Hello everyone, I am interested in buying an entry-level valve amplifier. I don't have much requirements in terms of power. The room is not so big and I will be sitting 2-3m away from the speakers. I want to connect my computer for listening to music (losless, high bitrate jazz/soundtracks/world music) and to watch movies. Low-mid volume, nothing loud. Could somebody plese recommend a pair of valve amp and speakers that is a good match? If that's not possible then just the valve amp. Many thanks in advance, Jubei
Hello. Your needs may be satisfied by a single-ended amplifier. One of the most common valve is EL84 (3-4 Watts of power), also it is a good sounding one. Why not to look simple schemes with this valve? Valve amplifiers are quite picky about speakers. Mostly they like full-range speakers (one driver).
Alex R. wrote: > Hello. Your needs may be satisfied by a single-ended amplifier. > One of > the most common valve is EL84 (3-4 Watts of power), also it is a good > sounding one. Why not to look simple schemes with this valve? Valve > amplifiers are quite picky about speakers. Mostly they like full-range > speakers (one driver). Hello Alex! Thanks for your post. By "scheme" you mean find an amp that uses this valve? By full-range speakers you mean a speaker that has a wide frequency response? Apologies for the simple questions but I'm a bit of a noob. Thanks in advance.
You're welcome. 1. Yes, you can find many amplifiers that use this valve. To get the most from valves, all the parts of an amplifier must be rather high quality. 2. Yes, that's right.
All my research so far brings up DIY kits and honestly I just want to buy an amp. 1. Are there any manufacturers that sell pre-built valve amps based on the EL84 at reasonable prices? 2. How would I go about matching an amp to speakers?
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#4363511
"scheme" stands for "schematics" or "circuit diagram". Wideband or full-range means a single speaker as opposed to a 2-way or 3-way system.
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#4363541
see also thinks like this http://www.ebay.de/itm/Bausatz-fur-bau-Stereo-HiFi-Rohrenverstarker-Rohren-Tube-AMP-Verstarker-/191738306723?hash=item2ca47e60a3:g:WyoAAOxyaTxTRpw6
Some volume potentiometers in these KITs tend to fail after a while. Also you need to select a good output transformer. I'm not sure that modern stuff is good, while not being expensive. Maybe you should find old audio-transformers from a good tube radios - correct me, if i'm wrong.
Thank you all for the great advice but as I noted earlier, I am not looking for a kit. I want to buy a ready-made amplifier. One that has warranty etc.
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#4363662
You may look on old high class tube radio schematics. E.g. the RFT radio "Beethoven" has an excellent sound. I owned it as a schoolboy for 20,-M (former GDR bucks). It has separate output stages for bass and treble, because it was easier to make transformers for a certain frequency in opposition to full range. Also the tone regulator schematic works good. Because the AZ12 was broken, I soldered into the AZ12 socket two 1000V/1A Diodes with 100R in series. Following the schematic: http://www.gfgf.org/GFGF-Schaltplandienst/SternRadioRochlitz_Beethoven_sch.pdf
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#4363687
Jubei K. wrote: > I want to buy a ready-made amplifier. One that has > warranty etc. Then I fear, you must spend a lot of money to get good quality. I use a transistor amp (Onkyo) with digital input (Toslink) on the computer. This prevent switch on click, ground loops, noise, humming and other hassle.
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#4363728
Hi, I think this combination fits well http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/diyaudio-com-articles/158899-arpeggio-loudspeaker.html http://de.aliexpress.com/item/Raphaelite-DS84-Single-ended-EL84-HIFI-mini-power-tube-integrated-amplifier/32292936462.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_6_79_78_77_80,searchweb201644_5,searchweb201560_6 or this amp is a little louder http://de.aliexpress.com/item/Raphaelite-DP84-Push-pull-EL84-HIFI-mini-power-tube-integrated-amplifier-2-10W/32293180599.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_6_79_78_77_80,searchweb201644_5,searchweb201560_6