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Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10220] Thu, 21 October 2004 10:44 Go to next message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
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Well; just for giggles I ordered Rods death of Zen pre-amp boards and they came today. Look nice. I am going to put them together with the chip amp el-supremo version and see what we get. Sure is easy building with these boards. At the same time I recieved the crossover boards. I have ordered Kaufman's tube xover and Rods. I am going to build both and compare using Wayne's suggested component values on the Theater 4's. J.R.

Re: Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10221 is a reply to message #10220] Thu, 21 October 2004 17:01 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
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Now that's a cool set of fall/winter projects! Please keep us informed!

Re: Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10222 is a reply to message #10220] Fri, 22 October 2004 12:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
GarMan is currently offline  GarMan
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Good god, JR! How many pieces of equipment do you have?!

Re: Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10223 is a reply to message #10222] Fri, 22 October 2004 15:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
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Nothing unusual, I am a squirrel for sure. These boards are cheap and small and the power supplies are interchangeable so it is less than it appears. I know you are examining the possibility of building a tube amp with KT-88's and I too thought about that. Roy Mottram convinced me that using the upgraded ST 70 transformers really wasn't the way to go and I would be better off waiting until I can afford the proper trans. So while I sell and save I am keeping busy with these little chip and transistor projects. The only problem is the upgraded chip amp boards are sounding very good the more they break in. Listening to them on a daily basis I am very pleased and have lost some of the urgency surrounding the tube project.
Therefor I am considoring using the newly ordered tube xover boards on a smaller sized Pi project; maybe the Stage 3, and powering each driver with a chip amp. Garman, have you seen the BEBE-T amp project site? It is Rod Elliotts class A death of Zen amp. Good reviews.

Re: Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10224 is a reply to message #10223] Sat, 23 October 2004 17:59 Go to previous messageGo to next message
GarMan is currently offline  GarMan
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Ya, I was interested in doing a high powered KT88 amp project this winter, specifically the one in VTV19. A couple of things turned me off though. The first was sticker shock after I priced out the total cost of iron for the project. I'm all for getting the best sound possible, but cost-wise, that was out of my league.

The second reason was that I finally realized that a tube amp was not the best solution for what I was looking for. The underlining reason why I was interested in a high power tube amp was because I was scouting out an all tube multi-amp system. But I finally accepted the fact that a used pro SS amp for the bass region (150Hz or less) would give the most bang for the buck. I can get a used 150Wx2 pro amp for about $300.

Those chip amps are great little projects, but for me, they never turn out as cheap as planned. I always end up "upgrading" on parts and it's a real problem.

Thanks for the link on the BEBE-T. I'll check it out this weekend. BTW, if you're looking for a small and inexpensive speaker project, you have to try the Studio-1. I love those little speakers!

Gar.



Re: Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10225 is a reply to message #10224] Sat, 23 October 2004 20:27 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
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You mean the Pi Studio 1's? Also I found Par Metal; a really good, cheap source for enclosures. I checked one out today and they are made better than Hammonds for less money. What do you spend on for the chip amps; Trans/caps/resistors?

Re: Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10226 is a reply to message #10225] Sun, 24 October 2004 20:02 Go to previous messageGo to next message
GarMan is currently offline  GarMan
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Mostly trans and caps. And enclosure too.

Re: Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10227 is a reply to message #10226] Mon, 25 October 2004 07:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
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Did you happen to get a chance to check out par-metal. I thought they had good prices. What about Rel-caps? Good but cheap. James or Avel trans. I am just throwing out some of the ideas I have considered to lower the cost of these things and I am always open to suggestions myself.

Re: Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10228 is a reply to message #10227] Mon, 25 October 2004 13:02 Go to previous messageGo to next message
GarMan is currently offline  GarMan
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Yes, I have checked out Par Metal. And thanks for the tip on component selection too. Let's just say I've been a little "non-progressive" about accepting the "Global Economy" nature of the Internet. I've pretty much been buying components from the three sources of partsconnexion.com, thetubestore.com, and digikey.ca simply because they ship out of Canada. The delivery charges have been extremely low, often delivered next day, and I have no surprises with unpredictable extra charges such as duty. And between the three of them, I've been able to find everything I need. My problem isn't the lack of low cost options, but convincing myself the lower cost components can sound just as good. Mind you, I've never used Jensen caps at $35 a pop or $6 Caddock resistors, but it would certainly help a lot if I can just settle for the Orange Drops for coupling instead of the AuriCaps.

Gar.

Re: Rod Elliotts pre-amp [message #10229 is a reply to message #10228] Mon, 25 October 2004 14:50 Go to previous message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
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Yeah; it's funny but I find I must agree with you there. Loyalty seems to be underated these days. Maybe I am getting old but I used to walk around Edlies Electronics just for kicks. Somehow internet shopping just isn't the same. The only answer seems to be design with as few components as possible and make them the best you can manage. Nice filter links BTW.

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