Wow! Another tube amp that I just have to have!

[HiTech]

**broken link removed**

Check out those tube dampers... a must! And what about those quality rubber feet? But the most important feature of this DIY amp are the two rack handles mounted atop the chassis. Without those this item would be rendered useless! This kit is available for $139 US.

 

[Andy1845c]

It looks like somthing out of a mad scientist's laboratory in a cheesy movie.

What are those rack handles for anyway? It looks like the chassis is part of a kitchen appliance from a McDonalds.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Even worse are those cheap and nasty Chinese looking transformers!.

 

[House0Fwax]

Cheap transformers, rack handles and shiney modern case... Where's the bakelite ?

 

[HiTech]

How about those microphonic dampers around the tubes themselves? Makes me think the tubes are part of a Stargate! And yes those Xformers are indcative of cheap, Chinese origins. The gentleman's website has other tube amps available.... all similar in cheeziness!

 

[picasm]

How about those microphonic dampers around the tubes themselves? Makes me think the tubes are part of a Stargate! And yes those Xformers are indcative of cheap, Chinese origins. The gentleman's website has other tube amps available.... all similar in cheeziness!

The photo is actually on a web site of someone who has bought a kit and made his own case and accessories for it.

Ok, the transformers do look cheap, but so is the kit - if you look at the reviews, it appears that was only intended as an affordable, stereo valve amp with a good performance and nothing more.

I think the case would have looked far better if he had not tried to make it look more expensive than it was.

 

[audioguru]

No spec's for the old fashioned looking amp?
10W per channel from 100Hz to 10kHz?
3% distortion with new tubes, higher as they age?
No damping to tame speaker resonances?

 

[RDL2004]

I have one of these amps, and I agree with most of the reviews of it in that it actually sounds very good for what it cost (about $150 including shipping). Obviously there was some cost cutting in the design (i.e. the output transformers).

The specs are not that bad for a little tube amp, I think it measured at something like 15-60kHZ -3db and 1% distortion at 1 watt. I have mine in the bedroom and listen to cds on it through a Sony Walkman and a pair of Athena AS-B1 speakers. It sounds very nice at moderate volume.

For those who commented on how this person decided to house their kit, perhaps you would like to post a pic of something you have built

I was lazy and just screwed mine onto a block of wood.

 

[audioguru]

I found spec's for it.
A whopping 8 Whats per channel. At 50% distortion? Peak power? Music power?
Distortion is <1% at 1 W. My clock radio has 0.1% distortion at 1W.

 

[kchriste]

I found spec's for it.
A whopping 8 Whats per channel. At 50% distortion? Peak power? Music power?
Distortion is <1% at 1 W. My clock radio has 0.1% distortion at 1W.

It sounds like you'll get a kick out of some of the experiments on this page then:
**broken link removed**

 

[HiTech]

In my town people throw out old tube stereos weekly at the curb. Those big old wooden consoles that look pretty and all are stuffed with the junkiest of turntables, lousy tuners, poor quality speakers, and amplifiers that are on par with that kit. But the piece of furniture looks good in the dining rooms of the elderly.... versus those modular all-in-one stereos that are plastic and have extremely cheap sound through equally junky satellite speakers.

 

[audioguru]

Are you also a Bose-basher? Their satellite speaker systems are expensive cheap junk. Maybe Dr. Bose is a veterinarian quack doctor.

 

[JimB]

It sounds like you'll get a kick out of some of the experiments on this page then:
**broken link removed**

Wow, that is wierd science!

JimB

 

[Andy1845c]

It sounds like you'll get a kick out of some of the experiments on this page then:
**broken link removed**

I like the glowing borax rectifier..... It actually looks like fun to try. It also looks like a good way to get a nasty shock. I like his safety suggestions, such as "Never do these experiments with bare feet".

 

[HiTech]

Are you also a Bose-basher? Their satellite speaker systems are expensive cheap junk. Maybe Dr. Bose is a veterinarian quack doctor.

Who me? The older Bose speakers like the 901 were excellent. Their latest crap is just that! Sonically they sound pretty good, but quality wise... well. Their wave radio is an overpriced pile of nothing. My boss bought one for $900 and the thing has the same CD chassis as a cheapo GPX combo unit has. And the radio doesn't sound any better than my old Panasonic multiband hi-fi monaural radio! $900 for something that doesn't come close to what that money could buy a decent stereo system for.

 

[audioguru]

The Bose 901 had nine little speaker drivers, didn't it? The first one was made in 1968! There are 6 versions over the years. The surrounds on the newer ones is foam that rots away soon.
It used its own EQ module with the bass and treble boosted a lot, looking like "a happy face". Without the EQ, it sounded like just an ordinary little midrange speaker.

** The published curve for one of the Bose equalisers (they were all a little different) is as follows.


20 Hz = -5 dB
30 Hz = -1 dB
40 Hz = +3 dB
60 Hz = +14 dB
100 Hz = +5 dB
200 Hz = +1 dB
600 Hz = 0 dB
800 Hz = 0 dB
1 kHz = + 1dB
2 kHz = + 4 dB
3 kHz = + 5 dB
4 kHz = + 8 dB
6 kHz = + 11 dB
10 kHz = + 15dB
15 kHz = + 17 dB

 

[Shultzie]

Old saying:


No highs
No lows
OH Crap
It's Bose

 

[audioguru]

Old saying:

Another Bose basher. The internet is full of Bose bashers.
I read a few articles about the cheap quality of the parts that are used in their expensive stuff.

I attended a demo of a Bose sound system at a trade show. The sound was so good that my hair stood up and I looked around for all the "hidden" real speakers that they must have used.

My city's new hockey arena has a "Pro" Bose sound system. It honks well but has no bass and no treble.