SSE parts questions (new to forum)

[winstonda]

Thanks Bob. Anything that will help to ensure my success with this - my first - project is greatly appreciated.

In my quest to save money where I can, I gutted a 25yr old CD player I found in my garage for the case. It's a bit wider than necessary, but it's all steel. I will probably need to attach a center post/support under the top so it doesn't sag under the weight of the transformers. My plan is to fabricate a new front panel out of wood.



David

 

[bobrown14]

If you want to step up to a nice chassis let us know. There's a great guy Darin whom makes chassis for me, and they are hard to beat!

Cheers,
Bob

 

[winstonda]

I think I'll need to keep looking for a more rigid case... According to Edcor's specs I'll be putting 15.25lbs of transformers on the top!

Bob, can you link to any photos of your friend's cases?

Thanks,
David

 

[bobrown14]

Here's mine "The Trooper" built for me:

And this one is his replacement:

 

[bobrown14]

Those 2 chassis are very nice hardwood and not expensive. I may be speaking out of turn here but Trooper built me a few of these, does EXCELLENT work even will drill all the holes to mount the board with tubes, all you have to do is drill a few small holes to fit your transformers and switches to the top plate, wow yeah doesn't get easier and you have a VERY nice piece of audio gear. Don't get me wrong I'm all about re-purposing stuff, but I think you will find this amp worthy of a great looking chassis.

Cheers,
Bob

 

[jln]

Really nice Bob. Do the KT150s drop in to the standard SSE circuit? Any component changes required?
Thanks,
~John

 

[bobrown14]

Really nice Bob. Do the KT150s drop in to the standard SSE circuit? Any component changes required?
Thanks,
~John

Yes just be sure your PT has enough current capabilities. I don't get much if any more power with the same circuit. I'm building another one that will take advantage of the extra power right now... probably be done this weekend. Hopefully 20-25w/ch. Not that I need the extra power but hey bigger is better right? Once you start to build for power parts get more expensive.

Cheers,
Bob

 

[royd55]

parts for sse

Go here for 47mf capacitors 47uF 500V Capacitor | eBay
Roy

 

[winstonda]

Thanks Roy! Although, I found the parts at Mouser. I just want to pay shipping once, if possible.

Even though I'm going with the GXSE15-8-5K OPT's I still have a question.

If one was to stay with the lower powered tubes like EL34's or 6L6's is there any reason why the GXSE10-8-5K's would not work well?

Basically, I don't have a clear understanding of OPT requirements. Does going with a higher-than-needed wattage rating prevent the possibility of distortion, or does it do anything to actually protect the amp circuit?

Thanks!
David

 

[rmyauck]

You will get more bandwidth (frequency response) & so less distortion with the 15W ones. 10W more suited for low watt 6V6 or 2A3/45 tubes but from what I've read I would even go for the 15W ones for those tubes.

A lot of people have used the 25W CX series with the bigger EL34 or 6L6 tubes. They however may be better suited to the 6550/KT-88 or even better the KT-120/150.

 

[bobrown14]

+1 get the 15w transformers. I have those transformers and have used them with 6L6/6550/KT88 and many many others and they sound very good, even with VERY demanding speakers. Right now I'm listening to GXSE15-4-5K with a very similar amp to the SSE just using LEDs for current regulation on the driver with Infinity QLS-III speakers. They go down to under 2ohm load, power hungry amp eaters not kidding. My amp and the SSE will drive them no problem to "lets get out of the room" loud with decent bass handling and somewhat low distortion. I of course beef up the power supply capacitance to keep up but you get the idea. My reason there is so you can roll in tubes if you get the itch. Probably tho you'd be fine even with KT88/6550, you wont be putting out a lot more power than the 10w/ch if that.
Cheers,
Bob

 

[winstonda]

Thanks Bob. Yes, I decided on the 15w OPT's, I was just curious about how the power rating affected the amp's performance.

Well, I finally put in my Mouser order. So, my parts might be here by the weekend. Also ordered the tube sockets and Auricaps from Tubedepot.

In order to get in some PCB soldering practice I'm re-capping my old Carver C-1 Preamp. I de-soldered/removed 38 caps, so by the time I get all the new ones in I should be practiced enough to make good solder joints on the SSE board!

Maybe I'll have some photos to post by the weekend...

David

 

[winstonda]

I just wanted to thank everyone who's provided help and advice in this thread.
The learning curve for this project has been huge and I haven't even started soldering yet! After many hours of asking questions and Google research I feel pretty confident with the parts I've purchased.

But, now I've arrived at probably the most subjective aspect of the amp: the tubes. So, I'm not going to ask "what's the best sounding EL34," etc.

Instead, I'll ask this: Of the current production, readily available, and affordable tubes stocked at places like AES and TubeDepot, are there any makes/types I should stay away from?
That's still probably a somewhat subjective issue, but if there are bad tubes, or ones that are know to not work well in the SSE, it'd be good to know!

Thanks,
David