My first tube amp kit.

[Nay9]

Greetings,

I've decided to try out a tube amp with my current speakers Osborn F4.

I've stumbled onto an Australian audio kit site and would like your opinion on the quality and design of this kit.

http://www.diyfidelity.com.au/produc...products_id=28


Thanks In Advance

[Giaime]

Mmmmmm... Methinks that it seems a bit too big and powerful (so difficult and dangerous) for a first time tube amp. Maybe this one (not so different, maybe still the same difficulty, but a bit less pricy... and not to mention that I like more EL34 than KT88)
http://www.diyfidelity.com.au/produc...products_id=30

But I believe that for a first made you should find some EL84 push pull, or something like KT66/KT88/EL34 single ended.
10-15W should be enought for average speakers and average listening rooms: if you need more you can try a bigger one only after you have made some experience. Or better, try to find some old piece of tube equipment and restore it: after that you can consider yourself a bit more experienced.

[Sherman]

Originally posted by Nay9
Greetings,

I've decided to try out a tube amp with my current speakers Osborn F4.

I've stumbled onto an Australian audio kit site and would like your opinion on the quality and design of this kit.

http://www.diyfidelity.com.au/produc...products_id=28


Thanks In Advance

Your speakers are relatively efficient at 90dB so 45 WPC is probably extreme overkill. Depending on your listening room size and how loud you like to listen I think you could probably be happy with something around 8 WPC or even less.

I know nothing about that particular kit but I did just finish my new amps, a pair of KT88 monoblocks and I like them as well as any amp I've yet heard. So I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the KT88 as a basis for your new amp.

Giame's recommendation of the EL34 is good as well and you would save $100AUD or so. You might also consider building from scratch. It really isn't difficult, especially if you build a single-ended design.