The diyAudio build guides

6L6

Moderator
Joined 2010
Paid Member
I'm a hard-core DIY builder. And by hard-core, I mean completely bonkers... :D :D :D

For approx. the last 4yr I've been making build guides (here at diyaudio.com and elsewhere) for people interested in these projects. I've found that most interested parties can get one of these done with a bit of patience, guidance and a decent set of photos. So I've been doing that. It's a blast, and I've had the honor of taking to people (Email, phone, skype) all over the world about their projects and our hobby.



Most of these guides are Nelson Pass designs, but I will tell you that there is a reason his projects are so incredibly popular. Take a look -

Pass/Firstwatt F5 (My first big guide, and this is still the most popular project in DIY land) An illustrated guide to building an F5

The B1 preamp, this post got re-formatted and kinda screwed up, but still not bad. B1 preamp build thread

The incredible Pearl 2 phonostage - Building a Pearl 2

The F5Turbo amp (this one looks very clean, I'm quite happy with it) - F5Turbo Illustrated Build Guide

The legendary Aleph J amp, (what I've been listening to for quite some time) -- http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/241729-aleph-j-illustrated-build-guide.html

The Pass "Amp Camp Amp", this amplifier and guide is intended for the complete beginner, and so shows essentially everything -- ACA illustrated build guide

The Pass Burning Amp BA-3, this one has a video I really like in post #3 -- BA-3 Amplifier illustrated build guide

The front-end board from the BA-3 is a fantastic preamp, and currently in use in my system, here -- http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/258022-ba-3-preamp-build-guide.html#post3968063

The Pass F4, this is amongst my most favorite guides -- A guide to building the Pass F4 amplifier.

The wonderful Amp Camp Amp v1.0 ACA illustrated build guide

The F6 amplifier F6 Illustrated Build Guide

And a few non-Pass projects;

The O2 headphone amplifier -- Building the O2 Headphone Amp

Hagerman Bugle 2 phonostage - http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analogue-source/237627-hagerman-bugle-2-a.html#post3605491


SL-1200 DC PSU -- SL-1200 DC Power Supply DIY

SL-1200 tonearm rewire -- Rewiring SL-1200 Tonearm

A guide to the universal chassis from the diyAudio store - http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/parts/245959-illustrated-guide-4u-deluxe-chassis.html#post3704810

And the universal PSU guide - diyAudio Power Supply Circuit Board v3 illustrated build guide


Gawd, that's a lot of things when listed like that. :) I've never actually made a list as such. (And I haven't gotten any of my Valve project guides completed...)


My apologies, now that your eyes are bugged out from looking at all that, I suppose you would like to know a bit more about me... Here's everything you need to know about me in regards to DIY projects, a (literally) 5-min talk at Burning Amp Fest '13 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5eOnuQJ3ww
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
First time i discovered such great diy guides it was decisive impulse to build amplifiers.
Thanks 6L6 for constructive thinking and work in DiyAudio community.
Nice to have them all in this thread.
Hope see more ones :):wrench:
 

Attachments

  • F90F31BA-AC48-416B-B29E-E8120D69A412.JPG
    F90F31BA-AC48-416B-B29E-E8120D69A412.JPG
    259.8 KB · Views: 19,072
Thank you for your kind words.

You will like the F4, it's still my favorite Firstwatt amp.

What preamp will you use to drive it?

I am building it to drive it with a Bottlehead S.E.X. amp. I already tried that driving a Sit2 with the S.E.X., but I do not want to damage the Sit2. The sound is amazing, though, and after some research I decided to go for the F4 and keep the Sit2 working for posterity.
We'll see how it goes, and again, your build guides are invaluable.
Thanks and cheers for diyAudio!
 
Is there a single source for an entire kit?

Impressive amount of work you've shared - much in the vein of Mr. Pass himself, of something sown of a passion there is no doubt.

It seems I cannot buy a kit from First Watt. I did a little searching here and, though I'm sure there's more than a few threads that would answer this question, there are WAY more than a few threads to search through.

I'm in Canada. Is it possible to buy a complete kit?

I'm a hard-core DIY builder. And by hard-core, I mean completely bonkers... :D :D :D

For approx. the last 2yr I've been making build guides (here at diyaudio.com and elsewhere) for people interested in these projects. I've found that most interested parties can get one of these done with a bit of patience, guidance and a decent set of photos. So I've been doing that. It's a blast, and I've had the honor of taking to people (Email, phone, skype) all over the world about their projects and our hobby.



Most of these guides are Nelson Pass designs, but I will tell you that there is a reason his projects are so incredibly popular. Take a look -

Pass/Firstwatt F5 (My first big guide, and this is still the most popular project in DIY land) http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/188691-illustrated-guide-building-f5.html

The B1 preamp, this post got re-formatted and kinda screwed up, but still not bad. http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/181552-b1-preamp-build-thread.html

The incredible Pearl 2 phonostage - http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/204336-building-pearl-2-a.html

The F5Turbo amp (this one looks very clean, I'm quite happy with it) - http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/254056-f5turbo-illustrated-build-guide.html

The legendary Aleph J amp, (what I've been listening to for quite some time) -- http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/241729-aleph-j-illustrated-build-guide.html

The Pass "Amp Camp Amp", this amplifier and guide is intended for the complete beginner, and so shows essentially everything -- http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/247361-aca-illustrated-build-guide.html

The Pass Burning Amp BA-3, this one has a video I really like in post #3 -- http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/258301-ba-3-amplifier-illustrated-build-guide.html

The front-end board from the BA-3 is a fantastic preamp, and currently in use in my system, here -- http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/258022-ba-3-preamp-build-guide.html#post3968063

The Pass F4, this is amongst my most favorite guides -- http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/234355-guide-building-pass-f4-amplifier.html

And a few non-Pass projects;

The O2 headphone amplifier -- http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/headphone-systems/217086-building-o2-headphone-amp.html

Hagerman Bugle 2 phonostage - http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analogue-source/237627-hagerman-bugle-2-a.html#post3605491


SL-1200 DC PSU -- SL-1200 DC Power Supply DIY

SL-1200 tonearm rewire -- Rewiring SL-1200 Tonearm

A guide to the universal chassis from the diyAudio store - http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/parts/245959-illustrated-guide-4u-deluxe-chassis.html#post3704810

And the universal PSU guide - http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/powe...circuit-board-v3-illustrated-build-guide.html


Gawd, that's a lot of things when listed like that. :) I've never actually made a list as such. (And I haven't gotten any of my Valve project guides completed...)


My apologies, now that your eyes are bugged out from looking at all that, I suppose you would like to know a bit more about me... Here's everything you need to know about me in regards to DIY projects, a (literally) 5-min talk at Burning Amp Fest '13 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5eOnuQJ3ww