30 Watt Tube Amplifier
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Just a little kit I put together.
It's an Antique Sound USA Model 103, 30 watt vacuum tube (valve :-) integrated stereo amplifier.
It uses four EL34 tubes and four 12AU7 (the smaller) tubes. Perhaps it's nothing to write home
about in terms of quality, but I built it (from a kit), I like it, and I think it was like $550
or so (perhaps you didn't know that most integrated tube amplifier kits start at around $1000).
I honestly can't convey to you how satisfying it was at 2 or 3 in the morning, on a hot sweaty
night, to finally get the last "bug" worked out and hear "Paranoid Android" blasting forth, cooking
off electrons. It was truly spiritual. You can argue about singal to noise ratios and the like,
but honestly, a thing you put together with your own hands is always going to sound sweetest.
Since then, I have built a smaller little 8 Watt tube amp, also from a kit. And I found a kit
for a "magic eye" level indicator. If you know what "magic eyes" were (also vacuum tube based)
then you understand the appeal of the kit. |
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