My first vacuum tube amplifier

For a long time now I have been interested in vacuum tubes. I love their simplicity, sound, and the fact that the design hasnt changed since the early 1900’s. They also were used as transistors in early computers before the solid state transistor was invented. 50 years ago it would take an entire room of these to power a computer with less memory than a Casio wristwatch.


Anyway, this is a beautifully hand made oil-filled-cap integrated amplifier than runs in 80-watt Class A/B ultra-linear mode and 40-watt triode mode. I have it fitted with a set of Russian Electro-Harmonix tubes, the power coming from two sets of KT88’s. The sound is quite crisp with little to no hum or background noise which is surprising considering tubes are known for these issues. This paired with a set of Kef iQ5 floor standing speakers are wonderfully crisp and clean, especially with vocals. Now, to fix the weak link, the 5 dollar garage-sale bought record player. More to come on the DIY record player later.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 9:38 am and is filed under Audiophile, Electronics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.