For the last couple of nights i have been looking for tubes at a reasonable price in UK and Europe. But i am unable to source the 6jn6 valves. I have looked at getting the 6JM6 and 6GV6 but not for a reasonable price. I cant find any EU equivalent types either.
So it looks like i will have to import these from the US. I have checked out VacuumTubes recommended by pete. They have the 6jn6 but not the 6cb6.
i have two other US suppliers that have both valves
Antique Electronics Supply
VacuumTubesInc
Both supply both types of valves i require. The second company VacuumTubesInc are the cheapest and also supply the ceramic valve bases.
So I would like to order from VacuumTubesInc. Any one had any problems with them.
So it looks like i will have to import these from the US. I have checked out VacuumTubes recommended by pete. They have the 6jn6 but not the 6cb6.
i have two other US suppliers that have both valves
Antique Electronics Supply
VacuumTubesInc
Both supply both types of valves i require. The second company VacuumTubesInc are the cheapest and also supply the ceramic valve bases.
So I would like to order from VacuumTubesInc. Any one had any problems with them.
Not cheap, I got the amorphous and can be found on his website.im sure there's been a price increase since I purchased mine. You can get them custom wound to your design.
They are worth every Pennie, I have not heard an SET that performs and better.
If I can find it, I'll posts a snapshot of the sq wave.
I'd also check with Bud Purvine on the west coast.
Thanks deaf!
Onetrics (Bud's Company) seems to have great reviews.
Steve, Pete also gives great advise!
On OPT's I think the high shipping costs of Edcors really kill their value, when you can for sure
get much better ones where you are for about the same or a worthwhile sum for the
upgrade as I know from extensive reading Sowter has a great rep. and will be a huge step
up for Eu 100 more so well worth saving for. Eli knows his stuff also!
It's the interleaving your paying for!
Onetrics (Bud's Company) seems to have great reviews.
Steve, Pete also gives great advise!
On OPT's I think the high shipping costs of Edcors really kill their value, when you can for sure
get much better ones where you are for about the same or a worthwhile sum for the
upgrade as I know from extensive reading Sowter has a great rep. and will be a huge step
up for Eu 100 more so well worth saving for. Eli knows his stuff also!
It's the interleaving your paying for!
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Hello rmyauck
I agree Pete does give good advice. As for the valves i have checked out Petes suggestion and been in touch with the company. They can supply the 6jn6 but do not have the 6bc6. I would like to go through one company to keep the postage down.
As for the trasformers. I have checked out Sowter which do have a UK distribution. But the cost will be double the Edcors. The Germany company that supply Edcor's will only charge £20 so a good price.
I have looked at a number of EU company and most are either the same price as Edcor or much more.
I am trying to source the valves and i expect i will have to get them from the US. The postage cost is not too expensive but the delivery time is much longer and the possibility of damage in transit is higher.
I am thinking i will end up ordering them tomorrow from VacuumTubesInc as they can supply everything. The valves are also NOS which i assume is a better make.
I agree Pete does give good advice. As for the valves i have checked out Petes suggestion and been in touch with the company. They can supply the 6jn6 but do not have the 6bc6. I would like to go through one company to keep the postage down.
As for the trasformers. I have checked out Sowter which do have a UK distribution. But the cost will be double the Edcors. The Germany company that supply Edcor's will only charge £20 so a good price.
I have looked at a number of EU company and most are either the same price as Edcor or much more.
I am trying to source the valves and i expect i will have to get them from the US. The postage cost is not too expensive but the delivery time is much longer and the possibility of damage in transit is higher.
I am thinking i will end up ordering them tomorrow from VacuumTubesInc as they can supply everything. The valves are also NOS which i assume is a better make.
There is a Hammond supplier over there and the 370HX has the 50V
280-0-280 as well as filament requirements as it's on Pete's BOM.
300 series is their Heavy Duty line also.
Go to the bottom of this page:
Hammond Mfg. - "Classic" Products - International Distributors
Found a GBP pricing catalog and it looks like just under 71 GBP.
http://www.hammondmfg.com/product.htm
280-0-280 as well as filament requirements as it's on Pete's BOM.
300 series is their Heavy Duty line also.
Go to the bottom of this page:
Hammond Mfg. - "Classic" Products - International Distributors
Found a GBP pricing catalog and it looks like just under 71 GBP.
http://www.hammondmfg.com/product.htm
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Looking back over the post. I am reconsidering the toroidal transformers as they will only cost about £80 for the pair.
Then with the Hammond 370HX rmyauck recommended total cost will be about £150.
jazbo said i should be able to null out the imbalance with the pots on petes board. Anyone tried toroidals on this board
Then with the Hammond 370HX rmyauck recommended total cost will be about £150.
jazbo said i should be able to null out the imbalance with the pots on petes board. Anyone tried toroidals on this board
I figured the 370HX should be good as it's on Pete's BOM
and it does give the required 50V for the Bias and he must
have thought it was okay without the center tap.
Before I thought a small Antec etc. toriodal could also supply that
50V as I have a Hammond 272HX 300-0-300 trans without
it. One could also build a voltage doubler or trippler and use
a much smaller voltage transformer for the bias also.
As for OPT's toriodal trans you must mean these:
http://sklep.toroidy.pl/en_US/p/TTG...ansformer-for-2xEL84-Push-pull-or-similar/561
I'd certainly try them for that price!
and it does give the required 50V for the Bias and he must
have thought it was okay without the center tap.
Before I thought a small Antec etc. toriodal could also supply that
50V as I have a Hammond 272HX 300-0-300 trans without
it. One could also build a voltage doubler or trippler and use
a much smaller voltage transformer for the bias also.
As for OPT's toriodal trans you must mean these:
http://sklep.toroidy.pl/en_US/p/TTG...ansformer-for-2xEL84-Push-pull-or-similar/561
I'd certainly try them for that price!
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i have bought all the tubes and sockets from vacuum tubes inc they worked out the cheapest as they supplied all the parts for one postage cost.
Calculating the tranformers i get the following choices.
Hammond 370HX with Marshal 45W OT's cost £210
Hammond 370HX with polish Toroidal OT's cost £236
Edcor Power and OT's from Europe Cost £213
So there is not a lot of difference in the cost. The Toroidals are the most expensive and will be the ones to probably cause the problems with balancing the amp so for now i think i will give these a miss. But in th efuture when i have more experiance i will defenatly give these a try.
the Marshals will work and have a bigger wattage but i do not have any reviews on how good these OT's are. If i choose these i will need to modify the power circuit for the Hammond power supply and i will be disapointed if the OT's are not good.
The Edcors. Yes i pay more for these in the UK but the europoean branch does take out some of the shipping cost probably because they buy in bulk. These are know to be good transformers and are designed to work wioth this amp design. Cost is the same as the above so why not go straight with these?
Other companies like Sowter would cost about £400 for the OT's as a first project this is way over my budget.
I am not going to order the transformers for a few weeks so will keep looking but my feeling is i will still stick with the Edcor fro Europe
Calculating the tranformers i get the following choices.
Hammond 370HX with Marshal 45W OT's cost £210
Hammond 370HX with polish Toroidal OT's cost £236
Edcor Power and OT's from Europe Cost £213
So there is not a lot of difference in the cost. The Toroidals are the most expensive and will be the ones to probably cause the problems with balancing the amp so for now i think i will give these a miss. But in th efuture when i have more experiance i will defenatly give these a try.
the Marshals will work and have a bigger wattage but i do not have any reviews on how good these OT's are. If i choose these i will need to modify the power circuit for the Hammond power supply and i will be disapointed if the OT's are not good.
The Edcors. Yes i pay more for these in the UK but the europoean branch does take out some of the shipping cost probably because they buy in bulk. These are know to be good transformers and are designed to work wioth this amp design. Cost is the same as the above so why not go straight with these?
Other companies like Sowter would cost about £400 for the OT's as a first project this is way over my budget.
I am not going to order the transformers for a few weeks so will keep looking but my feeling is i will still stick with the Edcor fro Europe
As found on other forums like diytube.com using toroids on
Dynaco ST-70 & clones with a similar circuit to Pete's
Engineer's Amp it was found they worked perfectly (& better sonics)
with no adjustments. They were similar affordable Amplimo
toroids.
I have never heard of balance issues with good
properly built Output Transformers. To me a non issue.
No one makes affordable ones over here so they aren't popular in NA.
Dynaco ST-70 & clones with a similar circuit to Pete's
Engineer's Amp it was found they worked perfectly (& better sonics)
with no adjustments. They were similar affordable Amplimo
toroids.
I have never heard of balance issues with good
properly built Output Transformers. To me a non issue.
No one makes affordable ones over here so they aren't popular in NA.
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Thats interesting i only thought there was a balancing issue due to what was posted on this thread. i do like the toroidals they look good and with the tins can be painted to match any design i like. The wattage is higher so i would have room to mod the amp in the future and they are suppose to be much better lower noise.
i need to check these are CT OPT's and also see how to connect the hammond up for the Bias circuit
i need to check these are CT OPT's and also see how to connect the hammond up for the Bias circuit
Steve, what did you go for in the end? Mine is now just needing the transformers and I'm also struggling to decide
Hi bristto, I've had mine finished for some time now. I am away for the weekend but when I get home I will take a photo and upload it. I went with the original Edcor Tran's as I could easily import them from Europe with no import taxes. They work great and I love the blue effect. Easily balanced I had spare tubes for balancing but did not need them.
The only problem I had was when fitting the mosfets to the ally plate. I made a mistake somewhere and shorted out all the diodes. Also in future if I make another one I would like to find an easier way to connect the valve plates to the alley sheet and solder to the PCB. One last thing the volume control is far to sensitive so will need to change the value of this.
As for listening, well I was blown away. For a low powered valve amp it really puts out some volume. They power my Sony 120 Watt speakers with ease. Great on the base and treble. We had the amp playing for hours on my party in the summer with no problems. Every one was in awe of it. I have not fitter the heat sinks and it worked for hours with no problems.
Well done to Pete for making this great design. This is my first amp and it went fairly smooth. I would like to make another one but not sure where to put it. I might make one for the front room TV speakers but first i need to see what the cost is of running it every day.
Will post pic's soon. Good luck on your build, I'm sure you will love it.
All natural glow. Was taken with long exposure with a DSLR so may be a little more nicer. Wood chassis was a bit ow work as all the pieces where made from Ply and glued together.
I went for the Edcors due to being a first build I new they would work well from reading Pete's blog. If I do make another one I would try out the toroidal and be a bit more braver. I would also like to try UK valves to lower the cost of importing.
Good luck with your build Looks good hope yours sounds as good.
I went for the Edcors due to being a first build I new they would work well from reading Pete's blog. If I do make another one I would try out the toroidal and be a bit more braver. I would also like to try UK valves to lower the cost of importing.
Good luck with your build Looks good hope yours sounds as good.
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