DIY tube Kits that members have finished and recommend?

[Myvinylweighsatonne]

I am hoping a member out there has built a simple tube amp which they can recommend.  Especially one that they have had experience building themselves. Ideally a complete DIY kit for the Australian system.

 

I want to build a tube amp from a basic Kit but I prefer to get everything from one supplier with a manual that matches the kit and starter DIY . 

 

Any advice??

 

Thanks

[mwhouston]

I am hoping a member out there has built a simple tube amp which they can recommend.  Especially one that they have had experience building themselves. Ideally a complete DIY kit for the Australian system.

 

I want to build a tube amp from a basic Kit but I prefer to get everything from one supplier with a manual that matches the kit and starter DIY . 

 

Any advice??

 

Thanks

K12 kits from S5 Electronics - http://www.s5electronics.com/thome.html

[Sierra]

This is the DIY amp kit that I built a few years ago from Bob Latino.

It's based on the famous American Dynaco Stereo 70 (ST-70) designed back in the late 1950's which used EL34's and had an output of 35 watts per channel.

 

Bob offers a kit of the original Stereo 70 but utilizing modern circuit design and an upgrade of various components compared to the original design.

While the physical layout remains faithfull to the original.

He also offers a more powerful version called the Stereo 120 (ST-120) upgraded to run a larger power transfomer, larger output transformers and KT88 tubes for an output of 60 watts per channel.

 

I opted to build the bigger ST-120 version for a bit more grunt.

 

Bob's kits are of excellent quality and extremely well documented in it's constuction notes.

All compnents are bagged and labeled for ease of identification.

 

If you can handle a soldering iron and know the difference between a resistor and a capacitor you can build this kit.

While I had built solid state amplifier kits defore this was the first time that I had built a valve amp and done point to point wiring ... it was a lot of fun.

 

And the best thing is that it's an awesome sounding amp.

 

I've included a few build pictures so you get an idea of what the kit is like and how it goes together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Myvinylweighsatonne]

Thanks for such a detailed and positive response. I am looking into his kits now. The photos you supplied look great and the finished amp looks beautiful. Well done.  I can only imagine the sense of warmth you feel from knowing it was your creation. 

 

I can solder and recognise a capacitor so fingers crossed if I find the right kit. I have done the LM 3886 Chipamp route. 

 

Thanks and congrats.... 

 

Jason

[Myvinylweighsatonne]

I just checked the K12 kits from S5 Electronics, they seem like really easy kits and good value. Are they any good??

 

...... as a child I used to have the Dick Smith 100 in 1 electronics kit, loved it,  lots of fun and while their projects functioned.... 

 

K12 kits looks like a great way to dip my toes in the DIY tube world the .... but the Bob Latino looks like the finish line.

 

 

I think I might need to swim first....

Edited November 24, 2015 by Myvinylweighsatonne

[cobar53]

I have made a few DIY amps

I like tubes4hifi the best. http://www.tubes4hifi.com/pre11.htm Roy is very helpful and even arranged for timber enclosures for me.

The finish is superb.

 

I cannot recommend Tubelab. I made one of those but the site is ancient and emails are ignored.

There is a DIY forum that keeps him going though.

 

I like Transcendent http://www.transcendentsound.com/Home.html and have made Bruce's Grounded Grid Pre-amp and his 300b OTL but these might be over the top

 

I have made some Bottlehead gear - http://bottlehead.com/ - good designs,easy to make but not pretty. And they have a sense of humour.

[Newman]

If it's a kit then it's not DIY, it's IKEA Audio.

[Newman]

Of course, my house is entirely glass on this point 

[Myvinylweighsatonne]

Cobar, thanks for the leads..... I actually dont mind the look of the bottlehead........

 

as for the idea that if its a kit its not DIY....... with an extension of that logic.... do I have to make the tubes itself??? hand carve the nobs.....tie my donkey to a wheel and generate the electricity... beat the donkey at a regular pace so its a constant flow....

[acg]

No, but probably pick a circuit, choose the parts and manufacture the case yourself. That is diy...if you can design the circuit yourself then even better... But working to a formula is like putting together an Ikea chair with a screwdriver as opposed to carving and finishing the wood yourself.

That's the way I feel... I'm doing both... You learn a whole lot more when you start with just a circuit diagram.

[thermonicavenger]

Acg. Everybody has to start somewhere & telling someone the nuances of the tango when they are taking their first steps may not be quite so encouraging. Step by step one thing leads to another. Besides building an audio amplifier in kit form is definitely more educational & involving than screwing together modular furnishings with an allen key

[Equaliser]

Does a kit with a BOM count?

 

There's a few I can recommend but are from the US so not local stuff. Might be bit pricey. 

Edited November 28, 2015 by DefQon

[acg]

Acg. Everybody has to start somewhere & telling someone the nuances of the tango when they are taking their first steps may not be quite so encouraging. Step by step one thing leads to another. Besides building an audio amplifier in kit form is definitely more educational & involving than screwing together modular furnishings with an allen key

Of course you are right and I meant nothing disparaging by my comments. I guess it all comes down to what you think the "I" means in Diy...does it mean "I need an amplifier that does xyz...let's build it" or does it mean "I need an amplifier that does xyz, let's find someone that knows how to build it and get a kit from them". Semantics really, and does not change a thing in this thread at all.

For example, I recently have built a preamplifier for an accelerometer and purchased a pcb and case from a guy that has done the design and legwork and research to get it working properly. Is it diy of I choose the components and order them and install them on a pcb if I make little effort to understand how the circuit works? I would say no. But I am also building a 6 channel valve amplifier and have only the important parts of the circuit diagram..the rest is up to me... pcbs, component choices, case, cooling, service voltages and circuits. Is that Diy? I would say yes because I need to understand things to just get the thing to work... It's not just following the outlined steps to get the end result.

Like I said earlier... It is all semantics really.

[hochopeper]

Anthony are you posting from the cricket?

[acg]

Yes. Good game too...

[kranky]

+1 for Bottlehead kits

[zog]

If it's a kit then it's not DIY, it's IKEA Audio.

 

of course you aren't doing it properly unless you go down this path:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzyXMEpq4qw

 

but then...

 

[betocool]

of course you aren't doing it properly unless you go down this path:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzyXMEpq4qw

 

but then...

 

 

 

Yeah, where does one draw the line.

 

For me it's DIY if you have to put it together... the IKEA way. Fuzzy border really... YMMV.

 

How about we get back to the original topic, it's interesting enough, from draw your own circuit to build your preassembled kit.... I'll be looking into tubes in the not too distant future (aka, between now and retirement....)

[zog]

Yeah, where does one draw the line.

 

For me it's DIY if you have to put it together... the IKEA way. Fuzzy border really... YMMV.

 

 

 

I concur.. as I'm not good with my hands the (solid state) kit amp I made was still a great learning challenge and fun as building the enclosure, mounting the heatsink, etc still ended up with problems to solve.

 

any quality valve kit should also have the suitable stress on electrical safety in the docs that any valve circuit will need attention to.

[Myvinylweighsatonne]

just started the latest SILICONE CHIP Pre Amp project.... thought it would be good as should be

1. Cost effective - (not really)

2. Should have all parts ready to rock in Jaycar. - (not so!!)

3. magazine will have clear directions and images. (directions 80%... images 3 reasonable one but no underneath shots to show RCAs connectors and power etc)....

waiting on parts now.....

[AstroNerd]

Anyone ordered, building a tube amp kit while stuck in isolation?

 

What did you order and from where? I'm getting bored out of my brain....

[Batty]

I built a tube pre amp kit, the Elekit TU-8500. From here https://www.elekit.co.jp/en/

 

Here is a link to a thread on SNA 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by Batty

[AstroNerd]

On 24/11/2015 at 11:35 PM, Sierra said:

This is the DIY amp kit that I built a few years ago from Bob Latino.

It's based on the famous American Dynaco Stereo 70 (ST-70) designed back in the late 1950's which used EL34's and had an output of 35 watts per channel.

 

Bob offers a kit of the original Stereo 70 but utilizing modern circuit design and an upgrade of various components compared to the original design.

While the physical layout remains faithfull to the original.

He also offers a more powerful version called the Stereo 120 (ST-120) upgraded to run a larger power transfomer, larger output transformers and KT88 tubes for an output of 60 watts per channel.

 

I opted to build the bigger ST-120 version for a bit more grunt.

 

Bob's kits are of excellent quality and extremely well documented in it's constuction notes.

All compnents are bagged and labeled for ease of identification.

 

If you can handle a soldering iron and know the difference between a resistor and a capacitor you can build this kit.

While I had built solid state amplifier kits defore this was the first time that I had built a valve amp and done point to point wiring ... it was a lot of fun.

 

And the best thing is that it's an awesome sounding amp.

 

I've included a few build pictures so you get an idea of what the kit is like and how it goes together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How much was shipping to Aus? The AUD is pretty low so thinking I should wait. 

 

 

[AstroNerd]

19 hours ago, Batty said:

I built a tube pre amp kit, the Elekit TU-8500. From here https://www.elekit.co.jp/en/

 

Here is a link to a thread on SNA 

 

 

 

Nice, I looked at the Elekit tube amp but for around $1600 I can't bring myself to buy it. Might go the larger ST-120 kit above which is a little bit more once you add all the extras and shipping.

[riggers]

I’ve built preamp,  phono stage with seperate power supply and power amp kits from World Designs in the UK.  And to satisfy the complete DIY experience built floor standing speakers (designed by Peter Comeau now of IAG - a modern take on Dynaco A25’s, built from details published in Hifi World re cabinet and X-overs).   The construction of the amps varies from pcb to point to point tagboard wiring up.  Excellent kits, great instructions and a very helpful forum.  Not cheap though, but I first went down this path in 2012 when the exchange rate with GBP was more favourable.  I can definitely vouch for the sound and general build quality.

Cheers

Phil.