Hi
Im new at this forum and have never built a tube amp before. I have been looking around at the forum for a good schematic but i think i need help with choosing the right one. I need a proposal for a amp that can run two 50w (4 Ohm) speakers in stereo. Do any of you have a good proposal?
Since this is my first tube project it would be nice if it was not a to complicated schematic.
Im new at this forum and have never built a tube amp before. I have been looking around at the forum for a good schematic but i think i need help with choosing the right one. I need a proposal for a amp that can run two 50w (4 Ohm) speakers in stereo. Do any of you have a good proposal?
Since this is my first tube project it would be nice if it was not a to complicated schematic.
Need a bit more information. I am afraid that 50W speaker is pretty much meaningless. I presume that it is some sort of power handling specification but without the conditions stated that would make it at least helpful in knowing how not to break it. However even with qualifiers it doesn't help much in determining what type of amplifier you will need.
Here are some things that will help the folks help you.
1. Size of your expected listening room.
2. What type of music you listen to and at what relative volume (background, earsplitting, something in between...)
3. Sensitivity of your speakers (usually expressed as ##dB at 1 Watt at 1 meter or something on that order)
4. Speaker type (full range, two way, three way, Kabuki.
)
That will start to give a us a clue as to what direction you might want to go.
Here are some things that will help the folks help you.
1. Size of your expected listening room.
2. What type of music you listen to and at what relative volume (background, earsplitting, something in between...)
3. Sensitivity of your speakers (usually expressed as ##dB at 1 Watt at 1 meter or something on that order)
4. Speaker type (full range, two way, three way, Kabuki.
)That will start to give a us a clue as to what direction you might want to go.
Hi Freestream, Welcome to the forum..
Perhaps you could fill us in on the type of music you like to listen to, at what volume, and in what size of room. Also some further information on the type of speaker and its efficiency would be helpful..
I imagine a PP amplifier would probably be the right way to go depending on the power you require.. Tubelab's simple PP might be worth checking out.
Perhaps you could fill us in on the type of music you like to listen to, at what volume, and in what size of room. Also some further information on the type of speaker and its efficiency would be helpful..
I imagine a PP amplifier would probably be the right way to go depending on the power you require.. Tubelab's simple PP might be worth checking out.
1. The room is about 13 square meters.
2. The music can differ from time to time but mostly i listen to metal and everything in between. Iam not realy playing at a earsplitting level but it is not far away from it.
3. Those I have right now is at 91 db and a frequency range at 50-32000 Hz.
4. They are two way
2. The music can differ from time to time but mostly i listen to metal and everything in between
. Iam not realy playing at a earsplitting level but it is not far away from it.3. Those I have right now is at 91 db and a frequency range at 50-32000 Hz.
4. They are two way
Ok. so if I did the calculations right that is about 140 square feet so not a huge room and relatively efficient speakers. I am thinking that push pull EL84 of which there are many variations might be a good choice. Could go with beefier tubes but though I haven't built one everything that I have heard indicates that it is hard to go too far wrong with these bottles.
Another completely different direction that you might want to try if the inner details are important to you is a fairly beefy single ended pentode (or UL) might also suffice. Your speakers don't go really low so the utmost in deep bass performance is not really needed (you can always add a powered sub). So far my experience with a SE UL KT-88 amp that I am working on using far less efficient speakers leads me to believe that you could get satisfaction that way too.
Lots of possibilities really with your situation.
Another completely different direction that you might want to try if the inner details are important to you is a fairly beefy single ended pentode (or UL) might also suffice. Your speakers don't go really low so the utmost in deep bass performance is not really needed (you can always add a powered sub). So far my experience with a SE UL KT-88 amp that I am working on using far less efficient speakers leads me to believe that you could get satisfaction that way too.
Lots of possibilities really with your situation.
+1
Another PP which I know works well (I built an EL84 version aka Poddwatt, recently) is the 'Oddwatt' series from Bruce Heran. Scratch build (details are on the web) or buy a kit from Oddwatt.
Lots of choices out there, but probably something on the simpler end of the scale would be best for a 1st build?
The 4-ohm requirement shouldn't be a problem as long as you buy output transformers with 4 ohm taps, to suit the schematic you choose.
Now we are getting somewhere...what is your budget for this project? If you don't have any parts 'on hand' you are probably looking at $300+, minimum...and probably more with shipping costs, buying Euro parts, etc... Perhaps a non-diy amp like the Musical Paradise MP-301-II should be considered.
You need to give a bit more info here, I think. You asked for a 'schematic', which implied that you were interested in doing a 'scratch' build- gathering your own parts and building everything.
If you need/want a kit then the choices get narrow in a hurry. If you are happy with a PCB, and finding your own parts and chassis, there are more options. Last I heard, George at tubelab.com had a couple of 'parts kits' for the SimplePP boards left- but those are just the parts to stuff the board, no iron or chassis, etc.
If you like to listen to metal at 'almost-earsplitting' volumes, then small SE amps will not likely do the job for you, especially if you like realistic bass levels. Just my opinion...
Right now, I have in the listening room (about the same size as yours, but with 95dB speakers) these DIY amps :
RH84 SE
EL34 SE
Pointz Musical Machine PP 6V6
Oddwatt PP EL84
MyRefRevC SS amp
IMO, the RH84 is marginal for really loud metal listening; any of the others would do the job and get the neighbours complaining. (I live in a detached house, not apt.)
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I dont realy have direkt budget for this build... it is more like then my conscience say stop but i think it would be nice with a budget around $300-400.
I dont have any direkt problem with bying a PCB kit. I just think it is more fun to build everying from scratch... it feels a bit more as a effort to find all the parts by my self and I think i will appreciate it more in the end. Most of the time when soldering stuff iam doing it from scratch.
but i think it would be nice with a budget around $300-400.I dont have any direkt problem with bying a PCB kit. I just think it is more fun to build everying from scratch... it feels a bit more as a effort to find all the parts by my self and I think i will appreciate it more in the end. Most of the time when soldering stuff iam doing it from scratch.
You should find some interesting reading in this thread at AK:
Build or buy??? - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums
The OP there eventually decided on a SimplePP (and parts kit) from tubelab.com
However, even with close attention to cost, the project is likely to run over his budget- which was $300-ish, IIRC. He's using the 6CW5 output tubes, Antek toroid PT, and musicalpowersupplies.com OT40PP output transformers.
I'm doing a 'parallel build' with the same parts. Feel free to msg me if you have specific questions, or ask them here, in the thread.
John
Build or buy??? - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums
The OP there eventually decided on a SimplePP (and parts kit) from tubelab.com
However, even with close attention to cost, the project is likely to run over his budget- which was $300-ish, IIRC. He's using the 6CW5 output tubes, Antek toroid PT, and musicalpowersupplies.com OT40PP output transformers.
I'm doing a 'parallel build' with the same parts. Feel free to msg me if you have specific questions, or ask them here, in the thread.
John
+1
Like most of the power amps discussed here, a volume control (and input selector) can easily be added to the SimplePP for controlling inputs from CD and line-level sources. It's not strictly 'part of' the SimplePP, which is the PCB and lots of support and info about what to connect to the PCB.
a darling is never going to do it in that combination of music type and speaker efficiency....
George's (tubelab) Simple pp ias a good call, and the oddwatt series could be done within the pricerange if you are prepared to scrounge around. For a variation (not quite origin) of the oddwatt, check out www.diyparadise.com
George's (tubelab) Simple pp ias a good call, and the oddwatt series could be done within the pricerange if you are prepared to scrounge around. For a variation (not quite origin) of the oddwatt, check out www.diyparadise.com
As I said since I have not built an el84 amp I am not the one to ask for suggestions although George's PP has been mentioned here several times and would be bullet proof if I know George.
The Baby Huey also has a good reputation if you are willing to go the CCS route. If I were going to do one however my particular (some might say peculiar) bent would be to do an UL output stage with 6N1P VAS and concertina PI all point to point wired. In my case I would use the Mullard data sheet bias point as a starting point.
The Baby Huey also has a good reputation if you are willing to go the CCS route. If I were going to do one however my particular (some might say peculiar) bent would be to do an UL output stage with 6N1P VAS and concertina PI all point to point wired. In my case I would use the Mullard data sheet bias point as a starting point.
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