Audiophile Vacuum Tube Amplifiers Volume 3

Volume 3 of the most complete and practical modern reference on audiophile vacuum tube technology

If you liked the practical side of Volumes 1 and 2, Volume 3 will delight you. No theory, just dozens of practical designs, proven circuits and useful test & measurement methods.

Various directly-heated triodes are explored and used in line stages and power amplifiers, a true heaven for DHT lovers. Dozens of DIY and commercial amps and preamps with 2A3, 300B, VT25, #46, 12A, 201A, GM70, 805, 845, 813, 211A are described in detail, their circuits analyzed and improvements suggested. Most use no negative feedback and many feature interstage transformers or direct coupling.

Many less known preamplifier and driver tubes are also explored and used in practical designs: EL33, 12B4A, EC8010, 6EM7, 6DN7, 6N30P, 5670, C3m, C3g and 1626 (VT-137). Most sound divine in preamplifiers and driver stages of power amplifiers!

More than a dozen of vintage designs were discussed and analyzed, amplifiers that featured prominently in the history of hi-fi or are recommended as upgrade platforms, QUAD II, The Williamson amplifier, Dynaco MkIII, Quicksilver 8417 and Fisher SA-1000 among others.

Designs by contemporary amplifier makers such as Audio Research, E.A.R., Shindo Labs, Leben, Jadis, Audion, Bel Canto, Marantz and others, also feature prominently in this volume. Valuable lessons can be learned from these case studies.

Finally, for those who want proven, practical, ready-to-build designs, many of our own, tried & tested circuits are explained and analyzed. Most outperform expensive commercial audiophile gear by a wide margin. As an amateur DIY builder you are free to build them for your personal use, so just get your soldering iron ready and start building!

This practical DIY manual is richly and professionally illustrated with photographs of tubes, components and amplifiers, circuit diagrams, tube pinouts, curves and loadlines, graphs and charts. These valuable illustrations make it faster and easier to comprehend issues, a picture is worth a thousand words! All the information required to design and build tube amplifiers is compiled in one place.

Contents of Volume 3:

•WHY THE NEED FOR VOLUME 3, AND HOW IT DIFFERS FROM THE FIRST TWO>

•THE FRONT-END: SUPERIOR INPUT & DRIVER STAGES>

•FROM SHOCKING TO SUBLIME: LESSONS FROM COMMERCIAL LINE STAGES>

•DIY LINE-LEVEL PREAMPLIFIERS: $10,000 SOUND ON $500-$1,000 BUDGET>

•THE STARS OF THE AUDION ERA: ANCIENT TUBES IN MODERN AMPS>

•CHEAP & CHEERFUL: PREAMP & DRIVER TUBES FOR AUDIO EXPLORERS

•SLEEPING GIANTS: OUTPUT TUBES FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO BE DIFFERENT

•THE QUEEN OF HEARTS: SINGLE-ENDED AMPLIFIERS WITH 300B TRIODES

•TRIODES, PENTODES AND BEAM TUBES: MORE SINGLE-ENDED DESIGNS

•BIG BOTTLES: SET AMPLIFIERS WITH HIGH VOLTAGE TRANSMITTING TUBES

•THE WAY IT USED TO BE: VINTAGE PUSH-PULL AMPLIFIERS

•NEW? IMPROVED? MODERN PUSH-PULL AMPLIFIER DESIGNS

•CUTE, CLEVER OR CONTROVERSIAL? INTERESTING IDEAS FROM TUBE AUDIO'S PAST AND PRESENT

•THRIFTY TIPS & TRICKS: TIME & MONEY SAVING IDEAS

•OUTPUT AND INTERSTAGE TRANSFORMERS: FROM COMMERCIALBENCHMARKS TO YOUR OWN DESIGNS

•MEASUREMENTS VERSUS LISTENING AND OTHER AUDIO DESIGN DILEMMAS