The artist group avoids math, algorithms, and detailed procedures whenever possible, preferring to follow their instincts and subconscious whims. Profusely illustrated, the book uses graphic aides and basic algebra and scientific principles to teach you everything you need to know to fully understand tube guitar amp technology from both technical and musical perspectives. This design procedure and program works with either single ended or pushpull output stages. You can browse and read the full text of the book for free. A very important consideration in attempting to create an amplifier with a natural characteristic is. Yamamoto a08s singleended 45 power amplifier english.
How to start a single ended design most audiophiles fall into two groups. This guide discusses all relevant aspects for an integrated pushpull vacuum tube amplifier design, including the power supply unit. A bibliography of must have tube electronics books. The book s graphing calculators, free on this website, are designed for smartphones and laptops, making them as portable as the book that uses them. In this design the problem has been solved through the usage of. Audiophile vacuum tube amplifiers design, construction, testing. To do so, it starts from the singleended configuration, then it introduces the pushpull configuration. The nuclassd 50w classd hybrid amp using the nutube.
This project is intended to be built as designed and not piece milled with other designs. Guide to vacuum tube amplifier design this free guide discusses all relevant aspects for an integrated pushpull vacuum tube amplifier design, including the power supply unit. Spec said will be get 10w rms with 6l6 but actually never get 10w rms. To do so, it starts from the singleended configuration, then it introduces the push pull configuration. Enjoy crafting your very own heirloom audio component from this incredible kit. Vintage crown d150a stereo power amp speaker connectorswires incl. The author discusses classical tube circuits while adding newage tweaks to peak amplifier performance. Our new book applies 21stcentury technology to the design of guitar amplifier preamps. Building a brand new valve amplifier using the rh84 design and offtheshelf. It was created by aleksandar kitic, who has said that the amp was really designed for the first time builder, to provide results even with salvaged parts or the cheapest possible. In a nutshell, this program is a virtual workbench for single ended tube amplifier output stage design.
Ecc83 and 6aq5a which is able to produce a good 6watts of unclipped power. There is an article in audioxpress magazine may, 2009 i put together on this, so i wont post all the details about the design and construction please buy the magazine. The quality of the iron greatly affects the ultimate performance capability of the amplifier. I decided to build this small single ended amplifier based on 6l6 vacuum tube using a classic three stage single ended design. Tube amp design wikibooks, open books for an open world.
Singleended classa tube amplifier aug 10, 2007 2 this configuration serves two major functions. A compactron tripletriode driver for pushpull amps. Select an output transformer and a power tube from the builtin libraries. It is intended as a companion to design and construction of guitar and bass speaker systems. How to build a tube amplifier rob robinettes car and tube. Many years of research and refinement have gone into this design, and the outcome is spectacular. The configuration is built around two standard tubes viz. The objective of this project is to develop an output transformer for single ended tube amplifiers with.
Sep 22, 2019 the last thing you want is to have that moment of regret when you install a new tube amp and find that you overpaid when a cheaper priced model would have had all the same features. Never touch the amplifier chassis with one hand while probing with the other hand because a lethal shock can run between your arms through your heart. Following is a list of must have books for the serious tube amplifier designer. The cost of a tube amplifier mostly consists of the cost of an output transformer and tubes that is usually a factor limiting the sound quality. A schematic and the design details of this amplifier are available in mullard circuits for audio amplifiers book and in the national valve museum article. Cary audio design founder dennis had is largely responsible for popularizing single ended amplifiers in america. In this article a typical single ended tube amplifier circuit has been conversed. Buying a single ended tube amplifier may be an easier option, but building it at home can be fun and amusing too. Power supply sections cover vacuum tube and solid state rectifier conversion of. A very important consideration in attempting to create an amplifier with a natural characteristic is the selection of the gain devices. Even though 6l6 tube is used primary in guitar vacuum tube amplifiers, many manufacturers use this tube in audiophile designs.
The article also discusses a few enhancements in the form of. Keep this in mind when choosing your first build, anyone can piece together a complex amp. Higher powers are obtainable with either very large power valves, or by using multiple valves in parallel, but beyond about 15w it is usual to use. Having never built a single ended 300b amp, i figured the right thing to do would be to go overboard. Weve done the work for you and found 5 of the most popular high end tube amps on the market. The book explains the principles of vacuum tube electronics and the design of preamp voltage amplification stages, cathode followers, tone stacks, power amps, phase inverters, negative feedback, and power supplies. Since appearing on the scene in 1989, cary audio design has forged its own niche in the highend audio industry.
From schematic to ordering parts to cab design, it is all here and explained in detail. The rca 45 could be seen as a baby 300b, and some people will tell you its the best sounding of all single ended triodes out there. Selecting transformers or iron, as it is known to the tube audio doityourselfer, is usually the single most expensive category of parts required for any tube amp building project. The one guitar amp design the book discusses is an odd one that mixes the. Jul 31, 2017 the other speaker design thats often teamed with an set amp is the single driver speaker thats close to 100db efficient, has no crossover, and has very easy impedance curves. Stereo class a single ended audio amp headphone amplifier handcrafted with headphone amp function 3. Lone wolf blues company single ended 6l6 circuitry. Singleended class a operation is less efficient than pushpull. The design chosen for this project involves a single ended audio amplifier, which consists of a resistive input network, a driver stage, and an output stage to a typical 8 ohm loudspeaker load, all the while, using a minimum of supportive passive components for biasing and coupling duties. Singleended classa tube amplifier design and construction ben verellen, daniel nevistic, and max gorman m. The other speaker design thats often teamed with an set amp is the single driver speaker thats close to 100db efficient, has no crossover, and has very easy impedance curves. Imagine a single ended amp, one with one power tube running in actual single ended class a, like a champ.
The problem is as complexity increases the more likely you are to make an assembly mistake and troubleshooting a complex amp can be extremely difficult for a beginner. If you have not been trained to work with high voltage then have an amp technician service your amp. Maybe you hear some unique distortion and harmonic flavor. Not sure there could be a copy right on nfb unless it is a complex cct.
Singleended amplifiers tend to be bigger and more expensive than pushpull, but they have a more natural transfer curve. With the monopolar 24v power supply, we can expect an output power of about 6w into 8ohm loads. The power amp is switched into singleended operation by shorting the grid circuit of one power tube to ground and decoupling the power tube cathodes. They are usually used for relatively small amplifiers, e. Now imagine two output tubes, both running in true class a. To the personpersons responsible for developing, creating, and offering this excellent amplifier to the market, thank you for the professional hand craftsmanship you. By comparison a pair of the same tubes in class ab pushpull claim to output about 50w at 1% distortion higher powers at high distortion are quoted for guitar. The project details the build of a single ended 6l6 harp amp. The most popular highend tube amps in the market top tube. I spoke with dennis had about how he got started building amplifiers, and why hes so committed to single ended triode designs.
Kt886550 compatible single ended amplifier 5th jan 2014 using fladance mp player 8w rms. I have said it before and ill likely say it again, you must have a tube manual to work with tubes. If the first power tube checks out then move to the next tube up the circuit which will be another power tube for pushpull circuits or the driver tube for single ended amps. The physical function of the tube the most common tube type in audio amplifiers regardless if it is in power stages or in pre amplifiers is the socalled triode svwp. Make sure all the volumes, gains and master volumes are turned up a little when you check the preamp tubes so you can listen for a pop when probing the preamp tubes grid. Instruction book for specimen single ended stereo tube amp 62718. Some of them are long out of print, and can only be obtained from used book sellers, although they are occasionally seen for sale on the internet. To clarify the various concepts, many practical examples use el34, el84, and 12ax7 vacuum tubes to design the various parts of the circuits and to compute the values of the needed components. Single ended hi voltage, same as above, plus the need of a sufficient power triode.
It thus has three electrodes where two of them called anode and cathode reflects the diode function of the tube according to svwp. Continuing, the guide discusses how to design an integrated pushpull vacuum tube amplifier. A tube amplifier chassis contains lethal high voltage even when unpluggedsometimes over 700 volts ac and 500 volts dc. Why buy a single ended tube amplifier when you can build one. The book explains the principles of vacuum tube electronics and the design of preamp voltage amplification. Seta single ended tube amplifier audio design guide. Audio transformer is the primary part of a tube amplifier which generates an electromagnetic field. Another refugee from the 1930s its other big attraction is that not only are new valves available at well below 300b prices, but more importantly there are thousands of nos and used but good valves of various. An easily constructed highquality singleended 8w amplifier.
A trio of software programs for the intrepid tubephile. Single ended triode set tube amplifier schematic from the book build our own audio. Diy audio projects forum set single ended tube amps. The major factor involving the design of this single ended output stage is matching an available output tube to an available output transformer ot, which can provide the proper impedance matching. For those of you who want to have the warm sound of a vacuum tube amplifier, when playing guitar or just listening to. Singleended classa tube amplifier design and construction. The following design adds a triode to a zen singleended amplifier, so that the triode can impose its amplification factor upon the output signal. Next select the type of bias fixed or cathode and power supply dc or ac. Single ended stereo amp kit current models, hifi tube amps.
Beside that, el34, el84, and 12ax7 vacuum tubes are used in many practical examples, to design the various parts of the circuits and to compute the values of the needed components. A single unbipassed resistor on the cathode of the driver stage is hardly able intelligence. Feb 18, 2019 after doing some research it seemed the perfect beginners project was the rh84 singleended amplifier. New listing vintage sansui 3000a stereo receiver, oneowner amplifier, works great.
Which is the best singleended tube amp audiogon discussion. A stereo class a single ended design with kt88 kinkless tetrodes which produces 15w of output power per channel, and 5w when triodeconnected, is the antique sound lab mgsi15dt. Single ended triode set 2a3 tube amplifier schematic with. Had his amplifier been a classa design, either singleended or pushpull, then the highervalued choke might have sounded better. Single ended class a operation is less efficient than pushpull. The book explains the principles of vacuum tube electronics and the design of preamp voltage amplification stages, cathode followers, tone stacks, power amps, phase inverters, negative feedback. Whats so irresistible about a singleended triode set amp. Highquality singleended 8w amplifier using standard valves and the lundahl ll 1664 output transformer claus byrith 2002.
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