If you HAd $400 for an amp......

Jcricket

Jcricket

not someday, but today
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If you had $400 for the purchase of a tube amp, and this is your whole budget, what would you get.
Here are a couple of considerations. I just sold my boat so it looks like I will have about $400 after settling up on my kornerhorn debts.
I have a fisher 30-a and the 510-st. I could recap/rebuild these, sell these and put the 400 bucks with it, or just buy anotehr unit.

I had a maganavox 8802 that I had completely rebuilt with upgrades and mods as per our own infamous GordonW. It sounded incredible(utterly incredible) and I have klicked myself for selling it. I sold it because I wanted just a little more umph in my kornerhorns - the 8802 was VERY close but I wanted just a bit more.

So what would you do???? I am leaning heavy to the rebuild of the fishers but thought I would ask first.

Mark
 
There is a pair of 30-a's on ebay right now for around your price. For the money I think it would be a nice set up.
 
I think that is pretty steep for a set of 30-a's. If they had been completely rebuilt it would be a deal. I am a cheapskate too though.

Do you think the estimation of 15wpc is correct?
Mark
 
The 30-A is rated at 20 watts with a peak reserve of 38. plenty of power to run a set of horns. I think the ones on the bay have been restored.

* edit. I see you are looking for a little more kick. $400 is a very tight budget for tubes with power. You may want to keep saving if you are looking for more watts. But that being said the older mono setups purchased in pairs can be a good bang for your buck.
 
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spartanmanor said:
The 30-A is rated at 20 watts with a peak reserve of 38. plenty of power to run a set of horns. I think the ones on the bay have been restored.
Click to expand...

Stupid me. I need to look closer. The coupling caps have been replaced. I am not sure the can caps were touched. I am going to send off a message and find out.

This may be the ticket I am looking for.
Mark
 
$400 and tubes with umph? This:

Nothing, I'd get a second job so as to save enough money for something better.
Click to expand...

If you can live with less umph, maybe a Bottlehead SEX amp ($469), or a used Decware Zen (older SE84C or B versions go for around that much on Audiogon, if you can find one).
 
I like the Sherwood S-5000II (80w) or S-5500 (64w) both can be found for under $400 restored
 
Jcricket said:
I had a maganavox 8802 that I had completely rebuilt with upgrades and mods as per our own infamous GordonW. It sounded incredible(utterly incredible) and I have klicked myself for selling it. I sold it because I wanted just a little more umph in my kornerhorns - the 8802 was VERY close but I wanted just a bit more.
Click to expand...

How about maybe a double-strength (25 or so watts per channel, as opposed to 12wpc) 8802? As in 6L6s instead of 6V6s (with appropriately larger transformers)? PM sent...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
tim614 said:
dynco st70 should have pleny juice for your budget
Click to expand...

Been looking for sometime - no luck yet.
Mark

AK'er Scuzzer was just here and gave my tubes and "junk" a quick look over. He seems to think I have everything needed to scratch build an amp.Actually enough tubes to build many amp). So, I may just wait to see what he comes up with and throw together a 6L6 amp set up.
Mark
 
Jcricket said:
Been looking for sometime - no luck yet.
Mark

AK'er Scuzzer was just here and gave my tubes and "junk" a quick look over. He seems to think I have everything needed to scratch build an amp.Actually enough tubes to build many amp). So, I may just wait to see what he comes up with and throw together a 6L6 amp set up.
Mark
Click to expand...

All it takes is the right transformers! Everything else is pretty straightforward. :thmbsp:

Regards,
Gordon.
 
GordonW said:
All it takes is the right transformers! Everything else is pretty straightforward. :thmbsp:

Regards,
Gordon.
Click to expand...

He has an old Magnavox power tranny that was 350v and 290ma after the dual 5u4b rectifiers so I figured that would probably be good enough for a 6l6 push pull amp. He wants to drive his Konerhorns with plenty of watts to spare so I figure he can bias the 6l6's kinda hot so that he'll be getting mostly (or completely) class A operation and about 20 watts of output.

A brief scan of schematics shows something like this (disregard the power supply):

PP6L6.jpg


He's got a bunch of 12AT7's, 6l6's, and lots of rectifying tubes plus the power tranny so I'm figuring a couple of Edcor output transformers, a chassis, and some parts and he's got a decent amp.

I'll have time later tonight to look for more schematics until then maybe you guys can come up with a few.
 
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Scuzzer,
I think your suggestion is what I would like to do. I'll go ahead and use tht maggie tranny and get a set of new edcorp OPTs. Use the 6l6's, whatever rectifier is needed, the 12at7's too. What about those voltage regulator tubes - the ones you said would glow purple/blue? Possibe to incorporate those?

Let me know how those corals work out at the cabin!
Mark
 
My only concern, is that would 12AT7s in a LTP, with no front-end amp, have enough gain for this application? What preamp is up front? It would have to have quite a bit of voltage swing.

Though, with no feedback... that might not be an issue. I find that I do like a modicum of feedback with 6L6 amps, so I'd probably want an input amp.

What WOULD be cool, would be the Eico HF22 circuit. If you don't want to pay the pretty extreme prices for an EF86 pentode for the input, you should be able to substitute a 5879 ( as seen here: http://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_5879.html ) or a 7C7 (loktal base tube- as seen here: http://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_7c7.html ) pentode. Either has specs almost identical to an EF86. Might take a little tweaking of the plate and cathode resistors to get the gain and bias dialed in WRT the original circuit for the EF86... but I'd expect not too much different...

With either of these designs (the 12AT7 schematic above or the Eico design), the Edcor 50 watt transformer, model CXPP50-MS-7.6K (as seen here: http://www.edcorusa.com/Products/ShowProduct.aspx?ID=560 ) should work VERY well. It's almost an exact match to the Eico specs...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
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I would say ST 70 is a sound bet. Dynaco products were great bang for buck in it's day. Circuitry strait forward. Designed to be built and maintained by owner. Huge loyal following. Mods galore. Info everywhere. Excellent mid range, fairly extended highs, bass wasn't tight. Strengths and weakness, well known. About as classic a tube amp as it gets. Enough power and dynamics.
 
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