simple, cheap, 6L6 amp? help

[trespasser_guy]

I have now, in my possesion, four Sovtek 6L6WXT's and would very much like to put them into good use. However, as always, I am doing this on a limited budget... say under $150. lol EXTREMELY limiting, eh? If I span this project out widely, I can afford more though.

I would like the project to be fairly simple... and the irons must not be too crazily expensive. I have seen some projects on Triode Electronics and other places, but they can get kind of complex and also quite expensive tranny-wise.

Is there such a beast that will sound good and be cost-efficient as well? Thanks

[SHiFTY]

You need to decide whether you want to go Single-Ended for simplicity, or Push-Pull for more power.

You can buy single ended transformers like the Hammond 125ESE for very little, and there is plenty of push-pull iron out there.

Go on ebay and do a search, or put a wtb ad on usenet or diyaudio trading post.

I would recommend buying all the iron used, as you will save a lot of cash. That will be your major expense...

You could look at Gabevee's excellent site: here

[trespasser_guy]

Along with simplisity, I am guessing SE is also cheaper... I don't need a lot of power anyway. I have Klipsch 93dB/w speakers now, and that will be the lowest sensitivity speaker they would be used with. If I built my own, they would be over 100dB/w, so no troubles on volume. I am also not really a very loud listener, I am more into how it sounds.

I actually did stumble upon that site from a search for '6L6 tube amp'. It looks very simple, but lacked a power supply schem... I am guessing it would be simple to create one, though.

I am guessing the schem I should go with out of the ones on that page is the one that came after the subjective test heading. Is this best?

[Morse]

Hi trespasser_guy;

I second ShiFtY's advise - go single ended and stick with the 125ESE. If you also go with Hammond for your PS trafo, you should be able to get all your iron out of the way for around $100 USD. That leaves you with $50 for sockets, a solid state rectifier, a $3 volume control (Radio Shack carried cheapie Alps 100kOhm audio taper stereo pot - I use 'em and they're great for the $$), some JJ 100uF PS caps, a couple of Sprague Orange Drop .22uF coupling caps, a power switch, in/out fittings, and a miscellany of resistors. It's tight, but I think it's do-able including your input/driver valves.

Best of all, you'll have a spare set of 6L6's!

As far as your PS is concerned, take a look at PSUD II which you can download free from http://www.duncanamps.com/

Starting with an established design (lots out there) you can check it with PSUD II to see that it'll give you the right voltage and have the current reserves to feed your new amp - and if not, it's easy to tweak it in the model before you buy and build. On such a tight budget, you may want to go with a CRC rather than CLC filter, though so long as you watch your max current draw you might be able to get an appropriate choke for around $20 or so.

Good luck!
Morse

[Morse]

Take a look at

http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/saints...mer/6l6-se.gif

for some more inspiration. I'd go with something other than the EF86 - it's too $$ for my wallet, but the PS and the top end of the amp are fine AFAIK.

All the best,
Morse

[jean-paul]

Something like this ?

[fdegrove]

Hi,

Another source thanks to Rainer Zur Linde:

6L6 SE

Cheers,

[jean-paul]

Or this ? Please see http://www.the-planet.org/audio.html for more details. It is called the guided missile amp because of the used 6L6 variant. 6384 is a military very rugged version of 6L6 with higher ratings and a different pinout. It was used in missiles and aircraft. The input section will adapt to a normal 6L6 easily.

If the c of copyright on the drawing means it is forbidden to publish please remove this drawing moderators !

[Morse]

How 'bout this: http://www.angela.com/catalog/how-to/SE.EL34.html

Change the EL34's to 6L6's and keep the bottom end pretty much stock. Or you could go to 12AX7's down there without too much fuss and bother (and at $6 each for decent Ei 12AX7's, they're certainly affordable....).

Haven't run the numbers yet, but I think it's adaptable to your needs, tresspasser_guy. What do you think, Frank?

All the best,
Morse

[fdegrove]

Hi,

Given a choice I'd rather pick the 6SL7 over the 12AX7A as a driver.

Other than that, fine by me.

Cheers,