Entry level tube amp

[augerpro]

I've never owned a tube before and was thinking of trying one out. I was looking to build a kit, something cheap to get my feet wet. What are your opinions on this: http://www.s5electronics.com/tube12.html
The price is right so I thought I'd give it try. Any cheap upgrades a person could do to it? Any other cheap kits that sound good?

Thanks,
Brandon

[MIKET]

The K-502 from Antique Electronics for $139.50 USD http://www.tubesandmore.com/ is very good for the money and is a single ended design as opposed to the other amp which was push pull. It only puts out 1 watt but thats enough if you have efficent spekers.

[Sherman]

Originally posted by augerpro
...What are your opinions on this: http://www.s5electronics.com/tube12.html
...
Any other cheap kits that sound good?

Thanks,
Brandon

There are a bunch of mods for this amp. Most are described on VoltSecond's site. He takes you through the mods but also through the reasons for the mods.

For the price the S 5 Electronics kit is a good introduction to tubes and it sounds good as well.

Another choices-
http://www.lh-electric.4t.com/sta44.htm

I haven't heard this one but again it has a good price and comes with a very nice looking chassis rather than a plain wooden board.

[tkifowit]

I bought one of the STA45's from LE (http://www.lh-electric.4t.com/) I love this thing. I packed my K12 away.
This is a cool amp sounds great right out of the box and you can mod it cheaply.
Easy to build also it takes about 2 hours to build.

[Runco990]

I do NOT recomend you build ANY of the above kits. They are great introductions into tube audio and (like myself) will propell you down a dark slippery road you can't leave. And for god's sake DO NOT look at the picture gallery of members amplifiers. I made this crucial mistake, and it's all over.

TRUST ME!!! Once you build and listen to one of these, you are lost forever.

I went in VERY short order from a K-12G kit to an Eico ST-40 which I re-tubed, to a Ming-Da MC34-B new in the box. (Should be here today, I hope)

I am currently reading books on tube amp design and looking on epray for my next victim. And it's ONLY been a MONTH!!!!

Don't do it, Man!!

Marc

[tkifowit]

That is the truth!!! Runco990
A year ago i thought a JLH was the best thing in audio.

Two months ago I bought a tube kit.

I now own two kits and one I built from scratch.

I LOVE IT!!

[frank754]

Not quite a kit but a fun project is this one:

http://www.dogstar.dantimax.dk/tubestuf/mnibl2-1.htm

I built one about 2-3 months ago and is a sweet low-power but nice early project before you attempt a bigger one.

[jduffy]

My first tube amp was the Bottlehead. It is an amazing bit of kit for the money.

Now I'm working on building a preamp from scratch.

I concur with the above post that claims it is a slippery slope in which one may have difficulty getting back up again, at least without building several more amps, preamps, etc.

Enjoy and good luck with your choices.

[frank754]

I'm fairly newbieish here, my dad was an electronics engineer (passed away in '88), was in WW II.
I'm 52, and have been playing with this stuff off & on since the mid 60's, built kits as a kid & later, got my first ham license in '68.
Built a HF multiband Ham receiver back then from schematic, also some heathkits over the years, but never really knew enough to create a "new" optimized design over what I see others have done, besides mix & match power supplies, and know where I can & cannot change capacitor values, etc.
After a hiatus of over 10 years now, I'm building this stuff again, and it's quite exciting as I haven't failed yet or blown anything up recently.

I've worked on 3 amps lately, and 2 in progress (not done yet), but put together a littler pre-amp which does well too (or seems to do for me in hi-fi with my best sound perception), and is simple, only $85 to build:

[augerpro]

Originally posted by Runco990
I do NOT recomend you build ANY of the above kits. They are great introductions into tube audio and (like myself) will propell you down a dark slippery road you can't leave. And for god's sake DO NOT look at the picture gallery of members amplifiers. I made this crucial mistake, and it's all over.Marc

Hehe, a kindred spirit I actually took up diy speakerbuilding a few months ago and after at least $3k spent I still haven't built a speaker! But I have a nice woodshop now! Seriously though i know how I am with new hobbies and that's why I just want a simple kit to try out a tube wiht a speaker project I have planned. I don't have the time or money to seriously pursue a new hobby so I have to keep myself from getting in too deep

The K502 looks tempting and the price is right. MIKET how did you come with 1 watt? It says 8 max. Would this be about the same or less then the STA45 in reality?

The STA45 looks nice too. I'd make my own chassis from wood so that's not a selling point. Can anyone say what performance advantage there is over the K502 to justify the price difference? I like all the mods at Voltseconds site though, but that is definatley the slippery slope that will suck me in!

I'll check out that Bottlehead too. Thanks everyone for the advice so far!