The Elektor Fortissimo-100 Power Amplifier Kit

Elektor now sells the Elektor Fortissimo-100 Power Amplifier Kit! Take a look in the Elektor Store.

Attention, audio lovers! The Elektor Fortissimo-100 Power Amplifier Kit is now an Elektor Jumpstarter project. Check out the details!

The Elektor Fortissimo-100

Good news: celebrated Elektor audio design specialist Ton Giesberts has once again released a phenomenal design for a high-end audio power amplifier, the Elektor Fortissimo-100. Once again, the results of the amplifier on the test bench challenged Elektor’s high-spec Audio Precision test gear.

In a bid to balance top-class analog electronics design and engineering against complex ICs, programming, SMDs, and commercial modules so dominant these days, the Fortissimo-100 audio amp follows in the footsteps of its renowned predecessors like the Crescendo, High-End Power Amplifier, Q-Watt, D-Watt, and many other in-house Elektor projects famed for their incredible performance, sonic quality, reliability, and certainty of successful replication at home. Over the years, thousands of hobbyists constructed these amplifiers and enjoyed their sublime performance as well as the joy, pride, and satisfaction of a home-built product compared to anything bought off the shelf.  The specifications, ease of construction, and the overall stability of the Fortissimo-100 are deemed so good that Elektor is offering the project as a kit of parts for assembly at home, using plain tools. The kit contains each and every part to build one Fortissimo-100 monoblock, including a set of high-quality PCBs, the heatsink, and other mechanical parts like standoffs and mica isolation washers for the power transistors. All parts are through-hole.

Consistent with the “no-compromise” design philosophy adopted for this project, leaded (through-hole; TH) parts are used throughout the project, meaning there are no SMDs or other tiny parts to solder, or “black box” parts like microcontrollers or complex ICs. The Elektor kit comes with a detailed, step-by-step assembly guide that should enable every audio lover with the ability to work accurately and sensibly, to assemble the monoblock and ravish at the sound quality. Two monoblocks are required to build a Fortissimo-100 stereo amplifier, plus a symmetrical 40-V, stabilized power supply. The supply is not included in the kit but a suggested source is given in the description for the project so readers can opt for their personal desires. In his article on Elektor Labs, Giesberts has all the tech talk about his design, as well as Fortissmo-100’s stunning performance specifications, the most important of which is: THD+N 0.0008 % at 50 W into 8 Ω. At the industry-accepted “1%“ distortion level, the Fortissimo-100 confidently supplies close to 100 W. Later this year, the project will be discussed in Elektor Magazine, adapted from the “engineering version” recently released online on Elektor Labs.

Join the Jumpstarter Campaign

Elektor is taking pre-orders for this fantastic kit that, when in production, is guaranteed to keep you busy at your workbench. Head over to the project page to secure your kit at an early-bird release price of €179.95 per monoblock. Note: By backing the project, you do not have to pay upfront and there are no strings attached. You can cancel at any time if you are no longer interested. Elektor will keep you updated via e-mail about the production and the release date. Elektor members get a 10% discount.

Video Interview with the Designer

The Fortissimo-100's designer, Ton Giesberts, recently joined Mathias Claussen and Jens Nickel on Elektor Lab Talk, where they discused the project and the amp's specs. Watch the video. The discussion begins at the 14:42 minute mark.