No. They are very easy to mount. There is plenty of room. If the board is complete and installed in the chassis already then you will probably have to remove the board from the chassis.
If I rember correctly it's possible to the swap or retrofit the caps out by just removing the tubes and then the four screws of the metal plate that covers the area.
Edit be mindful on first build to leave room to desolder the stock 0.1uf caps that come with the kit from the top surface of the PCB if you install them first.
Edit be mindful on first build to leave room to desolder the stock 0.1uf caps that come with the kit from the top surface of the PCB if you install them first.
Last edited:
Volume control still functions either way. There are DIY mods to bypass the pot if you are planning on using a preamp…or you could turn the control all the way up.
Essentially instructions are saying the amp gain is high enough without NFB engaged that you don’t need a pre. Negative Feedback essentially feeds part of the output back to the input 180 degrees out of phase which reduces the output signal, thus you “might” need a preamplifier if using NFB . My experience is you don’t need a pre with or without NFB Unless you have a very very low output source…maybe some phono stages.
This amp, as with many tube amp designs has enough gain that you can barely move the volume control off the stop before the music is blaring If you are using a modern 2V source with the zero NFB setting. I couldn’t imagine using this combo with a pre amp. Even with NFB a preamp may be too much with a modern 2V source (most cd players and DACs)
I wrote about this in a prior review and my implementation of a voltage divider infront of the pot to tame this. I personally do not use a pre nor would I with my particular DAC.
I love the V-Caps, but I use a single driver full range speaker—only way to listen to low watt DHT in my humble opinion—with a little digital equalization through roon. If you are using 2 ways with horn tweeters you may find the combination fatiguing.
Last edited:
My type of Modder!! Over $1500 in parts alone (does not include the Sliver Transformers). Makes me think about getting a TU-8900
.
Last edited:
Whatever tubes you are thinking, I recommend you to buy from legit source.... I think Victor should have it good upgrade options....
I believe those are the prices for Elite 2A3 and Elite 300B from Linlai. You could also consider Linlai’s WE series at roughly $330 and $570 for the 2A3 and 300B respectively. Linlai WE300B especially is a great buy as it is quite a step up from the entry level 300Bs and is quite a bit cheaper than the high end 300B tubes. Even for the 2A3s, I’d easily recommend the WE2A3. I own some NOS 2A3 tubes and the WE2A3 gets you 95% of the performance.
No, the prices I mentioned are for WE but from Linlai's official store (https://linlaiglobal.com/index.php/product/linlai-we-replica-300b-vacuum-tubes-pair/). Elite version is even more expansive (899$).
Here for example they sell pairs of Linlai WE300B for ~420$ (https://aliexpress.com/item/1005004447722183.html).... and when looking at construction of the tube it really seems identical to linlai official or cossor WE.
Review will be available soon....
The review version is based on TU-8900 with Lundahl LL2785C amorphous core + Audio Note Silver coupling cap 0.1 X 2 + Audio Note Tantulam resistors.The tube sets are Sylvania 12BH7 X 2 / Brimar 6067/12AU7 + LInlai/Cossor WE2A3
You do not only compare the price.. When we order the tube from Linlai, the spec of each tube must be within the spec range .. Thoes tubes not with in spec range will sell in the WWW. It looks the same but the spec is big different.
Also warranty is the most imporant factor...
Victor, can I ask if the full featured TU-8900 review will be published in a HiFi magizine, a video review on YouTube or online fourn, and could you tell us who will be doing the review?
Also if published in $terophile magazine will it be a full review complete with measurements or will it be a side note infomercial?
It is a full review from a highly respect reviewer
The 1st impression is very good
I will keep you posted...
PS. I do not recommend to change the capacitors except the coupling caps . We use a lot of low EMS caps that is the best for this amp
A good silver Transform for TU-8900 from Lundahl is talking about 9K for a pair.
This is why I recommend TU-8900 with amorphous core + AN silver 0.1 x2 plus AN Tantalum Resistor for signal path (46 pcs) + Linlai WE-2A3
Please stay tuned .....
The 1st impression is very good
I will keep you posted...
PS. I do not recommend to change the capacitors except the coupling caps . We use a lot of low EMS caps that is the best for this amp
A good silver Transform for TU-8900 from Lundahl is talking about 9K for a pair.
This is why I recommend TU-8900 with amorphous core + AN silver 0.1 x2 plus AN Tantalum Resistor for signal path (46 pcs) + Linlai WE-2A3
Please stay tuned .....
I have the Elekit 8900 and enjoy it very much. I do however have hum and have not been able to determine its source. It goes away when I turn the volume control down and when I disconnect the input cables. It's there with all sources I have plugged into it with and without preamp. The hum is pretty far below music level but I think it's louder than it should be. It's rather annoying when the music stops.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Stephen
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Stephen
i need to look at your reference voltages before i can give you suggestion.
if you email your phone numb to info@vkmusic.ca i can chat with you
the amp should be dead quiet...
if you email your phone numb to info@vkmusic.ca i can chat with you
the amp should be dead quiet...
If it was a solid state amp, you would get about half the power at 16 ohms compared to 8 ohms in most cases. In tube amps, it largely depends on the OP winding ratio. I would assume 10-20% less power but with lower distortion until clipping. As you probably know already, speakers tend to have complex impedance curves so it also depends on frequency.