hi, i'm looking for some good quality tube amp kits that are under $300, that will be able to play a 4 ohm or 8 ohm speaker, and of course sound good 🙂 anybody know any ? It would be optimal to come with a chassis already fabricated too.. thanks!
bonsai
bonsai
There are the 11MS8/!!BM8 kits ... there is at least one thread here on that amp... for less than $300 for a kit it is all i can think of off the top...
dave
dave
Bottlehead
The Bottlehead SEX amp may be a little above your budget at $369 USD but it comes with a nice chassis, has a great support forum, excellent features, and is considered better than "good".
http://www.bottlehead.com/et/adobespc/S.E.X./SEX.htm
The Bottlehead SEX amp may be a little above your budget at $369 USD but it comes with a nice chassis, has a great support forum, excellent features, and is considered better than "good".
http://www.bottlehead.com/et/adobespc/S.E.X./SEX.htm
I'd strongly suggest saving up / busting your budget and getting a very superior Audio Note Kits Kit 4. I went the Bottlehead route on previous projects and found that my experience with them was usually very different from that of other builders. Also, too many people report problems / anomolies with BH products for my tastes. I want kits that work from day 1, not after weeks of debugging.
My most recent kit is an Audio Note Kits Kit 2 - a Single ended 6550 triode. It's super high quality, amazingly solid (it weighs 50 pounds) and sounds amazing.
My most recent kit is an Audio Note Kits Kit 2 - a Single ended 6550 triode. It's super high quality, amazingly solid (it weighs 50 pounds) and sounds amazing.
bonsai171 said:
Lighthouse Electric has a new kit that might fit your needs depending on the power output you need. This one is single-ended with about 4.5 watts per channel. Price is under $300 (probably hits $300 with shipping though).
http://www.lh-electric.4t.com/sta44.htm
speaker sensitivity
Your needs may also be based on how efficient your current speakers are, as many tube amps are low powered, and I believe in general the higher powered ones are above your price range. If you post your speakers or efficiency in db, this may help users with their recommendations.
Your needs may also be based on how efficient your current speakers are, as many tube amps are low powered, and I believe in general the higher powered ones are above your price range. If you post your speakers or efficiency in db, this may help users with their recommendations.
LE Kit looks very nice
The LE Kit probably looks like the best choice in your price range. Its only $279, with only a 1 week lead time, plus it includes matched tubes and free UPS ground shipping!!! The chassis looks nice too. Its only 4.5 watts per channel, so you need efficient speakers to make proper use of it.
The LE Kit probably looks like the best choice in your price range. Its only $279, with only a 1 week lead time, plus it includes matched tubes and free UPS ground shipping!!! The chassis looks nice too. Its only 4.5 watts per channel, so you need efficient speakers to make proper use of it.
Re: LE Kit looks very nice
Looks a decent platform as a shortcut for trying an RH84 or a Mulligan. Too bad it is on a PCB. It is also fixed bias (i prefer cathode bias), and has a complex driver stage which may or may not work.
Even so, at that introductory price it is a bargin... even if all you were getting were tubes, iron & chassis.
dave
james_b said:
Looks a decent platform as a shortcut for trying an RH84 or a Mulligan. Too bad it is on a PCB. It is also fixed bias (i prefer cathode bias), and has a complex driver stage which may or may not work.
Even so, at that introductory price it is a bargin... even if all you were getting were tubes, iron & chassis.
dave
efficiency
How efficient would the speakers need to be? mine are 87 db/w, though i don't usually listen to music super loud..
How efficient would the speakers need to be? mine are 87 db/w, though i don't usually listen to music super loud..
Re: Re: LE Kit looks very nice
You might be able to get rid of the PCB to do modifications - the chassis looks fairly large. It's a shame how the sockets for the ECC82s are PCB mount.
The schematic shows a cathode bias amp, not fixed bias. R17 (the grid leak resistor) returns to ground, not a C- supply.
There are simpler driver topologies out there, but I would not consider SRPP-oid circuit shown a complex circuit. What makes it appear complex is the fixed bias arrangement for the upper valve. Not so sure why that is done that way - it is rather unconventional.
Yes. The designer even remembered their filter choke! 😀
planet10 said:
You might be able to get rid of the PCB to do modifications - the chassis looks fairly large. It's a shame how the sockets for the ECC82s are PCB mount.
planet10 said:
The schematic shows a cathode bias amp, not fixed bias. R17 (the grid leak resistor) returns to ground, not a C- supply.
planet10 said:
There are simpler driver topologies out there, but I would not consider SRPP-oid circuit shown a complex circuit. What makes it appear complex is the fixed bias arrangement for the upper valve. Not so sure why that is done that way - it is rather unconventional.
planet10 said:
Yes. The designer even remembered their filter choke! 😀
Re: Re: LE Kit looks very nice
You might be able to get rid of the PCB to do modifications - the chassis looks fairly large. It's a shame how the sockets for the ECC82s are PCB mount.planet10 said:
The schematic shows a cathode bias amp, not fixed bias. R17 (the grid leak resistor) returns to ground, not a C- supply.planet10 said:
There are simpler driver topologies out there, but I would not consider the SRPP-oid circuit shown a complex circuit. What makes it appear complex is the fixed bias arrangement for the upper valve. Not so sure why that is done that way - it is rather unconventional.planet10 said:
The designer even remembered their filter choke! 😀planet10 said:
Re: Re: Re: LE Kit looks very nice
You are right... i guess the description "Featuring: Fixed BIAS SRPP Input Stage and Single Ended Power Amplifier. Available as a kit for self assembly. " is referring to the 1st stage.
The EL84 is such an easy tube to drive, a common cathode stage is more to my preference... a recent run thru of driver tubes for SE EL84 ended up with triode strapped EF86... next up is to see if triode strapped 6AU6 can meet its performance (certainly a lot more available -- i've 2 sets of matched TFKs)
dave
audiousername said:
You are right... i guess the description "Featuring: Fixed BIAS SRPP Input Stage and Single Ended Power Amplifier. Available as a kit for self assembly. " is referring to the 1st stage.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
The EL84 is such an easy tube to drive, a common cathode stage is more to my preference... a recent run thru of driver tubes for SE EL84 ended up with triode strapped EF86... next up is to see if triode strapped 6AU6 can meet its performance (certainly a lot more available -- i've 2 sets of matched TFKs)
dave
Re: efficiency
87 dB/W/1M isn't very efficient. I would say that in general for a 4 or 5 watt amp it would be good to have speakers that are at least 91 dB/W/M. Many would say even 93 or more but a lot of it depends on your taste in music, if you don't listen loud and have a small listening room you may be satisfied with 87.
Keep in mind that every 3dB increase in speaker efficiency is like doubling your amplifier's power in terms of SPL output.
bonsai171 said:
87 dB/W/1M isn't very efficient. I would say that in general for a 4 or 5 watt amp it would be good to have speakers that are at least 91 dB/W/M. Many would say even 93 or more but a lot of it depends on your taste in music, if you don't listen loud and have a small listening room you may be satisfied with 87.
Keep in mind that every 3dB increase in speaker efficiency is like doubling your amplifier's power in terms of SPL output.
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