Totally agree. Valve amps imo need to stand out and look different. It's ok for a transistor amp to be inside a bland silver or black box but a valve amp should be a focal point. So I think there's as much in the aesthetics as there is in the technical design. If somebody is paying big money for an amp then it needs to have all the details.....the finishing touches.
I'm not that keen on wood but I do like the layout and style of the Yamamoto.
Some have highly reflective silver, gold or black.
But each person will have their own idea of good design which is great as it means that there is room for more than one style.
Post one looks like the "Danish Modern" type....cutting edge in??...Let's say the seventies?
Post two......more of the same, perhaps a LITTLE later, same ol' style.
Post five? Looking like the "Electronic equipment" you would see in "The Outer Limits" circa 1963.
A rounded blending of current "Black death" & deeply polished wood, think Piano black finish.....
A lot of DIYs' think there designs...or attempts at esthetics is markedly juvenile........peruse a local Art Gallery to get some ideas and inspirations.
Don't be taken in by this so-called interpretive art-form.
Make it your own but...... "get some professional help".
______________________________________________________Rick..........
Post two......more of the same, perhaps a LITTLE later, same ol' style.
Post five? Looking like the "Electronic equipment" you would see in "The Outer Limits" circa 1963.
A rounded blending of current "Black death" & deeply polished wood, think Piano black finish.....
A lot of DIYs' think there designs...or attempts at esthetics is markedly juvenile........peruse a local Art Gallery to get some ideas and inspirations.
Don't be taken in by this so-called interpretive art-form.
Make it your own but...... "get some professional help".
______________________________________________________Rick..........
IMO, that's somewhat out of line.
Aesthetics is a matter of personal taste.
Cheers!
Last edited:
Just trying to stir things up...get the juices goin...
____________________________________________________Rick.........
____________________________________________________Rick.........
The Fi X-amp is one of the slickest looking i've seen.
dave
If those are 2A3, wouldn't it be problematic to have them sideways due to the filament sag?
One thing is what you would like and another what you end up with.
I don't have neither the tools nor the skill to build a stunning chassis.
A master work is out of reach for these hands but i have great ideas. Big money would buy me a beautiful chassis.
I don't have neither the tools nor the skill to build a stunning chassis.
A master work is out of reach for these hands but i have great ideas. Big money would buy me a beautiful chassis.
Last edited:
Don Garber has been making those for sometime, you'd have to ask him.... i've only ever seen pictures.
dave
This thread has confirmed one thing for me. One persons beautiful design is anothers ugly beast. I already knew this since Sherri does not allow any of my creations to be seen in the living room (at least the older ones), but now that we have one of those new flat TV sets I can hide one behind it! The glow of 4 X 813's are still not acceptable even hidden behind the TV.
I personally don't like the amp shown in the first post but I do like the one in post #5 and If I had the room I would build something like the monster shown in post #6. It would have 4 X 833A's powered by some monster MV rectifiers and its own AC unit to deal with 1 Killowatt of heat🙂
That is the reality for most of us. I would build with metal and glass (and maybe some carbon fiber) if I had the money and the skill (or just a boat load of money). The reality is that wood is available to just about everybody. Woodworking classes (complete with the tools) are often available at your local high school for a reasonable fee, so I have been going one night a week for about 3 years. I am not now, nor will I ever be a master, but I can now make amplifiers that are not too ugly. I still use cheap wood because I still screw things up sometimes, but often my amps get taken apart for experiments and some never get put back together.
To Karsten
Thank you for the flowers...😉
As a few have said already esthetics is a very personal, subjective thing...
like judging other beautiful things like .... women...😀, architecture and so on.
I attribute tubes and the sonics of tube gear with a certain warmth... - - in contrast to SS equipment - -, and I personally prefer to show that in the design of a tube amplifier. That excludes to me the use of too much metal or that PASS style . Wood can be treated in a million ways and doesn't necessarily have to look retro or classic...you can do very modern and puristic things... reduce it to the max instead of having shiny "bells and whistles" everywhere...just an opinion.
And yes, those transfo's are the dutch ones...
Thank you for the flowers...😉
As a few have said already esthetics is a very personal, subjective thing...
like judging other beautiful things like .... women...😀, architecture and so on.
I attribute tubes and the sonics of tube gear with a certain warmth... - - in contrast to SS equipment - -, and I personally prefer to show that in the design of a tube amplifier. That excludes to me the use of too much metal or that PASS style . Wood can be treated in a million ways and doesn't necessarily have to look retro or classic...you can do very modern and puristic things... reduce it to the max instead of having shiny "bells and whistles" everywhere...just an opinion.
And yes, those transfo's are the dutch ones...
Last edited:
I'd like to do one like that, totally retro sci-fi... like something from Ming's chambers in the original Flash Gordon flicks 😀
Cheers!
Yes in general terms you are right. The DIYer can design a very good amp but they don't have the money or skills to design a great looking chassis. In one way that is good as it means that anyone who invests money and skill will end up with something which is better looking (not to everyone but to enough people to make a living).
Manufacturers that come from the SS camp generally don’t get it when designing tube amps chassis. A tube amp is a different animal. Don’t mix please. This hybrid look between a SS amp and a tube amp doesn’t work for me.
This is engineering thinking at his best, cold and practical; but we know tubes aren’t as icy as SS.
This is engineering thinking at his best, cold and practical; but we know tubes aren’t as icy as SS.
Attachments
One thing friends have mentioned to me who either have dogs or kids, is that the tubes out the top look would be destroyed in their homes w/in hours! Things running, falling, jumping, bouncing all over the place, etc.
I'd be the first to agree 🙂
I guess keeping on topic w/ this thread, it's again a good side to DIY or custom building for someone. You can take design considerations like a completely out of control home into account.
Good point.
Some designs will work for some people and not for others. You need to know your end customers and design accordingly.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.