Some pics to tease you all with.

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

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.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

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? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif This is nothing. You want to see a wiring nest, this is the preamp I was talking about:

Best sounding external preamp I've used. Only reason I sold it is to help finance this beast...went the integrated route instead.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

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 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[adio 5,000+ posts]

what is that??

 

[eisenhower 10+ year member]

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 5,000+ posts]

what is that??

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn.........Im with him.... WHAT IS IT?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

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 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif 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.

 

[adio 5,000+ posts]

and u made that??!!!

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

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 5,000+ posts]

so thats what a microwave looks like from the inside.. cool stuff man

 

[Johnny Drama 5,000+ posts]

Very nice sNOOKUMS //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[ballstothewall 10+ year member]

so thats what a microwave looks like from the inside.. cool stuff man

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/hilarious.gif.02a037aad04aa96f19982b298a3d70a8.gif :hilariou:

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

Tease me with?

PFFFT looks like some overated garbage to me. I wouldn't put that ugly shit in my house.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

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 10+ year member]

NOS Mullard and Amperex not great for stereo use? Those are prime tubes for hi-fi //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif 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.