View Full Version : Some pics to tease you all with.
http://img434.imageshack.us/img434/7818/2a311cj.jpg
http://img290.imageshack.us/img290/470/2a333eh.jpg
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8023/2a341zu.jpg
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4812/pr0n8vh.jpg
She's shy...so illuminated pics will come next week :up2somet:
Just need to do a few more things to it, little trimmings here and there...and I'll get a better pr0n picture, as the lighting ****** for that one. Hard to appreciate how sweet the all-copper chassis looks :) mmm, EMF shielding...
The long journey is almost over :veryhapp:
ngsm13
12-09-2005, 08:22 PM
That looks simply amazing. I love it.
NG
ibanezcollector
12-09-2005, 08:25 PM
do we have a drool smiley?
digital mint
12-09-2005, 08:27 PM
do we have a drool smiley?
:drool:
PV Audio
12-09-2005, 08:27 PM
:(
me wanty
Chevyaudio
12-09-2005, 08:27 PM
Very nice...Very very nice
loudblazer02
12-09-2005, 08:29 PM
Wow, your a wiz. I bow to your knowledge.
Acidburn
12-09-2005, 08:31 PM
very sweet Jim
ibanezcollector
12-09-2005, 08:31 PM
forgot to add feel free to send that to me for some testing :)
Wow, your a wiz. I bow to your knowledge.
http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/bow28.gif
Chevyaudio
12-09-2005, 08:40 PM
http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/bow28.gif
Don't get to happy frosty...Its just chinny
PV Audio
12-09-2005, 08:45 PM
Don't get to happy frosty...Its just chinny
just about to say that
thylantyr
12-09-2005, 09:08 PM
Put a piece of slice bread between the transformer.........................viola'
doubles as a toaster .................................................. ................
:ban: :jk:
PV Audio
12-09-2005, 09:13 PM
*voila lol
not large violins ;)
littly messy under there jimbo. :)
wouldnt mind testing that, IF i had some speakers to listen to it on :p:
2kchevy06civic
12-09-2005, 09:15 PM
looks pretty clean to me.....
Beat_Dominator
12-10-2005, 12:14 AM
You know what I think....... :)
azbass
12-10-2005, 12:19 AM
meh tube nerd :)
Beat_Dominator
12-10-2005, 12:39 AM
Werd mike1, that t00b stuff is toeback :nono:
Chevyaudio
12-10-2005, 12:40 AM
tubes f0r teh l0ssss
supa_c
12-10-2005, 02:43 AM
How many watts jimbo ?
This one is clean compared to your other " builds"...lol
How many watts jimbo ?
This one is clean compared to your other " builds"...lol
3 and a half before clipping...
What, you're saying something was wrong with the Foreplay preamp :p: :yumyum:
Messy wiring FTW
DBfan187
12-10-2005, 11:58 AM
Foreplay long time?
****ing tease!
ballstothewall
12-10-2005, 12:40 PM
Looks pretty cool to me.....
eisenhower
12-10-2005, 01:38 PM
get some glow shots at night
joetama
12-11-2005, 02:22 AM
What output amplifier and rectifier tubes are you using? 6550 or KT-88? Also, what's your plate voltage and current?
Prowler573
12-11-2005, 02:34 AM
Looks great, Jack.
There's just no substituting the warmth present in a tube unit.
Wish I had the time to tinker with that kinda stuff and learn more than I know about it now (which is only a half-step from nothing)
Glad there's the Jack Frosts of the world to keep that kinda stuff alive. :thumbsup:
i wish i could hear this "warmth" that people "speak" of.
from what ive read, most of the tube farries (aka: audiophiles) are snobs that believe they can hear .01% thd and the difference in high-end cableling vs other high-end cabeling.
im not saying that amp does not sound awesome. but i wanna hear it versus other amps of that "quality" that are solid state side-to-side to hear the difference for myself if you understand me. i just cant believe everything that i read you know?
and i would at least have tried to make the wiring a little cleaner :)
cool none the less. ill have my ~$100 HT project done soon. 15wpc + 3" fullrange
Prowler573
12-11-2005, 02:48 AM
i wish i could hear this "warmth" that people "speak" of.
from what ive read, most of the tube farries (aka: audiophiles) are snobs that believe they can hear .01% thd and the difference in high-end cableling vs other high-end cabeling.
im not saying that amp does not sound awesome. but i wanna hear it versus other amps of that "quality" that are solid state side-to-side to hear the difference for myself if you understand me. i just cant believe everything that i read you know?
and i would at least have tried to make the wiring a little cleaner :)
cool none the less. ill have my ~$100 HT project done soon. 15wpc + 3" fullrangeI do understand where you're coming from, Req. Personally I haven't had a whole lot of experience with tube-type audio system amps. A bit - but not so much that I'd care to call myself any kind of a real critic whether it be pro or con. I do, however, have a fair bit of experience with tube-type RF amps (and no, not Rockford Fosgate) and have been able to do A-B comparos with tube amps vs. solid-state amps in that setting. Amps that were fairly even in the wattage department showed a dramatic difference in they way they sounded. The tube units just sounded cleaner, hands down, every time.
I would assume that it would be much the same in an audio setup. On the flipside....I may have completely missed the mark and have no clue what I am talking about but I wouldn't think so :up2somet:
joetama
12-11-2005, 02:50 AM
i wish i could hear this "warmth" that people "speak" of.
from what ive read, most of the tube farries (aka: audiophiles) are snobs that believe they can hear .01% thd and the difference in high-end cableling vs other high-end cabeling.
im not saying that amp does not sound awesome. but i wanna hear it versus other amps of that "quality" that are solid state side-to-side to hear the difference for myself if you understand me. i just cant believe everything that i read you know?
and i would at least have tried to make the wiring a little cleaner :)
cool none the less. ill have my ~$100 HT project done soon. 15wpc + 3" fullrange
Wow dude are you bitter or just jealous?? You have a good point about the cables, and yes they do make a sound difference. This is the thing sound equipment is like people. Every piece and every part from the cable to the smallest resistor have a personality completely different from any other component. Some people can't hear this stuff, others can. Tube amps have a completely different sound to them. Using different amplifier tubes (ex: KT-88, 6L6, or 6550) can make the amp sound completely different too.
What output amplifier and rectifier tubes are you using? 6550 or KT-88? Also, what's your plate voltage and current?
Output tubes are 2A3 triodes, in single ended operation. The rectifier I have for it is a NOS RCA 5V4GA, but the switch on the back toggles a resistor allowing 5R4's, 5U4G's, and 5V4G's to be used.
Plate voltage is around 320V, and current will depend on the vintage of the output tubes - older NOS tubes from the '50s or '60s may only be able to take 60mA or so, while current production 2A3's can be run up to 85mA with no problems.
and i would at least have tried to make the wiring a little cleaner
There are no PCB's to be found...how clean do you want it? :laugh: This is nothing. You want to see a wiring nest, this is the preamp I was talking about:
http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/8097/foreplay34th.jpg
http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/7213/foreplay11dd.jpg
Best sounding external preamp I've used. Only reason I sold it is to help finance this beast...went the integrated route instead.
Oh...and anyone in the Blacksburg area is welcome to come by and A/B test the amp next to your favorite solid state amplifier :D
eisenhower
12-11-2005, 06:55 PM
I picked up a bunch of NOS tubes from this old oscilliscope. A few different mullard 12at7's and my fav., an amperex bugel boy 12ax7. Probally not great for stereo use, but for guitar amps, its gonna sound fantastic.
snb778
12-11-2005, 07:01 PM
what is that??
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn.........Im with him.... WHAT IS IT?
I picked up a bunch of NOS tubes from this old oscilliscope. A few different mullard 12at7's and my fav., an amperex bugel boy 12ax7. Probally not great for stereo use, but for guitar amps, its gonna sound fantastic.
NOS Mullard and Amperex not great for stereo use? Those are prime tubes for hi-fi :) Some of the best 12AX7's built for that if they're true new old stock. New Mullards ****.
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn.........Im with him.... WHAT IS IT?
It's a line level preamplifier. Uses dual 12AU7 triodes.
Yup...you can buy the kits from http://www.bottlehead.com; they've got a newer version of that preamp that has a tube rectified power supply now.
Eugenics
12-11-2005, 09:57 PM
so thats what a microwave looks like from the inside.. cool stuff man
Johnny Drama
12-11-2005, 10:01 PM
Very nice sNOOKUMS :D
ballstothewall
12-11-2005, 10:52 PM
so thats what a microwave looks like from the inside.. cool stuff man
:hilariou: :hilariou:
IamDeMan
12-12-2005, 10:05 AM
Tease me with?
PFFFT looks like some overated garbage to me. I wouldn't put that ugly **** in my house.
:p:
Beat_Dominator
12-12-2005, 11:33 AM
You actually do not want the wires inside an amp to be "tidy" and run parallel to each other. If you are using anything but solid core wire, the induced magnetic field lines will be perpendicular to the wires which are often wound in some form of helix, this means that the field lines would,in effect, aim along the length of a neighboring wire and cause more interference than "messy" wiring.
eisenhower
12-12-2005, 05:13 PM
NOS Mullard and Amperex not great for stereo use? Those are prime tubes for hi-fi :) Some of the best 12AX7's built for that if they're true new old stock. New Mullards ****.
It's a line level preamplifier. Uses dual 12AU7 triodes.
I always thought 12ax7's were too easy for overdrive, which is bad for stereos, and yummy for guitar amps. Im thinking about building a tube amp too (for headphones), just need to find a nicely priced kit. Any suggestions?
I also nabbed quite a few nos rca's, bunch of pre amp tubes and some el84's and 6l6's. How much are the amperex's going for? I remeber that particule valve costing 100 something bucks which is insane.
12AX7's do have quite a lot of gain compared to something like a 12AU7, but as long as the tube is operated in its linear range you're fine for hi-fi use. As for current Amperex prices, Ebay would be your best reference :)
What kind of tubes did you pick up? If you have any 12AX7s you'd like to let go for cheap, I'd be very interested now :D Along with 6CG7/6FQ7's...
As for a modestly priced kit, your best bet would be something by Bottlehead, or a DIY design. Most of the cost of a tube amp comes from the transformers (they literally make or break a design, definitely not a place to skimp). If you can find deals on surplus trannys, you're set.
swc204
12-13-2005, 01:05 AM
looks sweet
DiamondFanatic
12-13-2005, 01:39 AM
Are there other places besides that bottle head site to find DIY preamp kits? Nice looking work by the way, you've inspired me to want to build my own gear.
http://www.hagtech.com/clarinet.html
Also Decware (http://www.decware.com) sells a kit for a line level preamp. They also make finished ones. I would check their forums and the forums at http://www.audioasylum.com (another place I frequent) to get info about homebrewing your own tube projects.