• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

First timer on a very low budget. I just want to build something, is this kit ok?

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The product is not bad. I built one like that a while ago. Just make sure they supply a power transformer to suit your mains supply voltage (220v ?)

However, you need to be able to read and understand a schematic diagram, and identify components visually, as the only assembly instruction is a schematic on a piece of paper.
For a first timer with no experience, you will need someone knowledgable to help.

Put together right, it actually sounds not bad, and the output transformers are good enough to be the basis for something better.
 
All right, having read up on the dangers involved in HV tube amp kits like these I think it's wise to leave this be for now.

I mean, I've assembled some speakers and repaired some stuff before, but none of that was as really dangerous.
What worries me is that a site like Banggood sells this kit like it's a model car kit, for any inexperienced person like me to try.. without warning that any single mistake during building this can cost me my life.
 
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What worries me is that a site like Banggood sells this kit like it's a model car kit,
for any inexperienced person like me to try.. without warning that any single
mistake during building this can cost me my life.

In all fairness, most tube amps would be similar in risks. Dynaco sold huge numbers
of tube amps and preamps, apparently with few such problems. But, some people are
more careful then others. A good assembly manual, apparently lacking in this case, is
essential for beginners. Look at this one as an example of a reasonably good manual.
http://www.thehistoryofrecording.com/Manuals/DynaCo/Dynakit_ST70.pdf
 
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Nice. Does this come with an instruction note printed in bold on how I do not kill myself during assembly?

If you connect ground to your chassis I can't think of a way you'd kill yourself with a tube amp build. Obliterate some components? Sure.

If you ever find yourself probing around the chassis while it is running remember to keep a hand behind your back to avoid B+ to ground through you. For live probes I tend to use clips so I don't have to hold anything.

If you are reaaaaally worried about it there are low-voltage solid state buffered tube amp kits you can buy for under $20. They use the 6J1 or 6J5 tubes.
 
I second Oddwatt. I built their Alpha which is a 1 watt amp using a 6GV8 tube for each channel. It sounds surprisingly good. Everything is included. About all you need to supply is a good soldering iron, solder and then glue for the poplar wood base. After going through their checklist to ensure all was correctly soldered and set up, I ran audio through with no problems. I've just been listening to music through it for over a year now. I run a turntable and have my Klipsch KG3.5 speakers hooked up to it. It makes a great first project with a high probability for success. Documentation is excellent and if you have a question Bruce at Oddwatt is quick to respond to emails.
 
Transcendent Sound makes some nice kits with very good documentation with safety procedures and so on. Bruce from transcendent sound is also the author of some good introductory books on tube amps and designs.

Bottlehead is another good option, as well as Tubelab and Oddwatt which were already mentioned.

Some sell kits or boards assuming you have a preexisting background, at your own risk but some out there are quite sympathetic to the novice as well. After all, we all began as novices at some point.

Between the companies I mentioned you should be able to easily find something that suits your needs.

Be sure to tell them your speaker sensitivity and ancillary equipment so they can recommend you the most suitable option.

This is a good option for ~4W. Requires minimal fiddling- set it and forget it. OTL’s also cut one of the pricier parts of the builds out- OTs. Some swear by their sound as well.

Mini Beast

However for a novice on a budget why not try a DIY Pass solid state design? With these tube designs the output transformers as well as output tube replacements can be quite expensive. On a budget can mean different things for different people, but this can be $400-500 in transformers and tubes alone, not including the boards and other parts and chassis.

If you are set on tubes id encourage you to choose a design which incorporates tubes that don’t have a huge following of guitar players or audionuts driving up NOS quality tube prices.... pick something off the radar.
 
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If you are set on tubes id encourage you to choose a design which incorporates tubes that don’t have a huge following of guitar players or audionuts driving up NOS quality tube prices.... pick something off the radar.

On the flip side, 6L6s and EL34s are super common, and I'd be surprised if they became expensive and rare in 10 years. When I was choosing my design one of my criteria was to use a popular tube that will likely always be available. Just another way of looking at this.
 
Hi Pygmy.
Could this be possible safe enough to build.
PCL86 Verstaerker Beschreibung
There are any other projects from Hans, take a look.
Aktually is running the little PCL86 here, with steps modified....after years of building,
finally.
Now i enjoy how it sounds, only slightly from powertransformer.
Here a source for needed Transformer and others..
Frag Jan zuerst- Ask Jan first: Roehren und mehr
 
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