[tubey1]

The Torpedo has been a tempting amp to me. I had seriously considered buying the T3 kit when it came out, but i just don't like the look of the amp. I know the whole point is to be long and thin, but it just looks odd to me. And now that the T3 is available only as pre-built I can't justify the price. The T1 kit could be a nice project, pretty straightforward build, and the Cinemag option is cool. I guess it depends on if you want to build from a kit on PCB or point to point schematic.

T3 pre-built and PCB everything is all out of stock. T3 PCB is overpriced at $150 and its still sold out so it must be good. ECP Audio had L2 PCBs available but even they are gone. The only choices are Torpedo 1 and Headwatt. Sodacose has a parafeed design very similar to L2 and T1 on his blog that can be built at lower cost than even T1. Looks like an easy and fun build. I wonder if TomB and Dsavitsk have plans to restock their PCBs or not.

 

[430011]

I was pretty disappointed when the T3 went to pre built only. It seemed like it was one of the great DIY values. I've struggled to find many transformer coupled DIY headamps that have much information on them. Only a few mentions of the Headwatt, but it was cheap enough to experiment. Pete Millett's ECC99 still has me interested, as he is a great designer. But it's a 10 year old design at this point and was intended for very inefficient headphones. I wonder how quiet it would be with 100db+ cans. If wired cleanly it is probably fine, but again, I struggle to find anyone that has built one and commented on it. I love that it uses very nice Sowter output transformers, but it makes the cost to build just to try it out a bit high.

 

[430011]

An OTL design that interests me is the Transcendant Sound Masterpiece 300B. Tubes alone make that a more costly design, but one user here on HF gave a glowing recommendation to me.

But truthfully, my Elekit TU-8200 is probably going to be my long term amp. It's just really good, has massive amounts of power (too much), and let's me hook up speakers now and then.

 

[tubey1]

 I've struggled to find many transformer coupled DIY headamps that have much information on them.

T1 PCB is still available. Alternatively you can try Sodacose's 6C45 parafeed design. Its fully documented and he has built one too.

 

[tomb]

The Torpedo has been a tempting amp to me. I had seriously considered buying the T3 kit when it came out, but i just don't like the look of the amp. I know the whole point is to be long and thin, but it just looks odd to me. And now that the T3 is available only as pre-built I can't justify the price. The T1 kit could be a nice project, pretty straightforward build, and the Cinemag option is cool. I guess it depends on if you want to build from a kit on PCB or point to point schematic.

I apologize that I didn't realize the Torpedo I still had an option for Cinemag output transformers.  Those are no longer available.  The Torpedo I is still available in kit or assembled form with Edcor output transformers.

 

[tubey1]

  I apologize that I didn't realize the Torpedo I still had an option for Cinemag output transformers.  Those are no longer available.  The Torpedo I is still available in kit or assembled form with Edcor output transformers.

Will T3 PCBs be ever re-stocked?

 

[tomb]

 

  I apologize that I didn't realize the Torpedo I still had an option for Cinemag output transformers.  Those are no longer available.  The Torpedo I is still available in kit or assembled form with Edcor output transformers.

Will T3 PCBs be ever re-stocked?

Probably not, because the T4 is in development and should be out sometime this year.

 

[tubey1]

 
Probably not, because the T4 is in development and should be out sometime this year.

That is awesome.

 

[430011]

I've got to say that for anyone considering building the Headwatt it is worth it. Paired right now with HD-650 and an old Rotel CD player listening to Hendrix and it's excellent. The amp is totally silent with no music playing. I'm using the higher impedance secondary, and approximately 1/3 of the volume pot range, close to 1/2 with classical. Vocals and details are nice and clear, soundstage is good, retains the natural euphony of the 650, and gently smoothes over the somewhat less than perfect recording quality. Still need to do some comparison to my Elekit, and figure out what the new to me Rotel is contributing. Overall very happy.

One question, if running the anode significantly over its rated voltage what character will a tube failure take? Will things become staticky over time, or go out with a bang?

 

[Mullet]

I've had a few HeadWatt boards that @muskyhuntr sold me back in Summer of '14. I shelved the project because I got into other hobbies - DIY racing based Quadcopters. Now I've got the audio DIY bug again so we're back in action! I'm about to start the build soon... I'll post pics and questions here