• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

Ability of a PP 2A3 amp to drive 90db speakers?

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
Jump to Latest
P

PassFan

Member
Joined 2001
There is a 2A3 plan at the Angela Instruments site that looks pretty simple. You mentioned Gabevees kits, I have built one of them and they are simple and quick to finish as Gabe installs and wires almost everything for you. His MAG1515 is an unbelievable sounding amp. It's not a 2A3 but if you want to experience a tube amp blowing away any solid state you've ever heard then this is the one.:cool: :D :D :D
 
R

Robert Morin

Member
Joined 2002
G said:
Iwould like to build a amp from scratch except here's the catch, I never have built one point to point wired, from scratch. I'm basically going to sell a whole bunch of audio stuff that I have bought on Ebay and finance a kit so that I can actually listen to a tube amp. I have been learning and studying and buying parts to build something for about two years know and I am no closer to getting something built than I was two years ago. I guess that I have gotten to the point that I am so exasperated at not having anything to show for my money and time(my fault) that I'm ready to build a kit so I have something to listen to while I continue to learn. I'm not going to give up or anything. It's just that I'm ready for some results and some Diana Krall being played through a reasonably good tube amp(although she sounds fine through a NAD integrated also). At this point I'm not sure of my ability to pit together a tube amp well enough that it will sound good with no hum and all of that good stuff. I do have some output transformers from an old Fisher X-101C that I can use for a 6B4B Push pull though. Like I said I'm not giving up, just taking as step back and regaining a little focus. Indecision is a pain.

G
Click to expand...
I am crying as I read this.

What! you are selling gear to dabble in DIY?

Why don't you build a amp on a board of wood first. Try a simple PP design with some 6s4 or 6bl7. see if you like it. Then take the same tubes and reconfigure them to SE or better yet parafeed.

since you have op transformers the only other thing that is a few bucks is the power supply transformer.

this project should cost only about another 200$ tops.

Robert Morin
 
G

G

Member
Joined 2002
I used to have a Bogen receiver that used PP 6BQ5's and 12AX7's and it sounded far better than the NAD equiptment that I have now. In my opinion anyway. I'm not selling everything. Just enough to get the kit. I don't think that I will be sacrificing all that much. It's not like I'm never going to build anything. I just want to build a sure thing and get that under my belt and go from there. No I'm not throwing in the towel. I will have a PP 2A3 or 6B4G amp. I want to hear what all of the commotion is about with DHT's. Besides I really don't have room for everything that I have now. I can only listen to one thing at a time.

G
 
G

Gunders

Member
Joined 2002
Hmmm... I just have a simple question....

Does really doubling in power give an 3dB increase?

I thougt that doubling the power would give an 6dB increase.
For power is the product of current and voltage, and doubling the voltage would give an 3dB increase, and the same with voltage.

And if we follow the rules for logarithms we will get 3dB+3dB=6dB, an 6dB increase.

What am I doing wrong in this assumption??
 
R

Robert Morin

Member
Joined 2002
Gunderz said:
Hmmm... I just have a simple question....

Does really doubling in power give an 3dB increase?

I thougt that doubling the power would give an 6dB increase.
For power is the product of current and voltage, and doubling the voltage would give an 3dB increase, and the same with voltage.

And if we follow the rules for logarithms we will get 3dB+3dB=6dB, an 6dB increase.

What am I doing wrong in this assumption??
Click to expand...
a gain of 2 in power is 3db, a gain of 2 in voltage is 6db

Robert Morin
 
Thatch_Ear

Thatch_Ear

Member
Joined 2001
If you want to build something at a fair price then I think Gabe has a goog line of kits and truly the most time consuming part about building something is not doing a layout or any of that stuff it is getting all the parts together.
As far as building a kit I would recommend that you just forget PP and go SE and leave out all the stuff in the middle. You can get plenty of power out of a 6L6 and they are easy to come by. 6CA7s are great tubes in SE.
If you want to build PP drop me an email. I have an unbuilt and a needs rebuilding pair of Heath Kit A9-Cs mono blocks I want to get rid of.
Seriously though I would rather have a SE 6L6 than a PP 2A3. What you loose in power you more than make up for in pure listening pleasure. Heck of a lot easier to build too.
I am not familier with KEFs but I did go out and listen to their new line a month or so back. You have the TOTL tower? Reason I ask is that is is not hard to bi-amp speakers and running the mids/highs with SE and running the woofers with your NAD ought to sound very exellent in deed.
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
Top Bottom