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Best DIY tube amp kit for under $100? - Page 2

post #16 of 27
3/2/11 at 8:00am
Thread Starter 

Yeah I just read that so what exactly will I need different from this parts list for this to work? http://www.pmillett.com/file_downloads/starving_bom.pdf

 

Sorry I'm not exactly a master of circuitry so a new schematic and parts list would be great.

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post #17 of 27
3/2/11 at 8:09am

There's a starving student build thread.  Your questions are answered in there.

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post #18 of 27
3/2/11 at 8:12am

And in the schematic linked to on the previous page. 

 

Reading through these things slowly and painfully is a great way to learn about them.

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post #19 of 27
3/2/11 at 9:02am
Thread Starter 

I just got 2 from ebay they were like $30 shipped.

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post #20 of 27
3/2/11 at 1:02pm
Thread Starter 

So one more question can I output via my Asus Xonar dx to a 1/4 inch jack on the amp or would that be bad? Basically do I need a dac  with right and left out or will the headphone out be ok? How would this effect the sound if at all?

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post #21 of 27
3/2/11 at 4:15pm

Just take the signal from the mini jack on your sonar dx which is marqued "front". The choice of connector on your amp is yours, just get the adequate cable (mini to rca if you install rca, mini to mini if you install a mini jack).

 

A headphones output obviously has left and right signal, hasn't it ?

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post #22 of 27
3/2/11 at 4:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 00940 View Post

Just take the signal from the mini jack on your sonar dx which is marqued "front". The choice of connector on your amp is yours, just get the adequate cable (mini to rca if you install rca, mini to mini if you install a mini jack).

 

A headphones output obviously has left and right signal, hasn't it ?



Yeah but I thought I read somewhere that it's bad to double amp or something?  That makes sense though since I've seen zunes go to amps before, I guess I was looking at the wrong thing...

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post #23 of 27
3/2/11 at 6:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Danthrax View Post

Yeah but I thought I read somewhere that it's bad to double amp or something?  That makes sense though since I've seen zunes go to amps before, I guess I was looking at the wrong thing...

 

It's not ideal because a headphone amp doesn't really need a preamp, but then again a DAC amplifies to line level, which is then attenuated by the amp's volume control.

 

One tip, for the SSMH, get a good pot.  The BOM pot is horrible, and the gain is rather high, and the pot tracking will be of large importance.  I have to rebuild mine someday, but right now it is just gathering dust.

 

As for needing a DAC, no you don't need one.  You may want one sooner than later, but that's different than needing it.

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post #24 of 27
3/2/11 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by holland View Post


One tip, for the SSMH, get a good pot.  The BOM pot is horrible, and the gain is rather high, and the pot tracking will be of large importance.  I have to rebuild mine someday, but right now it is just gathering dust.

 


Shunt it.

 

Poosticks. My best link is dead

 

Its basically what is shown in figure 2 except that the LDR is replaced with a conventional pot wired from the wiper to one end, with the other end floating.

kind of sort of explains it with a little imagineering

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post #25 of 27
3/2/11 at 7:14pm
Thread Starter 

What is a pot?

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post #26 of 27
3/2/11 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nikongod View Post




Shunt it.

 

Poosticks. My best link is dead

 

Its basically what is shown in figure 2 except that the LDR is replaced with a conventional pot wired from the wiper to one end, with the other end floating.

kind of sort of explains it with a little imagineering


I did shunt it, and it still sucks....it's the worst pot ever and has been permanently crossed off my list of pots to use!  I had to add an input resistor too.  I probably should have shunted with a larger ratio, but I wanted to use my 600-ohm headphones along with my 32-ohm things.  An input resistor on a switch helped there.  The stock pot tracks *really* bad before 9 o'clock, really bad.

 

YMMV.

 

@ Danthrax, A pot is potentiometer, your volume control.

 

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post #27 of 27
3/2/11 at 7:53pm
Thread Starter 

Ok well I have decided to go with the 12au7 version and I used the parts that monkeyevil listed n this post http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/319231/millett-starving-student-hybrid-amp/5640#post_7253142 am I missing anything else? (I ordered the tubes and the sockets already) And if that pot isn't good what is a good one?

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