Hi. I am new here in the forum. I am planning to build my first tube preamplifier pair with my solid-state power amplifier. I am not a circuit designer, and I am not so good at technical stuff, but I have done a few DIY amplifier assemblies by myself with the help of schemes. So I am open to suggestions of a well-made pre amplifier board/kit to start my work. Because I can't work an amp from scratch, a preamp kit will be a nice option.
When I was going through many posts here in the forum, I was a bit confused by the lot of preamp boards.I want to learn and upgrade little by little to understand the sound. That's why I am planning a DIY path. I don't know if I can do this with my zero knowledge, but I am very much willing to build one.
I hope you all can guide me. Thank you so much 🙏.
When I was going through many posts here in the forum, I was a bit confused by the lot of preamp boards.I want to learn and upgrade little by little to understand the sound. That's why I am planning a DIY path. I don't know if I can do this with my zero knowledge, but I am very much willing to build one.
I hope you all can guide me. Thank you so much 🙏.
Hello!
My understanding is that you are looking for a line level preamplifier.
Considering the fact that you want to pair this preamp with your Solid State Amp, I suggest you aim for a 2 stage preamplifier. First stage will be the voltage amplification and the second stage a cathode follower, so that you get a low Z output to drive your amp.
I have recently designed and built something like this. The schematic is using EF86 triode connected vor voltage amplification and ECC82 as a cathode follower.
If you are interested I can post the schematic.
Cheers,
Mircea
My understanding is that you are looking for a line level preamplifier.
Considering the fact that you want to pair this preamp with your Solid State Amp, I suggest you aim for a 2 stage preamplifier. First stage will be the voltage amplification and the second stage a cathode follower, so that you get a low Z output to drive your amp.
I have recently designed and built something like this. The schematic is using EF86 triode connected vor voltage amplification and ECC82 as a cathode follower.
If you are interested I can post the schematic.
Cheers,
Mircea
This is it! Everything is on that Pcb. Preamp, turn on delay, HV supply, heater supply.
This version is designed for 6N1P follower.
I do have another version of pcb for using with ECC82.
This version is designed for 6N1P follower.
I do have another version of pcb for using with ECC82.
I don’t understand your question.
Anyway, no need to be sorry. I gained a lot of knowledge by asking questions.
Anyway, no need to be sorry. I gained a lot of knowledge by asking questions.
I know but in my case i have zero knowledge about this but very curious to do diy. So my doubts will be very stupid when I compare you all guys . 😂
You can, schematic stays the same. It’s just the PCB that is slightly different because of the heater connection of the 2 valves.
What is the solid state power amp you will be connecting to this tube preamp?
What is the gain of this power amp?
Are you using a preamp with this power amp now? If so, which one (make and model)?
How much gain does this preamp deliver?
What is the gain of this power amp?
Are you using a preamp with this power amp now? If so, which one (make and model)?
How much gain does this preamp deliver?
Thank tou four your observation. The electrical conmection is still ok. Just have to change the description of the trace.
My power amp is a custom build, but I plan to replace it with monoblocks in the near future. the gain of this current power amp 1.5 v to 0.5 v in low gain to high gain settings.
At the moment, I am not using a preamplifer because I have a NAD Roven Edition integrated amp. I was using that preout in the beginning, but its output gain is very low, i guess, so with or without pre, I don't hear any difference, so I disconnected now.
You will often find that you don't need any additional gain to get your power amp to reach maximum output driven by the output of the sources themselves.
That's why many people use a 'passive preamp' -- just an input switchbox and potentiometer or other type of level attenuator (volume control).
If your program sources (DAC, phono preamp, tuner, etc.) can all output up to 1V to 2V rms audio signal and they all have output impedance of less than 1000 ohms, there may be no need for an 'active' preamp at all. Pretty much all 'desktop' DACs and CD/DVD/SACD players do output 2V rms maximum signal and have <1k ohm output impedance.
However, you may want to add a preamp to add some sort of a 'sound' to the system. Often that will mean putting a tube in the signal path, to get that 'tube sound'.
The next step would be to define exactly what that 'tube sound' actually is. So... What is it? You need to know what it is before you can successfully add it. You see what I mean?
Or perhaps you want to add a balance control and tone controls/EQ?
That's why many people use a 'passive preamp' -- just an input switchbox and potentiometer or other type of level attenuator (volume control).
If your program sources (DAC, phono preamp, tuner, etc.) can all output up to 1V to 2V rms audio signal and they all have output impedance of less than 1000 ohms, there may be no need for an 'active' preamp at all. Pretty much all 'desktop' DACs and CD/DVD/SACD players do output 2V rms maximum signal and have <1k ohm output impedance.
However, you may want to add a preamp to add some sort of a 'sound' to the system. Often that will mean putting a tube in the signal path, to get that 'tube sound'.
The next step would be to define exactly what that 'tube sound' actually is. So... What is it? You need to know what it is before you can successfully add it. You see what I mean?
Or perhaps you want to add a balance control and tone controls/EQ?
@rongon very true. I am very happy with the sound without a preamp. Then why do I need an active preamp?
1. I never owned or not much have any experience with a tube gear, so from a long time i really like to experience / own a tube in my collection.
2. In that case, I can easily go and buy a tube preamp. There are a lot of commercial brands that offer very good preamps.
More than the sound signature, I want my tube gear to look aesthetically very beautiful. In that aspect, all the branded preamps look very industrial-looking or look like a normal box. There are a lot of brands that offer very beautiful amps that are very expensive.
In that case, I have decided to build myself. I am a product designer and architect by profession, so from a long time I have had a particular design in mind that needs a lot of crafting so I can do it myself. So basically, I don't know the electrical/technical stuff about my DIY preamp, but I know very well about the outer case🤣🤣🤣.
Even if I don't need an active preamp, anyway, I am crafting this out, so I thought I should make it with high-quality components and parts as possible.
Let's talk about the preamp in my mind. I need a mono preamp in the beginning, but later it will be possible to modify to dual mono.
1. I never owned or not much have any experience with a tube gear, so from a long time i really like to experience / own a tube in my collection.
2. In that case, I can easily go and buy a tube preamp. There are a lot of commercial brands that offer very good preamps.
More than the sound signature, I want my tube gear to look aesthetically very beautiful. In that aspect, all the branded preamps look very industrial-looking or look like a normal box. There are a lot of brands that offer very beautiful amps that are very expensive.
In that case, I have decided to build myself. I am a product designer and architect by profession, so from a long time I have had a particular design in mind that needs a lot of crafting so I can do it myself. So basically, I don't know the electrical/technical stuff about my DIY preamp, but I know very well about the outer case🤣🤣🤣.
Even if I don't need an active preamp, anyway, I am crafting this out, so I thought I should make it with high-quality components and parts as possible.
Let's talk about the preamp in my mind. I need a mono preamp in the beginning, but later it will be possible to modify to dual mono.
I was going through a lot of preamp/tube builds in this forum; 90 percent of the time I don't understand them, but still, I have designs in my mind, so while checking 100s posts, I came up with this preamp build that looks like what's in my mind. I am thinking to proceed with this build. I can only complete this project with the help of all you guys; I can only assemble and solder the final PCBs together; I can't change or redesign anything by myself.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/home-brewed-aikido-preamp.354383/
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/home-brewed-aikido-preamp.354383/