Cavalli Compact Tube Hybrid (CTH) Tube & Tweak thread.
Jul 9, 2012 at 11:29 PM Post #676 of 691
So the verdict is, as I feared, kaput.  Once I get a new amp, I'll see if anyone around here is interested in my CTH innards.  Poor little guy.  
frown.gif

 
Jan 10, 2013 at 10:30 AM Post #677 of 691
Sorry for kicking a somewhat dead thread but I had a question and thought it might be better to ask here than start a new one.
 
I have a small guitar practice amp that I'm very happy with except that it doesn't have a headphone jack for late night practicing.  It does however have a preamp out.  Can I run the preamp out of the guitar amp into the input of the CTH?  It would require the proper cable, e.g., 1/4" to RCA or 1/8" (I have both inputs on my amp). 
 
Jan 11, 2013 at 6:44 AM Post #678 of 691
If you start with the volume all the way down when you try I don't see that harm could happen. 
When the volume is all the way down the CTH's input is swept to ground (it doesn't "see" any input).
And the onboard e12 should trip if anything goes wrong. 
IOW I'd give it a whirl, granted its lower risk for me because I'm a builder:)
 
Edits:
* If its a mono amp then the preamp out is likely mono too.  In which case your adapter(s) would need to link the preamp's single channel "+" to both the CTH's L & R "+"s (to hear sound in both earpieces).
* With Joe Audio now offering CTH PCBs & kits ( http://joeaudiophile.com/shop/ ) the thread could see some posts. Tho most topics are already covered.
 
Jan 11, 2013 at 3:05 PM Post #679 of 691
Quote:
IOW I'd give it a whirl, granted its lower risk for me because I'm a builder:)

 
And you're the builder of my amp also.  If the amp fails I'm going to track you down and try to get you to fix it.  :)
 
Jan 21, 2013 at 11:18 AM Post #680 of 691
I've been using the CTH with an Amperex Bugle Boy ECC82 to drive Audeze LCD-2s. The bugle boy has given me the most extended treble, from among Mullard, Telefunken and older Amperex tubes. Does anyone know of another tube that's even more extended in the treble, to balance out the LCd-2?
 
Also, has anyone heard both the CTH and the Schiit Lyr and compared the sound quality?
 
 
Feb 2, 2015 at 1:42 PM Post #681 of 691
So, after seeing a couple tubes were tried in CTH that had other than 6.3v & 12.6v heater and found to work & sound good, knew there was nothing keeping the design from directly supporting more heater voltages.


Nothing but a few more resistors & a way to switch among them.


Calculated (ideal) R3H values for various heater voltages:
Votage / R3H (ideal)

4.2v / 3.3k
5.6v / 5.8k
6.3v / 7.4k
7v / 9.3k
8.4v / 15.1k
9.4v / 23.3k
12.6v /



Wiatrob was willing to test & confirm things & has done so using 4BQ7A, 5BQ7A, 7AU7 and 9AU7 tubes. This tweak further extends tube options in the CTH beyond 6.3v & 12.6v heated tubes. So users of a CTH with this tweak have an even larger selection of tubes to choose from, probably finding some very good deals for tubes running at non-std heater voltages.
Edit: So beyond the 6.3/12.6 tube list, this tweak should add those above, 7DJ8 and 8FQ7 and there are likely more overlooked (e.g. 6AU7, 6BQ7)


The challenge is choosing which heater voltages you want & finding a SP#T switch to switch among them. We found a nice 1/2 inch dia one that can be configured for 2 -> 12 positions:





Wiatrob can chime in w/more info, but I think it remains to be seen if this tweak can be squeezed into the BoM case.


Here's a dumb question!
How critical are these heater resistor values?

I could only source the following 1/8W values:

For 5.8k > 5.828k? close enough ?
" 7.4k > 7.39k ? " " "
" 9.3k > 9.31k ? " " "
" 15.1k > 15k or 15.2k ? close enough ?
" 23.3k > 23.2k or 23.4k ? close enough ?

How close is close enough? Is it better to go up, down or simply the closest value?

I realize I can go 1/4W and/or add resistors but I don't want to piggy-back resistors to tweek the values as I'm trying to keep it Compact with the heater switch. Would like to stay with small 1/8W resistors.
 
Feb 2, 2015 at 4:08 PM Post #682 of 691
Here's a dumb question!
How critical are these heater resistor values?

I could only source the following 1/8W values:

For 5.8k > 5.828k? close enough ?
" 7.4k > 7.39k ? " " "
" 9.3k > 9.31k ? " " "
" 15.1k > 15k or 15.2k ? close enough ?
" 23.3k > 23.2k or 23.4k ? close enough ?

How close is close enough? Is it better to go up, down or simply the closest value?

I realize I can go 1/4W and/or add resistors but I don't want to piggy-back resistors to tweek the values as I'm trying to keep it Compact with the heater switch. Would like to stay with small 1/8W resistors.

 
It is not a dumb question.   The values you've sourced may be the closest to the "calculated" values I came up with (& probably rounded to 0.1k). 
IIRC the actual resistor values in CTH BOM did not exactly equal the calculated/ideal and had to be tweaked in-circuit. 
Think it best to stick to a single resistor, use it & (carefully!) measure the heater voltage w/tube and see how close it is.  Found this quote "The heater voltage of individual valves must be within ±7% of the rated value" here:
http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?s=8d6f8e40d2b17ab465c7eafdd2573736&t=59412
Maybe order a couple/few resistors around the target values to be safe. 
 
Feb 2, 2015 at 4:42 PM Post #683 of 691
It is not a dumb question.   The values you've sourced may be the closest to the "calculated" values I came up with (& probably rounded to 0.1k). 
IIRC the actual resistor values in CTH BOM did not exactly equal the calculated/ideal and had to be tweaked in-circuit. 
Think it best to stick to a single resistor, use it & (carefully!) measure the heater voltage w/tube and see how close it is.  Found this quote "The heater voltage of individual valves must be within ±7% of the rated value" here:
http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?s=8d6f8e40d2b17ab465c7eafdd2573736&t=59412
Maybe order a couple/few resistors around the target values to be safe. 


Thanks for the prompt reply CF3. I've been working on this amp in very intermittent spurts LOL.

Yes, I've ordered a few Rs. Your measuring tip is very useful - thanks

BTW, I have printed out a full one page schematic I saved many years ago that indicates 7.15K for 6.3V instead of the above 7.4K (7.39K) next to the heater switch.
Do you know which is correct or...?

Edit: I just noticed BOM (3/20/2011) lists 7.15K, I have Xicon's on their way!

Many thanks for this and keeping up with the thread.
 
Feb 3, 2015 at 10:16 AM Post #684 of 691
Mar 17, 2015 at 9:43 AM Post #685 of 691
If anyone has the time to help me debug a problem I posted in the other thread it would be greatly appreciated:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/398839/a-very-compact-hybrid-amp/2205#post_11416293
 
Jun 24, 2015 at 12:29 PM Post #686 of 691
Thanks to  cfcubed giving me valuable information ! (see http://www.head-fi.org/t/542279/the-cth-compact-tube-hybrid-rev-a-thread/585#post_11661663)
 
 
// i got some tubes and wanted to give a try as i remember the tubes being popular some years ago in cd/K7 output stage mods....
 
I did a Star adapter for submini tube 6N16B-V  using noval socket saver and rigid copper cable.  I twisted the rigid coper to have the same order as the submini pin. if you want a better design, you could also use a Dip8 socket mounted/Soldiered on top of your noval socket saver and use other one to soldier your min-itube for easy rolling ! 
 
I used the following Scheme :  
Noval PinSubMini pinDesc
15A2
23G2
32K2
44H
58H
61A1
77G1
86K1
 
As it is not easy to find pin order on the sub-mini this is how i do :
1) you have to identify a I that point to pin 1 and 5 on the back side of the tuber.
2) find which is which, pin 1 is in the same side as the tube printed label (on all the tube i got). But I also control if pin 4 and 8 are connected to the heater  (use a 6 V and see if red dot show-up )!
 
 
Listening :
No microphonic noise, no heating noise and do not need a very long heating time to give it best !
 
This tube is for me a very good sounding tube which is fast and detailed. It haves:deep bass precise and well maintained,  the medium is very natural without emphasis, the treble is good but seems not so linear. 
I did some test with my favorite music and cans and what i can say is that it is a very musical tube for the price  <5$ !
 
For those who like 6SN7, 7N7, or 6cg7 you can find some similarities !
 
I suspect it could be used as a very good driver in other amps than CTH  :wink:
 
Jun 26, 2015 at 6:35 AM Post #687 of 691
Thank you for the detailed info and impressions and its nice that it was worth the effort of doing.

A picture might be nice too but maybe its not too pretty:) Sometimes that keeps me from posting them.

I guess if one was so motivated they could make a really compact CTH going to SMD and supporting submini tubes. Would be lots of effort tho and you'd still need the A/C adapter.
 
Jun 26, 2015 at 4:54 PM Post #688 of 691
You can get a picture on how it is uggly, for a VCTH as tube rolling will not be the most important feature, the design should probably be less compliated the power should be separated with a dual output one for the board and one for the heating  only 0.4A is needed and 6V is enough. you could cheat a bit with two boxes :wink:
 
 
I did called the adapter star, i should have said X'mass tree, the advantage of this is that is is very easy to test and soldier :wink:  Another point to highlight is that the gain is very good.  Tube life is somehow limited to 750h from spec but one of my firend have two tubes like this  on a modded nakamichi K7 player and never changed them during the last ten years....
 
33
 
I also did a 7N7 Adapter and CTH is running very well with it but first try is very good  an CTH but need more time to better test it. If you have some interest i will post the adapter scheme Noval to 7N7 Loctal ( also some twist to do :wink: )
44
 
Nov 25, 2023 at 3:04 PM Post #690 of 691
Wow, the years go by. Nice arteom…. And hpamdr who’s post from 2015 I just saw 😬, the original breadboard CTH used a pencil tube.
I do occasionally pull out a DIY CTH but usually use an Amb γ2 DAC -> Liquid Spark and have for years.
Sometimes with a Loki Mini+ in the mix depending.
Happy listening.
 

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