Well... My how I do love a nice EL84 Amp 
I once owned VTL tiny triode EL84 amps. They did it for me.
As far as different speakers... I am pretty happy with mine. I have tried some others and enjoy mine warts and all. They do require more watts however.
I have tried a magnavox console amp and other 10 watt +- amps and they were a no go.
Rebuilding old amps is fun but it would be hard to get the right one then figure out what it needs then order then.... By Christmas.
I once owned VTL tiny triode EL84 amps. They did it for me.As far as different speakers... I am pretty happy with mine. I have tried some others and enjoy mine warts and all. They do require more watts however.
I have tried a magnavox console amp and other 10 watt +- amps and they were a no go.
Rebuilding old amps is fun but it would be hard to get the right one then figure out what it needs then order then.... By Christmas.
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What do you mean by "no-go"? Volume? Distortion? This is rather surprising because the KEFs I have seem pretty ok running on around 2-3W and these are "notorious" power-suckers. Maybe my expectations are lower.
Good luck on completing your quest before Christmas.
Just for completeness, Poinz's 6V6 Music Machine amplifier. No kits, boards, etc, AFAIK, but it's a very simple circuit.
THE MUSICAL MACHINE; IMPLEMENTATION.
..Todd
THE MUSICAL MACHINE; IMPLEMENTATION.
..Todd
Simple cheap amp, Compact Compactron
Like Pete Milletts Engineers Amp, Compactron tubes are still cheap and you can make 20watts/channel with minimum cost in transformers, outputs around $25 each. The power transformer was $35 delivered. Tubes were under $6 each. If you can make your own PCB by the toner transfer method as I did, the amp is easy to make and sounds great. I've tried it out on my 4 ohm Orions as well as 4 ohm Transmission Line Kef monitors, and 8 ohm TL's.
With more expensive output iron, you can justify going to a full set of 33 watt tubes like the 6LB6 and higher voltage to get as much power as your ears can stand. Tubelab was able to get 500watts out of a red board without smoke for a short period...... This amp can rival the Dynaco ST70 for performance at a lot less cash. Edcor has a transformer set designed by Pete for this tube set ~40 watts channel. Both Edcor and Hammond have enough iron for the proper output for selected power transformer, just ca$h dependant.
If you want quick, easy and cheap, SS chip amps are a compromise to consider if you have a source for the required heat sink. If you want to go a little further and get into tubes, consider Pete's board, or as I did brew your own.
The sonic difference is worth the work and learning curve .
Like Pete Milletts Engineers Amp, Compactron tubes are still cheap and you can make 20watts/channel with minimum cost in transformers, outputs around $25 each. The power transformer was $35 delivered. Tubes were under $6 each. If you can make your own PCB by the toner transfer method as I did, the amp is easy to make and sounds great. I've tried it out on my 4 ohm Orions as well as 4 ohm Transmission Line Kef monitors, and 8 ohm TL's.
With more expensive output iron, you can justify going to a full set of 33 watt tubes like the 6LB6 and higher voltage to get as much power as your ears can stand. Tubelab was able to get 500watts out of a red board without smoke for a short period...... This amp can rival the Dynaco ST70 for performance at a lot less cash. Edcor has a transformer set designed by Pete for this tube set ~40 watts channel. Both Edcor and Hammond have enough iron for the proper output for selected power transformer, just ca$h dependant.
If you want quick, easy and cheap, SS chip amps are a compromise to consider if you have a source for the required heat sink. If you want to go a little further and get into tubes, consider Pete's board, or as I did brew your own.
The sonic difference is worth the work and learning curve .
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That Engineers amp looks great and it looks like a good project. I will have to look at the iron available. My speakers are about 11ohm nominal so an 8ohm tap or greater is a better match.
Most SS hurts my ears. The one I was using was a Sugden A21 and that did not hurt my ears It will be fixed at some point.
Most SS hurts my ears. The one I was using was a Sugden A21 and that did not hurt my ears
It will be fixed at some point.
For 11 ohm speakers, you can use the 16ohm tap to reflect back to the tubes making the output look smaller, using a little more current. Hammond 1650H are 40 watt transformers 6.6k Raa so 3.3k per side so for a 300 volt B+ you would drive around 135ma through the output tubes with a 11ohm speaker connected to the 16ohm output. The Compactron 6JN6 are 18watt....
The 1650P's are 6.6k Raa, 60 watt, so to get your money's worth out of them you would have to upgrade to the 33watt output tubes like the 6LB6.....
The 1650P's are 6.6k Raa, 60 watt, so to get your money's worth out of them you would have to upgrade to the 33watt output tubes like the 6LB6.....
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