Electronic components are the basic electronic elements that make up an electronic device. The electronic components are connected together to form an electronic circuit that possesses certain functions intended by the designer.
The components might be discrete, such as a capacitor, resistor, inductor and etc; or they may be a package of several to millions of components together, such as the integrated circuits (IC), regulators, audio amplifier chips and such.
In DIY audio guide world, they will be the basic elements that form our amplifiers, crossover, pre-amplifiers, signal processors, and etc. We would need to understand in order to fully utilize them in our DIY audio projects.
A trend emerges ~10 years ago where manufacturers tend to design and produce audiophile grade components that promise superior sonic qualities compared to the normal industrial grade components.
In addition, audiophile and non-audiophile electronic modules with specific functions are catching up too. One can find a lot of modules in eBay, and various online shops. I, personally, like this idea since it saves a lot of my time to DIY the modules myself and I can focus on areas that have more ROI (return of investment) to the project.
This is really great news for audio enthusiasts like us!
The best thing about DIY audio is you get the best return for your hard earned cash. All the money are spent on areas that has direct relationship to the sound quality instead of having them go to others that are indirect.
Electronic modules could be power supply, voltage regulator, speaker protection, power supply delay, amplifier blocks, crossover, constant current sources and etc. Their types and functions are limitless.
Electronic components are divided into two categories, active and passive components. Active components are transistors, vacuum tubes, integrated circuits, and etc. Passive components are resistors, inductors, capacitors, diodes, and etc.
In DIY audio guide context, all these are very important to determine the end results we want – sonic superiority or characteristics that we’re seeking.
Since component technologies are general knowledge, I’ll not go through the generic ones but those that are more related to DIY audio. Here are a list of components that we will come across when we DIY audio projects.
These are a very high level general description of electronic components. They can actually be subdivided into even finer categories. We’ll go into those that are related to DIY audio only.
Example: terminals, connectors, cable, switches, resistors, protection devices, capacitors, magnetic devices, piezoelectric devices, crystals, resonators, power sources, transducers, sensors, detectors, semiconductor diodes, transistors, integrated circuits, optoelectronic devices, displays, vacuum tubes, discharge devices, antennas, prototyping aids, mechanical accessories, and others.
Vacuum tubes (valves)
6C45-PI Indirectly Heated Triode.
Direct Heated Triodes - Vacuum Tube Part 1.
210,10, 10Y, 801A / VT-62 Direct Heated Triodes.
210,10, 10Y, 801A / VT-62 Applications.
210,10, 10Y, 801A / VT-62 Output Transformers.
Solid State Devices
Constant Current Source / Constant Current Sink.
TL783 Voltage Regulator.
DAC - digital to analog converter.
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