-8, all the optional resistors, R11-12, all the snubber parts
• add two terminal blocks, three thermistors, one line capacitor (call it C9)

The Universal Power Supply BOM also leaves a bunch of specific parts decisions to the builder, depending on which amp they intend to build. The two big choices are (1) what color LEDs (not complicated, we chose red and green); and (2) what filter capacitors (C1-8)? These filter caps will be discussed more in our power supply build post, but for our parts selection purposes here, we went with these Nichicon capacitors (105C, 35w, 18,000uf, 10mm lead spacing, snap-in). There are lots of debates on the forum about how big these capacitors should be, and we could have chosen bigger, but anything 15,000uf or greater will do. 

In order to order electronic components and connectors, we decided to rely on Mouser. Why? Well, we found that it was a little easier to use and had more of the BOM parts in stock. (YMMV. The other big US source for parts is Digi-Key, if you want to try there.) Hopefully, you can just use our saved cart, which includes all of the parts specified in the BOMs, plus connectors and terminal blocks. 

The trip to the hardware store is necessary for various screws, nuts, and washers that were omitted from the backpanel kit. In addition, you'll need a 3/8" drill bit to enlarge one of the chassis baseplate holes to accommodate the transformer mounting screw, some 800 grit sandpaper to smooth any metal burs from the power MOSFets (so they don't pierce the Keratherm pads), and some fuses (because the ones included in the backpanel kit aren't exactly correct for our amp). 

Finally, the topic of hookup wire is a confusing one. There doesn't seem to be any consensus on the forum about what kind of wire to use, especially for speaker and input connections. So I made my best guess, based on what credible builders mentioned on the forum. I also like Parts Connexion because they have been around a while and have a decent selection of hookup wire options from reputable audiophile brands. You certainly can choose something different. Just make sure that whatever you choose will fit the connectors you intend to use. 

OK, that's more than enough words about sourcing your parts!