It's winter, and the amplifier in my PC speakers just died.

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a toob speaker amp, but I'm too lazy
(and time-challenged) to build one up from scratch.

Are there, by any chance, kits out there? I'm not looking for nickel-
cored transformers with solid silver windings, genuine paper caps rolled
on the thighs of virgins, toobs dipped in LN2, and all that crap: I'm
just looking for something that'll give the audio quality of a mid-range
amplified speaker set, in a cabinet that shows off the fact that it all
uses ancient technology to get the job done.

Suggestions welcome.

TIA

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

On Mon, 02 Dec 2013 12:58:56 -0600, Tim Wescott
wrote:

It's winter, and the amplifier in my PC speakers just died.

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a toob speaker amp, but I'm too lazy
(and time-challenged) to build one up from scratch.

Are there, by any chance, kits out there? I'm not looking for nickel-
cored transformers with solid silver windings, genuine paper caps rolled
on the thighs of virgins, toobs dipped in LN2, and all that crap: I'm
just looking for something that'll give the audio quality of a mid-range
amplified speaker set, in a cabinet that shows off the fact that it all
uses ancient technology to get the job done.

Suggestions welcome.

TIA

All of my tube amplifiers, starting when I was only 14 years old, were
all open-chassis style. Only the preamplifier (Dynaco PAT-1, IIRC)
and the tuner, Dynaco FM-3, had cases.

I quit tubes in 1962 and built my first 30W+30W solid state power
amplifier using Motorola RF power transistors.

Having played clarinet in high school orchestra, marching band and
various Dixieland and dance bands, I was never fond of the toooob
"warmth"... and the intermodulation distortion... a good Mozart
wood-wind ensemble that includes a French horn will illustrate
distortion better than any test instrument.

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Mon, 02 Dec 2013 12:58:56 -0600, Tim Wescott
wrote:

It's winter, and the amplifier in my PC speakers just died.

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a toob speaker amp, but I'm too lazy
(and time-challenged) to build one up from scratch.

Are there, by any chance, kits out there? I'm not looking for nickel-
cored transformers with solid silver windings, genuine paper caps rolled
on the thighs of virgins, toobs dipped in LN2, and all that crap: I'm
just looking for something that'll give the audio quality of a mid-range
amplified speaker set, in a cabinet that shows off the fact that it all
uses ancient technology to get the job done.

Suggestions welcome.

TIA

Just for fun, you might do a single stage class-A stage using a 2A3. I
did one when I was a kid, but with 5 in parallel ;-)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Jim Thompson wrote:
On Mon, 02 Dec 2013 12:58:56 -0600, Tim Wescott
wrote:

It's winter, and the amplifier in my PC speakers just died.

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a toob speaker amp, but I'm too lazy
(and time-challenged) to build one up from scratch.

Are there, by any chance, kits out there? I'm not looking for nickel-
cored transformers with solid silver windings, genuine paper caps rolled
on the thighs of virgins, toobs dipped in LN2, and all that crap: I'm
just looking for something that'll give the audio quality of a mid-range
amplified speaker set, in a cabinet that shows off the fact that it all
uses ancient technology to get the job done.

Suggestions welcome.

TIA

Just for fun, you might do a single stage class-A stage using a 2A3. I
did one when I was a kid, but with 5 in parallel ;-)

...Jim Thompson
Better yet, a push-pull transformerless design!

In article ,
says...

Jim Thompson wrote:
On Mon, 02 Dec 2013 12:58:56 -0600, Tim Wescott
wrote:

It's winter, and the amplifier in my PC speakers just died.

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a toob speaker amp, but I'm too lazy
(and time-challenged) to build one up from scratch.

Are there, by any chance, kits out there? I'm not looking for nickel-
cored transformers with solid silver windings, genuine paper caps rolled
on the thighs of virgins, toobs dipped in LN2, and all that crap: I'm
just looking for something that'll give the audio quality of a mid-range
amplified speaker set, in a cabinet that shows off the fact that it all
uses ancient technology to get the job done.

Suggestions welcome.

TIA

Just for fun, you might do a single stage class-A stage using a 2A3. I
did one when I was a kid, but with 5 in parallel ;-)

...Jim Thompson
Better yet, a push-pull transformerless design!

I remember a quasie tube output, that was bad car ma.

It required a safety circuit on the output, not for users but for
equipment. The outfit could care less about the user safety!

This was a magnetic server that required a broad range of bw.
the tube outputs were a pair of 4-400Z. Had dual HV supply because you
needed the - rail for the bottom side. each heater had their own
transformer with CT to tie off to the common for pinch off biasing.

The top side had some strange method of driving the tube, but it worked

Jamie

Maynard A. Philbrook Jr. wrote:
In ,
says...

Jim Thompson wrote:
On Mon, 02 Dec 2013 12:58:56 -0600, Tim Wescott
wrote:

It's winter, and the amplifier in my PC speakers just died.

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a toob speaker amp, but I'm too lazy
(and time-challenged) to build one up from scratch.

Are there, by any chance, kits out there? I'm not looking for nickel-
cored transformers with solid silver windings, genuine paper caps rolled
on the thighs of virgins, toobs dipped in LN2, and all that crap: I'm
just looking for something that'll give the audio quality of a mid-range
amplified speaker set, in a cabinet that shows off the fact that it all
uses ancient technology to get the job done.

Suggestions welcome.

TIA

Just for fun, you might do a single stage class-A stage using a 2A3. I
did one when I was a kid, but with 5 in parallel ;-)

...Jim Thompson
Better yet, a push-pull transformerless design!

I remember a quasie tube output, that was bad car ma.

It required a safety circuit on the output, not for users but for
equipment. The outfit could care less about the user safety!

This was a magnetic server that required a broad range of bw.
the tube outputs were a pair of 4-400Z. Had dual HV supply because you
needed the - rail for the bottom side. each heater had their own
transformer with CT to tie off to the common for pinch off biasing.

The top side had some strange method of driving the tube, but it worked

Jamie


I may still have circuits and/or designs of transformerless tube
speaker drivers that were purported to be perfectly safe to touch active
lines (do not ask which lines, do not remember).
And yes, the circuitry is weird on the push-pull drivers; there was
even a full bridge version.

On Mon, 2 Dec 2013, Robert Baer wrote:

Maynard A. Philbrook Jr. wrote:
In ,
says...

Jim Thompson wrote:
On Mon, 02 Dec 2013 12:58:56 -0600, Tim Wescott
wrote:

It's winter, and the amplifier in my PC speakers just died.

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a toob speaker amp, but I'm too lazy
(and time-challenged) to build one up from scratch.

Are there, by any chance, kits out there? I'm not looking for nickel-
cored transformers with solid silver windings, genuine paper caps rolled
on the thighs of virgins, toobs dipped in LN2, and all that crap: I'm
just looking for something that'll give the audio quality of a mid-range
amplified speaker set, in a cabinet that shows off the fact that it all
uses ancient technology to get the job done.

Suggestions welcome.

TIA

Just for fun, you might do a single stage class-A stage using a 2A3. I
did one when I was a kid, but with 5 in parallel ;-)

...Jim Thompson
Better yet, a push-pull transformerless design!

I remember a quasie tube output, that was bad car ma.

It required a safety circuit on the output, not for users but for
equipment. The outfit could care less about the user safety!

This was a magnetic server that required a broad range of bw.
the tube outputs were a pair of 4-400Z. Had dual HV supply because you
needed the - rail for the bottom side. each heater had their own
transformer with CT to tie off to the common for pinch off biasing.

The top side had some strange method of driving the tube, but it worked

Jamie


I may still have circuits and/or designs of transformerless tube speaker
drivers that were purported to be perfectly safe to touch active lines (do
not ask which lines, do not remember).
And yes, the circuitry is weird on the push-pull drivers; there was even a
full bridge version.


Make the speakers electrostatic, and then drive them from the "plates" of
high voltage mosfets.

Wont' be so good for the low frequencies, but then a lot of computer
speakers arent' good down there anyway, the "subwoofers" not being useful
for the actual frequencies where subwoofers kick in.

Michael

In sci.electronics.design Tim Wescott wrote:
Are there, by any chance, kits out there?

Google says there is a "headphone preamp" kit for $60 to $70 that uses
2x 6N3 for stereo. (Google "Sainsmart 6N3" or "Riorand 6N3"). I can't
find an output power spec, though. There is also an "Indeed/Bravo"
stereo headphone amp talked about on forums, which apparently has 12AU7
and 6922 versions. Not sure on the output power or where to buy. After
that, prices seem to start at $150 for one channel and head skyward
from there.

Suggestions welcome.

Use toobs that need 5 V, 500 mA or less at the filaments and you can
power each filament off of a USB port! Or, ask Antec if they have a
PC power supply with DC outputs at +200, +12, +5, +3.3, -5, and -12 V,
and an AC output of 6.3 or 12.6 V - Chinese engineers need to laugh too!

Buy a couple of old toob radios at the thrift store and use the best
power transformer (get ones that have one), both output toobs, and the
chassis to roll your own? Schematics for old radios are pretty easy to
find on the interweb.

Matt Roberds

On 12/2/2013 1:58 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:
It's winter, and the amplifier in my PC speakers just died.

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a toob speaker amp, but I'm too lazy
(and time-challenged) to build one up from scratch.

Are there, by any chance, kits out there? I'm not looking for nickel-
cored transformers with solid silver windings, genuine paper caps rolled
on the thighs of virgins, toobs dipped in LN2, and all that crap: I'm
just looking for something that'll give the audio quality of a mid-range
amplified speaker set, in a cabinet that shows off the fact that it all
uses ancient technology to get the job done.

Suggestions welcome.

TIA


This kit has been around forever and seems to get good reviews:

http://store.tubedepot.com/diy-k12g....FWLNOgoduWkAIA

There's also this little kit from a Chinese seller on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hifi-stereo-...p2054897.l4275

which has the output transformers on board - you'd need to supply a
power transformer.

You'd have to put them in a chassis if you wanted it, but since they're
both mounted on PCBs it shouldn't be too hard: buy an aluminum chassis
and punch holes for the tubes, mount the board underneath so the tubes
poke through and then mount the transformers underneath or on top as
your preference.

On Mon, 02 Dec 2013 15:54:52 -0500, bitrex wrote:

On 12/2/2013 1:58 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:
It's winter, and the amplifier in my PC speakers just died.

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a toob speaker amp, but I'm too lazy
(and time-challenged) to build one up from scratch.

Are there, by any chance, kits out there? I'm not looking for nickel-
cored transformers with solid silver windings, genuine paper caps
rolled on the thighs of virgins, toobs dipped in LN2, and all that
crap: I'm just looking for something that'll give the audio quality of
a mid-range amplified speaker set, in a cabinet that shows off the fact
that it all uses ancient technology to get the job done.

Suggestions welcome.

TIA


This kit has been around forever and seems to get good reviews:

http://store.tubedepot.com/diy-k12g.html?
vfsku=diy.k12g.2&gpla=pla&gclid=CJL-56C1krsCFWLNOgoduWkAIA

There's also this little kit from a Chinese seller on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hifi-stereo-...one-amplifier-
diy-kit-/230910167825?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

which has the output transformers on board - you'd need to supply a
power transformer.

You'd have to put them in a chassis if you wanted it, but since they're
both mounted on PCBs it shouldn't be too hard: buy an aluminum chassis
and punch holes for the tubes, mount the board underneath so the tubes
poke through and then mount the transformers underneath or on top as
your preference.

Thanks. That's exactly what I was looking for, except that now that I
know what a fair price is, I may just buy new speakers .

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com