Now that is not to say everybody needs to be able to design Doug's amp themselves to be qualified to build it but IMHO you should at least have a grasp of what each part is doing and why it is in the circuit. Or to put it another way, how can you be sure what you built is safe if you don't know what half the parts are and what they are doing in the circuit? Doug is a nice guy and all but you owe it to yourself to be able to double check his work and see that it is safe (I am sure Doug would agree and not take offense at this comment).

So no, tube audio isn't a "novice" thing. Guess that means you are not as much of a novice as you think you are huh?

The Seth is "simpler" on paper. I got to hear one at my house last night but I can't comment until the other mono block is done and I get to hear it in stereo.

Russ