Tank's DIY tube preamp
 

Hey guys.

a few weeks ago i posted here, questioning the quality of the ebay tube preamp kits.. and the results were mixed. after much contemplation i decided to give one of those kits a go after reading some good review about it - and im super happy i did so!!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...029_210003.jpg

This kit is a a super simple buffer tube preamp board with a 50k pot, and it also came with a transformer. the kit uses two 6n3 tubes, which were also suplied. after listening to it for a while i decided to give it a proper enclosure - and this is the result:

when i first approached this project, it was important for me to not just build a simple enclosure based on existing designs, but rather start from scratch on try to thing both on the looks but also on the manufacturing process - keeping it as simple as possible.

first of, i started with the three aluminum sheets. i marked everthing out, and made the first cuts in the board:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-j...030_180110.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-e...104_135744.jpg

the next step was preparing all the wiring:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--...103_152511.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3...106_165808.jpg

then i took things to my schools workshop for the building of the enclosure itself:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-k...105_111240.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...105_122248.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0...105_122048.jpg

once all the holes were made, the wood was varnished and the welding began:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4...106_172459.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-u...106_164900.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-n...106_164452.jpg

and once everything was hooked up:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...106_223238.jpg

at this point im 99 percent done, and other then a small shielding problem in the selector switch (which i will attend to shortly) everthing works great, and the sound is exactly what i was looking for when i first decided i want a tube preamp! bang for buck - this is one of the best deals i did in the audio world :D

so, what do you guys think? i did good? any suggestions for improvement?

Well, you're listening to Joni during one of her better periods, so there's not much room for improvement.

:cop: Moved to Tubes / Valves on the premise that this thread would get more visibility here.. :D

great work man! What size brass standoffs are you using, M3 or M2?

i have no idea :confused: im assuming you are reffering to the little legs that hold the circuit to the board (and i may be wrong..) - i just used those i found in an old misc screws box my dad had :p i actually planned to change them because i want the board to sit higher up so the tubes will stick out more.