Sequestering... timing is everything. Earlier in the year I started to buy stuff to build an amp and it came together just as sheltering began. I built high efficiency horns for the Nest 'cause I intended to drive 'em with a low power single ended triode (SET) amp - which I have also now completed! The SET classic circuit is the least adulterated of any audio reproduction scheme... nothing is in the way - no feedback in amplification. Anyway... SET amps are also a freak fringe of audiophilia ~ even more so if you build your own to dial in the best parts. And "the best" may imply using 300B power tubes, a naked circuit, spectacular transformers, and high spec components like tantalum resistors. So, I'm ushering a full 8 watts of ultra-clean, ultra-quiet power with 300B tubes + special triple c-core output transformers to drive my ~8ohm high sensitivity DRC BLH + ribbon super-tweeter loads. I chose Audio Note Kits (ANK) to consolidate the far ranging supply chain (and save me a massive pain) and provide a decent chassis, it's the Kit 1 - 10th Anniversary Edition. It worked; I've built one of the most sought high-end 300B tube SET amps in the world. Here are the basic steps - basically 4 days of construction and test, but just finished as I awaited some final parts. The amp is awesome and I can hardly wait to deploy it to the Nest with the new DAC.
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| 40 pounds of transformers arrive |
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| The rest of the supply chain converges |
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| Workspace ready |
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| C-Core output transformers ready to mount |
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| Main transformer and choke ready to mount |
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| Transformers and preamp plate installed |
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| Power switch and IEC receptacle installed |
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| The working side henceforth |
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| Ready to build three PC borads: power, filter |
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| Hardwiring 300B bases |
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| Boards completed and tested for fit |
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| Interconnect wiring underway |
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| Volume, input selector, speaker posts, and inputs installed and wired |
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All tubes present & accounted for
(bottom: pre-amp, middle: power supply, top: 300B output power) |
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| DC voltages verified - 5, 70, 435volts! |
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| Tubes, mostly Russian, loaded and ready for music test. |
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| Front (without faceplate) |
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| Rear |
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| Fired up for the 1st time |
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| Pre-amp section |
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| Power-amp tubes. |
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| Fired up and verifying @ night. |
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