When it comes to kits, Broskies Aikido will be hard to beat
http://glass-ware.stores.yahoo.net/newhardware.html
http://glass-ware.stores.yahoo.net/newhardware.html
JB is a busy man. If you can wait a few weeks he will have new stock soon.
His boards are of the highest quality and for me were a great learning experience as the boards are flexible with the choice of tubes you can use and the sizes of components on the board also.
Also jumpers for different heaters and a selection switch for 2 different coupling caps. I use 2 in parallel, PIO and Auricap.
as far as other boards go I can't comment being a newbie myself.
Tubes: depends how much gain you want first. To some extent this is personal preference.
His boards are of the highest quality and for me were a great learning experience as the boards are flexible with the choice of tubes you can use and the sizes of components on the board also.
Also jumpers for different heaters and a selection switch for 2 different coupling caps. I use 2 in parallel, PIO and Auricap.
as far as other boards go I can't comment being a newbie myself.
Tubes: depends how much gain you want first. To some extent this is personal preference.
Is your source just a turntable or do you also use line-level inputs (like a CD player, tape, MP3, radio, etc)?
yes, gain is the amount of signal amplification you need from the source. Gain for a phono stage is typically around 100 or so and gain for line level stuff can be 1-30 or so.
I'll also recommend Broskies' Aikido, but It's the only one I've built so my experience is limited.
It's quite well documented all over this forum and is flexible to tube choice, you can use 9-pin mini's or octals (John Broskie (Tubecad) sells both flavor boards), and you can select tubes to get the gain you need.
Keep in mind that this would be a semi-kit, you'll still need to buy/build a chassis, transformer, passive components and other misc parts. Depending on your skill level, this route may or may not be the best first step.
If you just want to build a kit with lots of instructions/documentation and not have to source additional parts, check out bottlehead's tube offerings, among others.
If you want phone inputs and line level inputs you'll need 2 stereo Aikido PCB's (or 4 mono PCB's). The phono input requires much higher gain than line inputs and some other equalization. You could also just build a phono pre (no line level inputs)
yes, gain is the amount of signal amplification you need from the source. Gain for a phono stage is typically around 100 or so and gain for line level stuff can be 1-30 or so.
I'll also recommend Broskies' Aikido, but It's the only one I've built so my experience is limited.
It's quite well documented all over this forum and is flexible to tube choice, you can use 9-pin mini's or octals (John Broskie (Tubecad) sells both flavor boards), and you can select tubes to get the gain you need.
Keep in mind that this would be a semi-kit, you'll still need to buy/build a chassis, transformer, passive components and other misc parts. Depending on your skill level, this route may or may not be the best first step.
If you just want to build a kit with lots of instructions/documentation and not have to source additional parts, check out bottlehead's tube offerings, among others.
If you want phone inputs and line level inputs you'll need 2 stereo Aikido PCB's (or 4 mono PCB's). The phono input requires much higher gain than line inputs and some other equalization. You could also just build a phono pre (no line level inputs)
what do you all think of this kit for a first time tube preamp will it work with my dynaco amp
http://www.tubedepot.com/diy-k-pl.html
http://www.tubedepot.com/diy-k-pl.html
merickrc said:
Broskies new kit with onboard supply would be nice fore you
And at the price I wouldnt think of anything else
BUT, as you only play vinyl, and do have a nice Dynaco
you might be better suited with a good riia(prepre)
I would think that Broskie could get the right parts together fore you
With the right setup you might even get away with a passive preamp with no switches, and as simple as it gets
Do you use MM or MC, with low or highoutput ?
Or do you already have a nice phono amp(riia), stepup trafos or whatever ?
It really is a very important part in your setup
Question is, have you any clew about how this works at all
I mean, even a simple tubekit does demand some experience
http://www.bottlehead.com/
Check out the Seduction or Eros for phono and/or the Foreplay for line level. Bottlehead's kits are very well regarded and for the price offer outstanding performance. As a plus they are pretty easy to customize and have a great support forum. For instance the Foreplay line amplifier normally uses 12AU7's but it can be easily modified to use 12BH's, 6SN's, 6DN's, 12AT's, 6DJ's, 6F8G's, even 12AX's just to name a few.
Cheers
James
Check out the Seduction or Eros for phono and/or the Foreplay for line level. Bottlehead's kits are very well regarded and for the price offer outstanding performance. As a plus they are pretty easy to customize and have a great support forum. For instance the Foreplay line amplifier normally uses 12AU7's but it can be easily modified to use 12BH's, 6SN's, 6DN's, 12AT's, 6DJ's, 6F8G's, even 12AX's just to name a few.
Cheers
James
merickrc said:
You would use a stereo pot with the preamp, or, alternatively you could try a passive pre as mentioned above, but since you are using a TT, you'll need alot of gain, so a passive is out.
merickrc said:
Looking at the gain, this kit is for line level inputs. You need something for phono input. And you'll need a power supply and a few other things.
What is your skill level? Are you looking for a complete kit or are you comfortable buying a PCB, transformer and tube sockets, etc and fabbing your own enclosure or building on a breadboard? Are you comfortable working around high voltage (200-300V)? Are you handy with a DVM and soldering iron? Would you prefer a circuit board to build or point to point wiring?
Looking at your other thread here, it appears that you already have a phono pre....if so then you could try the passive approach or a line level preamp. You'd go TT-phono pre-line level pre-dynaco
