Does anyone sell a preamp kit?

[Hiwatt25]

I've looked a few sites that sell gainclone type kits but I haven't found one that sells preamp kits. I recently purchased a kit at chipamp.com so I'll need a pre for it. High fidelity is less important to me than having fun building and learning about a different realm of DIY Audio. Till now I've only built guitar pedals and a couple of amps.

There is an outfit out of China that sells little tube pres on Ebay and those look cool but I wouldn't know where to find a transformer that has the right secondaries for the heaters. Does anyone have any experience with the Chinese sellers? I've purchased several harder to find IC's from some sellers in Hong Kong (delay chips mostly) and have had good luck.

Of course, I'd prefer to keep the money in the states if someone makes a good pre kit.

Thanks again in advance.

[dave_gerecke]

Here's some, various prices.


http://www.vellemanusa.com/engine.php

http://www.borbelyaudio.com/

http://www.paia.com/

http://www.hobbytron.com/vk2572.html

http://www.apogeekits.com/

http://www.bottlehead.com/

Good luck!

Dave

[Hiwatt25]

Cool, thanks for posting. Let me say that I'd love a bottlehead kit and not just cause they are in Washington too. However, for the time being I'll have to settle for an apogee kit. Does anyone know where I could buy the appropriate transformer to power this pre...

Apogee preamp kit

If I understand it correctly, I'll need a transformer with two 12V primaries is that right?

[Hiwatt25]

I meant 2 12V secondaries. Oops.

[danielwritesbac]

If you want a small center tap, partsexpress.com has a few, radio shack has some, and allied electric has more. The Velleman K8084 has onboard rectifiers (see four diodes in corner of photo), so its calling for a 24vct, which meets the specs for 12+12v AC power. Its probably the mate to their nice little 30w chipamp kit.

[dave_gerecke]

That looks like a good first preamp project. I was thinking about it after I posted. I'm not sure of your experience with electricity/electronics, but if you haven't worked with higher voltages, it would be good to start with a solid state based design. Vacuum Tubes usually use voltages that are lethal. If you don't know the basic safety rules of working with these sorts of voltages, we won't be communicating with you for much longer

Peace,

Dave

[Hiwatt25]

Dave-

I think I'll end up with the solid state pre but mainly because it's inexpensive. I've actually built a couple of tube guitar amps and about a million pedals so I don't mind working around tube voltages.

I keep one hand behind me and poke around with a pair of chopsticks from Imperial Hunan. Oh, and I always drain the caps before I start and not just the "screw driver arching across the chassis" method either.

I think I'll swing for the fences next time and maybe pick up a bottlehead kit. I have a thing for glowing glass. Mmmmm hot glass.

[dave_gerecke]

Hey HiWatt25, Just wanted to make sure. I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people here, and also a lot of people just learning. I also know that the moderators (understandably) emphasize that people be warned of potentially lethal situations.
The preamp does look pretty good for the price, I didn't notice if it comes with a power supply or if you will have to buy one separately. I would suspect the latter. I did notice that the actual kit is a Velleman kit, Apogee Kits is just reselling. Not a bad thing, just something to think about. If you do end up needing a power supply to run the preamp, drop me a PM, I probably have something in my basement that would do the trick pretty well. Wouldn't cost you anything but shipping. However, you would have to post your impressions of listening to the preamp here on the site!

Peace,

Dave

[KP11520]

Hi Guys,

Hiwatt25, I hope I can use your thread for a similar quest! Thanks!

I have been thinking of building a quality kit for the experience and learning (Daniel saw me respond on another thread, similar theme). However, the only thing I am interested in replacing right now is my preamp. I have a Rotel RTC-950. It is not bad but I feel it is my weakest link!

I have a Rotel RCD-965BX being modded right now that I want to take as far as I can go.
I also have a Rotel RHB10 Michi Amp that I really like and will keep forever for something somewhere but for now is my main amp.

I also have a pair of ProAc Studio I MK IIs I will keep forever too and a Sansui TU 717 that will be modded next Summer. A Technics TT that I am rewiring from the Headshell to the RCAs with a new cartridge.

Some of these might be addressed later but the preamp is the first kit. I have been really admiring the Modwright SWLP 9.0SE before I decided to maybe build something. It is expensive.

Would the Bottlehead Forplay III Extended be a nice kit giving me comparable results for $659 w/o Phono stage or would you recommend something different?

Thanks for helping me to get the most value AND satisfaction.

Regards//Keith

[Speedskater]

AudioXpress magazine has done countless pre-amp over the years. Tubes, transistors and IC chips. They sell some PC boards and kits through Old Colony Sound Lab.

www.audioXpress.com