[Niclas] sent us his home made tube amplifier. For the case he used a computer power supply unit, took out the guts and replaced them with the amplifier board. He based this build off of an existing design but took a more minimalist approach. The wooden face plate has an on/off switch, an audio jack, and volume control. Apparently, the tubes are floating loose inside of the case. We’d recommend a more secure mounting method for these delicate parts.
17 thoughts on “Tube Amplifier In A PSU”
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You know what we really need? A good tutorial on making your own cases/boxes for projects – I’m a stranger to woodworking etc.
needs more leds
Be neat if the Valves popped out the top.
nah it wouldn’t
nice build, the valves are probably clipped to the lid.
40 volts on an el84, he must have a fetish for even order harmonics.
That thing needs at least 200 volts on its anode.
Just wanted to say thanks for the cool unique hardware hack posts. this is what hack a day is all about.
Can anyone confirm that they are using a regular transformer as the output transformer in this circuit?
Well tubes are thing of past but for hobby and good time this is great project
@therian tubes still have plenty of uses
for instance, in instrument amplifiers. they create a sound that is unreplicatible by other means. even diode clipping distortion can’t bring you the same sound as classic starved-circuit or hot-circuit tube distortion.
also for high power RF there is nothing strong as tubes
@they create a sound that is unreplicatible by other means
I think you mean “without more expensive equipment”. Tube distortion can be replicated in via software.
@ CH
While we can do some quite powerful things with our computers, but we can’t exactly replicate the sound of a tube amplifier. Why do you think so many audiophiles spend the time and money that they do to get their systems sounding the way they do rather than just installing a program on their computer or adding an in-line computer? Why do so many musicians make a choice of tubes vs. solid state? It’s all because they want that tube sound, and we CAN NOT replicate that in software.
“Why do you think so many audiophiles spend the time and money that they do to get their systems sounding the way they do” Same reason they buy 1K$/meter cables…
Actually, that power amplifier can fit into old DVD / CD box. EL84 have nice sound if used in feedback circuit and have just enough output power if used on medium efficiency loudspeakers.
This power amplifier looks like good candidate for driving AT-705 Electret Condenser headphones.
Tubes still have certain uses- an audio amplifier should not be one of them. You could make the argument that using a tube amp with an instrument gives you certain distortion that you like. But using a tube with a recording is doing nothing but distorting the music that the artist created. The goal of any amplifier should be just that- amplification- not distortion.
Do some audiophiles like tubes? Sure- because they look cool and are expensive- most audiophiles are idiots.
The only real use I have for tubes is extremely high power radio amplifiers. You can get solid state amps with high power capabilities- but they cost a small fortune.
Mark-
I disagree with your comments about tube amps and audio. Listening to music is about the experience, not about accurate reproduction.
*nobody* listens to music the way the artist intended. They twiddle knobs until it “sounds good.”
Even audiophiles jigger with their bass, treble, and eq settings, flat-response be damned. This also explains the morons driving around town, thumping music so loud that it literally drives their eardrums to the point of distortion.
The low plate voltage is the novelty; the article came from Elektor 10/2003 by Burkhard Kainka. Looks like a PCB is available from them, or at least was at one point: http://www.elektor.com/magazines/2003/october/valve-headphone-amplifier.55372.lynkx
Search around and you’ll find the article as well.