VH Quality DIY

[Erik Mandaville]

Some might appreciate this. The amps not only look great, the level of craftsmanship is outstanding.

http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~tossie/

[Guest " "]

nice source of schematic's

[Erik Mandaville]

Go to the the Gallery link. Click on the amplifier. Both exterior and internal wiring (a lesson in economy and neatness).

[Erik Mandaville]

The short introduction section agrees with me, too.

Very possibly THE best point-to-point wiring that's shown up on these pages.

Erik

[jt1stcav]

Looks like the Japanese builder found just about every output tube there is and designed an amplifier around it. Very clean and nicely laid out.

[Erik Mandaville]

I agree, Jim. Obviously a creative, talented, and prolific builder.

[thebes]

Very pretty stuff Eric, but it leads me to a question.

It seems like almost everybody who DIY's tube audio
builids amp, mostly SET. What about pre-amps? Are building
these more complicated, harder to get right, difficult to add phono?
I'm not talking passive but the real deal, volume knob, balance
control, RIAA and MC and cd. Oh yes and cheap, cheap cheap but
soundwise great, great, great.

[Erik Mandaville]

Thebes:

If you go to the Gallery link on the site I posted, you will actually find quite a few push-pull designs. I'm in the middle of one myself now, and hope to get that done when I have some other pending things out of the way.

Sure, preamps are just as common, and aren't necessarily more complicated. That's not to say they're aren't complex line and phono stages, because I have seen some that absolutely are. Just depends on the design, the abilities of the builder, and so forth. I think good phono stages are harder to get right than a simple line stages, but I don't think they are less common. I subscribed to Glass Audio for years, and preamps were very common; as they continue to be in the more recent conglomerate of Glass Audio and Speaker Builder, Audio Express.

I understand you weren't talking passive, and have made a number of of active linestages -- which did in fact happen to include your 'real deal, volume knob and balance control. Volume control connections on a passive preamp are essentially the same as what is done in an active gain stage, Thebes. Three connections: 1) input 2) wiper (output) and 3) ground.

Erik

[thebes]

Cool!

To me it was just a feeling that it seemed
like there was more DIY SET amongst the hobbyists out there, and I was
thinking because they are probably easier to build and tweak.
Just a feeling from what I've read here over the last couple of
years.

Right now I have a CJ PV3 in my
downstairs system and quite frankly I'd like to do better but am low on
dough for the store-bought, even used stuff. I know how to order
parts and can sorta read a schematic, and I can sorta solder.
Can't even swing the Merlin.

Would you have anything among your literature that would
make a good project where I wouldn't have to make a board (I'm thinking
realtively simple point-to-point that I could brew up in the $300 to
$400 range with a phono? Obviously a parts list would be a
neccessity. I've also got two very large Hammond chokes that I
think I could use one of them since they didn't work out in my Bogen
rebuild so that's some savings there. These would be paired with
Bogen Mo100a's that are diode rectified and oddles of power. I'd
like to use the pre to get some of the silicon scratch out of them and
the CJ just doesn't seem to do it. Incredible amps by the way that
belie their PA origins. Deep wide and detailed.

Not sure if I have the chops for this but I'm really thinking about it.

[pauln]

Thanks Erik, that guy is an artist! Nice to see the innerds and schemo's as well.

Anyone on this forum own/operate any of these?