Any Audiophiles can lend me a hand? - tube amplifiers | GTAMotorcycle.com

Any Audiophiles can lend me a hand? - tube amplifiers

Jlin

Jlin

Well-known member
Hey guys, I'm just wondering if anyone know how to build a generic tube style amplifier that's relatively easy to build and will sound great with most speakers. My dad is a big audiophile and I'm planing to surprise him with this.

I have no background knowledge in amplifiers although I'm reading into it right now. I do know how to solder and what not. I have limited knowledge in schematics and i'm always willing to learn something new. Just wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction as to which forums I can check out and whether or not there's a kit available out there that I can purchase and put together since it's cheaper than buying them pre-built.

Am going over my head here or is this a feasible task for someone like me?

thanks!
 
I'd guess (just a guess) that you're over your head, but, I did find this:

http://www.londonpower.com/catalog/

"Tube Amplifier Kit" in google comes up with 1.39 million results!
 
you might get some info at

head-fi.org - although they're primarily cans, I'm sure you can find some info here.

avsforums.com - Home theatre buffs. They love their sound too!!

http://www.ringaudio.com/ - these guys are on queen st e. they might be able to help you out.
 
Lots of kits available for you to make them on your own. They can range in price from under $100 all the way to several grand.. I have heard that the sound is much better with one of these, and the only person that I know that actually owns a bunch of these has their own podcast and produces 4 or more shows a week. He can hear hisses and other distortion that I couldn't and hes very paranoid about sound quality. Then again these type of things are becoming "fashionable" so their popularity is increasing. You could try and build one, but if you want real quality with lower distortion especially since its a gift, you might want to consider buying one. Its more expensive, but if you don't know what you are doing, it COULD make a costly paper weight.

check out this guys build...
http://diyaudioprojects.com/Tubes/K-502-Tube-Amp-Kit/
 
My brother has 2 Marshall tube amps..guards them more than his kids.. :) They do have a unique sound and it is becoming popular again to have analog gear. I catch snippets every now and again and I've heard that some of the tubes are going out of mass production so it could become more difficult to get them.

I have to say, I do appreciate the analog sound..I'm not even an "audiophile"...
 
alright, based on the replies and the money i'm willing to spend on it i guess it's going to be better if I just purchase it pre-built. thanks for all your insightful feedbacks!
 
25 years ago I made sales call on a company building tube amps and heard them running an amp through its paces. The sound was incredible. Apparently the specs aren't that great but the final product has an fantastic sound. Also a fantastic price.
Maybe shop around for an old Blaupunkt sp* tube set at an antique market or on line.
 
Jlin said:
alright, based on the replies and the money i'm willing to spend on it i guess it's going to be better if I just purchase it pre-built. thanks for all your insightful feedbacks!
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Yeah, even single-ended tube amp kits are expensive. The most expensive parts are transformers and then tubes. If you want to surprise your dad, buy him a rebuilt Dynaco ST-70, MKII or MKIII. Those are like 50s vintage and still rock audiophile world. I rebuilt a few and still use two in my tube 2-channel setup.
 
Thanks for all the responses. After a few days of researching I decided to order the elekit tu879s. The instructions are straight forward to follow and it received all positive reviews on google. I'm comfortable with soldering and I actually enjoy putting kits together so it'll definitely be an exciting learning experience for me. I'll keep those who are interested posted.
 
Jlin said:
Thanks for all the responses. After a few days of researching I decided to order the elekit tu879s. The instructions are straight forward to follow and it received all positive reviews on google. I'm comfortable with soldering and I actually enjoy putting kits together so it'll definitely be an exciting learning experience for me. I'll keep those who are interested posted.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and post photos too. Just wondering what made you ask the question on this forum and not on CAM?
 
That's awesome.. I can't wait to see how it goes.

http://www.vkmusic.ca/TU-879S_point.htm

Jlin said:
Thanks for all the responses. After a few days of researching I decided to order the elekit tu879s. The instructions are straight forward to follow and it received all positive reviews on google. I'm comfortable with soldering and I actually enjoy putting kits together so it'll definitely be an exciting learning experience for me. I'll keep those who are interested posted.
Click to expand...
 
I have 2 old McIntosh tube amps and 2 pre amps as well... Tuners and a few other bits and bobs.... love em to death... I was almost homeless, and I wouldn't sell em... lol
 
I've finally received the kit yesterday and put it together within 8 hours. The kit was well put together and the instructions were very detailed so I didn't have any problems putting it together. The chassis was well made and designed. Sturdy steel plates.

I've really enjoyed putting this kit together and I've also learned a lot while in the process of building. I recommend anyone who's looking into DIY tube amps to give this kit a try, the knowledge and fun you gain from this well worth the small price you pay for these kits.

Best of all, my dad was stoked with his gift and he's listening to it as I type this; I'm not too big of an audio nut but it sounds great even to my untrained ears.


Here are the pictures as promised:

IMG-20120423-00419.jpgIMG-20120423-00421.jpg
 
Wow man nice job! It looks really cool... the way you talk about putting it together makes it seem so easy..
 
it actually was pretty easy, it helps if you have experience soldering but other than that everything else is written in the manual. It took me 8 hours in total because I took my time to make sure everything was perfect since it's a gift, i want it to last quite a long time.
 
Very nice work! How much was the kit?
 
What did you use for a pre-amp?
 
the kit was 650.00 shipped to my door, I later found out that there was a canadian supplier called vkmusic, they're based in vancouver and shipping is a little less.

It has a built in pre-amp, it's running a cheap chinese 12ax7 type tube i'm planing to switch that out for a GE although i haven't heard my dad complain about it... yet.
 
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