You should hook up with Angshu, a Delhi and diyaudio veteran, and maybe with Viren Baxi of Lyrita Audio. He too is a diyer at heart, he says. I am sure they'll be able to add pointers to your database about sourcing parts.ssmith said:yep, in Delhi, just for the last couple of years and a year or so more -- think you far better off for parts down in Mumbai...
But I tend to agree... the Delhi retailer does not seem to like retail customers, however paradoxical it may sound.
On the other hand, there are these manufacturers like Delta who are inexplicably quite supportive of retail individuals.
Interesting thread
Coming back to this thread after four years is quite interesting..During that period, I have met up with TCPIP and Angsu, as well as Corbato, ashok and sunil.
ssmith, I have three valve amps, (2A3 Class A as well as EL 34 pp), and I can assure you that once you start listening to them you will not go back to ss. Good luck in your endeavours. As navin said-this is an expensive hobby!
Coming back to this thread after four years is quite interesting..During that period, I have met up with TCPIP and Angsu, as well as Corbato, ashok and sunil.
ssmith, I have three valve amps, (2A3 Class A as well as EL 34 pp), and I can assure you that once you start listening to them you will not go back to ss. Good luck in your endeavours. As navin said-this is an expensive hobby!
Re: Interesting thread
Somehow, I've yet to hear this life-changing valve experience. My first serious valve listening session was a full evening at a friend's place in California, with all the silence and relaxation I could hope for. His equipment cost $30,000, and included Balanced Audio Technology all-valve electronics (CD player, preamp, monoblock power amps) and Dunlavy six-feet-tall speakers. Even that didn't convert me, though I liked the music very much. I guess there's better valve equipment, but I hardly get to see such stuff. Since then, I've listened to a Cadence VA 1.0 valve amp and electrostatic-hybrid speakers, but even that left me unfazed. Too little bite, in my humble opinion.
Yes... I re-read my own notes here and I am taken back to my first meeting with Dinrack and Uncle Harry and all those days. It's almost become a shared journal, this thread.gjo said:
Shameless turncoat traitor... and to think of all the bread we've broken together and wine we've soaked ourselves in.
Somehow, I've yet to hear this life-changing valve experience. My first serious valve listening session was a full evening at a friend's place in California, with all the silence and relaxation I could hope for. His equipment cost $30,000, and included Balanced Audio Technology all-valve electronics (CD player, preamp, monoblock power amps) and Dunlavy six-feet-tall speakers. Even that didn't convert me, though I liked the music very much. I guess there's better valve equipment, but I hardly get to see such stuff. Since then, I've listened to a Cadence VA 1.0 valve amp and electrostatic-hybrid speakers, but even that left me unfazed. Too little bite, in my humble opinion.
Re: Re: Interesting thread
Uncle Harry might be retiring. What with what rent could fetch him, I dont blame him. So get what you can now.
Guys if you are looking for the holy grail, trust me it does not exist. It can be very maddening to know this but I have realised that becuase of the various recording techniques and geners I listen to no one speaker is going to satisfy me leave alone give me goosebumps on all my music.
Big speakers (using 15"-21" woofers) are great for big orchestral music but are low on WAF (especially in a small apartment), fullranges like the JX92, Fostex, Supravox, etc.. ar superb for vocals and Acapella but fall apart on AC/DC and Metallica, why they fall apart on ABBA too.
Same with amplification. SS and tubes have their advantages and sometimes mixing the 2 brings out the worst in them. For example I have heard a SS bass mated to a tube top end and it sounded funny.
In the end I think we might first have to determine the transfer function of our rooms, our lstening position in the room and the postiion of our speakers before starting a speaker/amp design. For example, if the room has a a boost of 6db at 35Hz then a speaker that is flat to 30Hz will sound bass heavy.
So first understand your room. Then start a design. As far as getting parts in India is concerned it is going to a long wait. THe DIY market is really quite small.
tcpip said:
Uncle Harry might be retiring. What with what rent could fetch him, I dont blame him. So get what you can now.
gjo [/i] As navin said-this is an expensive hobby! [/B][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by tcpip said:
Guys if you are looking for the holy grail, trust me it does not exist. It can be very maddening to know this but I have realised that becuase of the various recording techniques and geners I listen to no one speaker is going to satisfy me leave alone give me goosebumps on all my music.
Big speakers (using 15"-21" woofers) are great for big orchestral music but are low on WAF (especially in a small apartment), fullranges like the JX92, Fostex, Supravox, etc.. ar superb for vocals and Acapella but fall apart on AC/DC and Metallica, why they fall apart on ABBA too.
Same with amplification. SS and tubes have their advantages and sometimes mixing the 2 brings out the worst in them. For example I have heard a SS bass mated to a tube top end and it sounded funny.
In the end I think we might first have to determine the transfer function of our rooms, our lstening position in the room and the postiion of our speakers before starting a speaker/amp design. For example, if the room has a a boost of 6db at 35Hz then a speaker that is flat to 30Hz will sound bass heavy.
So first understand your room. Then start a design. As far as getting parts in India is concerned it is going to a long wait. THe DIY market is really quite small.
A relatively easy project to do is an EL 34 push pull amp using a PCB , the design is available on Pete Millet's site. An EL-34 amp will output about 25-35 wpc, enough to drive most speakers, and a quartet of tubes will not cost a bomb. Assuming the trannies (specs for these are not difficult to get) can be sourced from Delta, one needs to find a good source for a presentable chassis. Typically a project like this will have a one year time frame, in my view.
Well that is possible only if the trannies are designed to take any of these tubes-EL 34/6550/KT 88. By merely plugging and playing the different tubes, using the lower rated trannies, one won't , of course, get more power. (I'm not implying you meant that!)
The KT 88 quartet will give significantly more output power-I had one, until recently, which gave 55 wpc. The 6550 is somewhere in between, but supposedly a good compromise, and cost a bit less. A quartet of JJ KT 88s( currently rated the best) costs around $160, whereas Svetlana EL 34s will cost about half.
gjo said:
Had a look at Pete Millet's site and the amplifier you were referring to. Looks very doable and something up the alley for a group buy/project. I agree with you on the timeframe also considering that it will allow purchases to be staggered over the year (less bite out of the wallet). Also, going by the last posts on this thread, there seems to be vendors enough for:
- cases
- knobs
- hifi resistors/capacitors
- transformers
excepting the tubes of course which if bought off the net in a group buy would mean significant savings for all.
hope this idea sparks interest among the other readers of this thread too.Hi all,
Just got introduced to this thread very recently. Some of you DIYers go back quite a few years!
Regarding valve amps, the difficulty earlier was obtaining audio transformers in India. Lots of PA transformers were made, but those had restricted bandwidth good only for the vocal range.
Well, that restriction doesn't apply any more. Delta Transformers in Delhi is fully capable of making high quality audio output transformers, as well as audio interstage transformers. J.P. Singh at Delta (Tel: 011-4102 5375) is the designer, and is well versed in the interleaving techniques of audio transformers. I've worked with them for over 4 years (at Lyrita Audio) and am very happy with their designs. Of course, they make excellent power transformers too.
It's the group buy mentioned above that prompted me to write this. I'm sure Delta will entertain a reasonable order. The transformer is a major cost in a DIY amp - having an Indian supplier is essential.
All the best with the EL34 amp.
Viren
Just got introduced to this thread very recently. Some of you DIYers go back quite a few years!
Regarding valve amps, the difficulty earlier was obtaining audio transformers in India. Lots of PA transformers were made, but those had restricted bandwidth good only for the vocal range.
Well, that restriction doesn't apply any more. Delta Transformers in Delhi is fully capable of making high quality audio output transformers, as well as audio interstage transformers. J.P. Singh at Delta (Tel: 011-4102 5375) is the designer, and is well versed in the interleaving techniques of audio transformers. I've worked with them for over 4 years (at Lyrita Audio) and am very happy with their designs. Of course, they make excellent power transformers too.
It's the group buy mentioned above that prompted me to write this. I'm sure Delta will entertain a reasonable order. The transformer is a major cost in a DIY amp - having an Indian supplier is essential.
All the best with the EL34 amp.
Viren
virenb said:
Virenji, it is really good to see you here.
For a group buy I would suggest OPTs that are more flexible than something that will only work with EL34. I would suggest 50-70W OPTs so that those involved could use KT66, EL34, 6550s, KT77, and KT88 with the same OPT.
I have never heard a 300B in PP (have heard a 300B in SE) and wonder if a 300B PP even makes sense (300B sound at a lower cost because of the smaller OPT required).
What do the rest of you think? It is added cost but we get flexibility and hence many more may be insterested (especially those who have the desire for higher SPLs, low sensitivity speakers, or large rooms).
Viren, I would really be interested in what you think of Pete Millet's design. He does strech the 6SN7 a bit, but this migt be ok if one is using CDs only. What about hum and cross talk?
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