preamp for aksa 55

[Professor smith]

http://www.lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/...Lampizator.doc

Would someone have a look at this circuitry and tell me if it would be suitable as a preamp for the aksa 55?

thanks

[AKSA]

Kenji,

Looks OK. Quality of the documentation is poor, but the lists and the circuits are fine.

Should sound pretty good, but good luck if you should have any problems!

Hugh

[gaetan8888]

Hello Kenji

There his the Aikido line preamp, very good sound and well documented on the web and with many threads in the diyaudio forum.


The main page from tubecad;

http://www.tubecad.com/2004/blog0011.htm


Some threads in the diyaudio forum;

Aikido Questions


Improving the Aikido line stage...


Bye

Gaetan

[Professor smith]

Originally Posted by AKSA

Kenji,

Looks OK. Quality of the documentation is poor, but the lists and the circuits are fine.

Should sound pretty good, but good luck if you should have any problems!

Hugh

well can you tell me which circuit you are talking about exactly so that I dont build the wrong one?

and the other thing is, if I wanted to put a volume control on there, where should the pot go?

[AKSA]

Kenji,

Any of them are fine, but I won't be giving you further advice.

It is merely a simple triode, plate loaded in both instances. Choose one or other.

The last time I gave you advice, it cost me about thirty hours, not to mention the reputation of the AKSA, and I just haven't the time. One thing I really have issue with is a hand drawn schematic, when there are so many good packages around to do a very nice looking job.

You perhaps forget that I have a preamp especially designed for the AKSA and the Lifeforce, so it might just be that you are asking the wrong fellow!

Ask on the tube forum, there are lots of guys there who know as well as I do.

Cheers,

Hugh

[Professor smith]

You perhaps forget that I have a preamp especially designed for the AKSA and the Lifeforce, so it might just be that you are asking the wrong fellow!

In what sense?

what is the implication of the above statement?

[AKSA]

Hi Prof,

1. I have designed a preamp for the AKSAs, the GK1. It is a commercial product. Why would I now offer a DIY version at no profit to me?

2. Designing anything in electronics relentlessly consumes time and money. We are in a recession, this hobby is discretionary income for most DIYers, so who pays?

3. I have offered something gratis already, a headphone amp. That is a worthy contribution for the moment. But it doesn't suit you, clearly.

4. Why not use the headphone amp as a preamp? It would work pretty well, lots of gain, plenty of drive, simple, and free! Slap a volume control on the input and you're done!

5. The clear implication is that I do not wish to do all over again something I have done once, and for no profit. I shamelessly pursue profit because I am a registered business, this is entirely predictable.

Try to put yourself in others shoes, Kenji, you will be surprised how their view differs.

Hugh

[sandyK]

" I have designed a preamp for the AKSAs, the GK1."

Hi Hugh.

Did you ever make a valve amplifier to mate with the GK1, or was the hardware cost prohibitive, in comparison with the cost of the AKSA 55 ?

Regards
Alex

[AKSA]

Hi Sandy,

I have designed single ended amps, yes, but not offered them commercially. My design, which I did with another guy with lots of good ideas, used the KT90, offered about 9 watts, and used fluro ballasts for choke loading with parafeed using a 100V output transformer from WES. It was pretty cheap to make and sounded VERY good. I've not done any push pull tube amps, but I have worked briefly with Ian Miller on Yves ? amp, the Baby Huey, where I added a mosfet drive circuit to it in grounded grid configuation, one of my faves.

I've also done a Zen like SE mosfet amp called the Glass Harmony, which uses some of NP's ideas (with some added complexity). It sounded damn good, but was expensive to build - chokes, big trafos, huge heatsinks, etc. The voltage gain was done by a t barred 6SL7.

For every design I field, there are about four designs in the background, never commercialised. I guess this is about the right ratio. Only the very best ideas get to be sold.

I've said it before, but this stuff is not rocket science, and I've managed on little formal electronics education. It's about trying things out, blowing up countless transistors, recognising the tombstones in the silicon graveyard, and slowly learning what does and what does not work. The rest is patient tweaking, and having the bazoomas to have a go. But I guess you know all this, Sandy!

Cheers,

Hugh

[Professor smith]

4. Why not use the headphone amp as a preamp? It would work pretty well, lots of gain, plenty of drive, simple, and free! Slap a volume control on the input and you're done!

Would someone be willing to build it for me? The trouble is, last time I built the B1 buffer all people did was criticise it for being messy.

Please, I would ask that someone can build a pair of these for me.

cheers,