First DIY project for a good power Amplifier

[mastermind88]

hi,
i'm at the first project in the world of tube amplifier, and in these days i read alot of schemes and project that involves alot of styles and components.
Can you suggest me a project (no a kit please) to work on? I wold love to have enought power to pilot "difficult" drivers at 8 ohm, and use a kt88 or el84 or a 300b tubes....PP o SE i don't know...for my first project is not a must, even if i would love a very low THD+N
I know i'm asking alot, but if you have any suggest (and i would mean really any), please answer, thanks so much!

 

[DF96]

Low THD means conventional P-P with negative feedback, probably either EL84 or ECL86 output. There are lots of these around. One classic circuit is the Mullard 5-10. For your first project you want something fairly simple, which a lot of other people have built successfully. You can try something more exotic for your second project!

 

[wakibaki]

DF96's recommendation of a Mullard 5-10 style amp is good. It's comparatively simple, there have been many built, it's highly regarded (a classic).

The only thing, it's only 10 Watts. Not that I'm suggesting you should go bigger in a first-build valve amp. It's just that 10 Watts is really about the minimum to drive a modern multi-way speaker if that's what you already have, and you don't want to be running the amp flat out or nearly so.

If you're a loud-type person, intend to have parties or you intend to drive moderately inefficient speakers (85-90dB/W) then you might want to look at a transistor amplifier with ~25Watts or even a bit more. Or understand that you might want to get some speakers that are a bit more efficient.

w

 

[tomchr]

My first tube amp was a Spud. I learned a lot during that project. Now I'm working on a SET design based on a 300B. Note that both of these designs are fairly low power - about 5 W per channel.

The Tubelab SE and Simple SE are good places to start as well. I got a lot of inspiration for my Spud from those designs.

~Tom

 

[mastermind88]

The only thing, it's only 10 Watts. Not that I'm suggesting you should go bigger in a first-build valve amp. It's just that 10 Watts is really about the minimum to drive a modern multi-way speaker if that's what you already have, and you don't want to be running the amp flat out or nearly so.

If you're a loud-type person, intend to have parties or you intend to drive moderately inefficient speakers (85-90dB/W) then you might want to look at a transistor amplifier with ~25Watts or even a bit more. Or understand that you might want to get some speakers that are a bit more efficient.

w

i'm already design my own speakers with some Ciare drive that has a sensibilty that is variable from 91db/W to 100 db/W....10W is enought? I don't want to project a PA amplifier for parties, but i would like to have not a whisper like sound power XD

 

[hidnplayr]

I'd go with the baby huey, it's a little harder then a mullard 5-10, but you'll love the sound!

 

[mastermind88]

I'd go with the baby huey, it's a little harder then a mullard 5-10, but you'll love the sound!

you mean that one?

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

and this?

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

do you had any mods to these schematics? thanks

 

[hidnplayr]

Yes that's the one I mean!

The only mods I made to mine is use of different pre-amp tube (6N2 initially, using ECC88 now)
Oh, and mine doesnt have a volume control but does have balanced inputs
Also I didnt use the global feedback.

But those are all just personal options, no real mods..