[miter53]

Hello,

I’d like to preface my message with a huge thank you to @L0rdGwyn for his extreme generosity in sharing his time and knowledge with the rest of the community.

I’ve been following this thread for the past few months and it’s awesome to finally have all the paperwork and PCB files available.

I’m from Spain and, after reading the BOM file, I reached Brian from ELMA by email since that output switch might be one of the hardest parts to acquire for those of us out of the USA.

Today I got this reply:

“Pricing for (1) of the part number CAS002059 / (US-B2-403N) is $122.99. Plus shipping costs. I won’t know shipping charges until it’s ready to ship. Are you able to issue a purchase order (PO) for this part number?”

“We accept all major credit cards without any additional fees. Our policy is to get the credit card information over the phone. Our shipping terms are EXW Origin. Please have both payment terms and shipping terms stated on the PO. Also, we can pre pay and add shipping to the invoice or you can use your own account. If this is non-taxable please include a copy of your tax exemption / re-sale certificate. I can help process your order when you are ready. Thank you!”

I’m afraid I’m a little more experienced with the soldering iron than doing international commerce with manufacturers, and haven’t filled a purchase order in my life.

If anybody with more experience could provide some guidance or if a group buy is set up to ease the process as @miter53 suggested, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I downloaded a free PO template I found on line and filled it out with a company name I've used occasionally, my shipping info, and the ELMA address found in Brian's email. You can just use your own name for the company name. Try here: https://templatelab.com/purchase-order-templates/ The pdf version is probably easiest.

Group buys are apparently not permitted on this forum. I don't know what the policy is over at DIYaudio, but perhaps one could be setup there.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

@L0rdGwyn can i use tin coated copper with PVC sheathing wire, instead of silver plated copper wire?

Yes you can, you can essentially use any wire you want, what I have listed in the BOM is simply a suggestion. Solid core wire holds a twist better than stranded core, so I would use solid for all the twisted wires. As I discussed in the instructions, I highly recommend using stranded core wire for the ground connections.

Hello,

I’d like to preface my message with a huge thank you to @L0rdGwyn for his extreme generosity in sharing his time and knowledge with the rest of the community.

I’ve been following this thread for the past few months and it’s awesome to finally have all the paperwork and PCB files available.

I’m from Spain and, after reading the BOM file, I reached Brian from ELMA by email since that output switch might be one of the hardest parts to acquire for those of us out of the USA.

Today I got this reply:

“Pricing for (1) of the part number CAS002059 / (US-B2-403N) is $122.99. Plus shipping costs. I won’t know shipping charges until it’s ready to ship. Are you able to issue a purchase order (PO) for this part number?”

“We accept all major credit cards without any additional fees. Our policy is to get the credit card information over the phone. Our shipping terms are EXW Origin. Please have both payment terms and shipping terms stated on the PO. Also, we can pre pay and add shipping to the invoice or you can use your own account. If this is non-taxable please include a copy of your tax exemption / re-sale certificate. I can help process your order when you are ready. Thank you!”

I’m afraid I’m a little more experienced with the soldering iron than doing international commerce with manufacturers, and haven’t filled a purchase order in my life.

If anybody with more experience could provide some guidance or if a group buy is set up to ease the process as @miter53 suggested, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

When I placed my orders with Brian, he sent me a proforma invoice, so I did not fill out a purchase order form. I called him and gave my credit card information and provided my shipping information via email. Might be worth asking him if that is an option if you don't want to fill out the PO form @miter53 provided.

I downloaded a free PO template I found on line and filled it out with a company name I've used occasionally, my shipping info, and the ELMA address found in Brian's email. You can just use your own name for the company name. Try here: https://templatelab.com/purchase-order-templates/ The pdf version is probably easiest.

Group buys are apparently not permitted on this forum. I don't know what the policy is over at DIYaudio, but perhaps one could be setup there.

Group buys are absolutely permitted on diyAudio if you guys wanted to discuss it there. Although once the order hit the EU, it would need to be distributed among the buyers.

 

[whirlwind]

For those in mainland Europe I can wholeheartedly recommend reaching out to http://www.acoustic-dimension.com/ for the Lundahl transformers, Jupiter capacitors and premium quality small parts.

Killer. Looks awesome.

Nice tubes

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I know the ELMA switch is a bit of a pain to order and shipping will be expensive to the EU, but my choices were pretty limited. The problem is Lundahl uses a somewhat complex winding scheme where there are multiple secondary windings (four secondaries for the LL2765). To get different turns ratios, you must wire the secondaries in different series and parallel configurations. Making the proper connections and breaking the proper connections to make two different turns ratios requires a relatively complicated switch. Finding one that I could build a PCB for such that the builder does not have to do the point-to-point wiring pretty much left only one option.

But like I said, my main priority was making the amplifier easy to build and approachable. The ELMA switch was my biggest apprehension given it is only available from one source, but the alternative of doing the point-to-point wiring would have been a nightmare, and the switch options going that direction aren't much cheaper.

Here's how the connections change between the two impedance settings. Translating this into a switch is a real brain teaser.

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

I know the ELMA switch is a bit of a pain to order and shipping will be expensive to the EU, but my choices were pretty limited. The problem is Lundahl uses a somewhat complex winding scheme where there are multiple secondary windings (four secondaries for the LL2765). To get different turns ratios, you must wire the secondaries in different series and parallel configurations. Making the proper connections and breaking the proper connections to make two different turns ratios requires a relatively complicated switch. Finding one that I could build a PCB for such that the builder does not have to do the point-to-point wiring pretty much left only one option.

But like I said, my main priority was making the amplifier easy to build and approachable. The ELMA switch was my biggest apprehension given it is only available from one source, but the alternative of doing the point-to-point wiring would have been a nightmare, and the switch options going that direction aren't much cheaper.

Here's how the connections change between the two impedance settings. Translating this into a switch is a real brain teaser.

Have you confirmed you even need to switch the winding outputs? I would have to sit down and do the math to figure out what sort of gain loss you have through your output tube, but your 6sl7 has a gain of 70. Let's play devil's advocate and say you get a total system gain of 50. With 2.83v of peak voltage input, you should have about 141v peak before your step down transformer. In a perfect world, you should be able to drive any high impedance headphone with a 12:1 output ratio. It should sound better too since you would have a lower noise floor and you would be deleting a switch from the audio path.

But like I said, you would have to test it to confirm.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Have you confirmed you even need to switch the winding outputs? I would have to sit down and do the math to figure out what sort of gain loss you have through your output tube, but your 6sl7 has a gain of 70. Let's play devil's advocate and say you get a total system gain of 50. With 2.83v of peak voltage input, you should have about 141v peak before your step down transformer. In a perfect world, you should be able to drive any high impedance headphone with a 12:1 output ratio. It should sound better too since you would have a lower noise floor and you would be deleting a switch from the audio path.

But like I said, you would have to test it to confirm.

You are telling this to someone who has worked on this circuit for well over a year, I don't need a lesson. Of course you can drive a high impedance headphone from the 12:1 output. It doesn't sound better. The noise floor is inaudible in either output configuration.

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

You are telling this to someone who has worked on this circuit for well over a year, I don't need a lesson. Of course you can drive a high impedance headphone from the 12:1 output. It doesn't sound better. The noise floor is inaudible in either output configuration.

Lol. K.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Lol. K.

I'm not interested in your opinion on my designs. Concern yourself with your own.

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

I'm not interested in your opinion on my designs. Concern yourself with your own.

Mkay

 

[Tom-s]

It's great to see everyone getting along nicely.
I'd like to contribute to this sharing philosophy.

So. For everyone on the fence. I'll do some posts on here for the next coming days/weeks.
On how I build this amp and what my experiences where. Where hickups happened and what considerations I made in construction.
I'll add tips and tricks, alternative part options, where they matter. Where not.
I'll go into tube rolling and share my experiences from the last few months enjoying this amplifier.
If you want specific answers and they are urgent, PM me.

First question to answer is; can I build it? Can I build it myself? Even with no experience?

When in doubt -> Read the manual!!

With soldering experience, knowledge of circuitry and layout of tube amplifiers -> go right ahead; read the manual first and then decide to build an Aegis.
With soldering experience but no experience with tube amplifiers DIY -> Read the manual whole, and again, and decide wether to try it; or not? In doubt? Read on.
With no soldering experience -> read on.

You may be able to build it without any experience. But wouldn't recommend it. I'd recommend the Bottlehead Crack DIY kit as a start.
The reason is price and accessibility. Even with all experience form L0rdgwyn put into the Aegis kit, when you try hard enough, there's room for error.
And since there's a serious price tag to the Aegis kit, hence an error may become expensive. I'd recommend another kit to get to know the basics.

The Bottlehead Crack is a simple kit, low parts count, awesome manual (similar style to Aegis) and simple; clean circuitry (similar to Aegis).
With a relatively low price (369$), compared to Aegis, it's a good kit to learn from.
The Crack kit will teach all the basics needed for understanding Aegis, serve as an introduction to the cathode follower tube output topology.

And in the end you may end up actually designing one.
Just like @L0rdGwyn did, asking advice on the Bottlehead forum in October 2017. To figure out how the 150 Ohm impedance of the new HD660s would pair with his planned first time amplifier build being the Bottlehead Crack with Speedball upgrade. And a few posts later he was already asking how to alter the circuit using 5670 instead of 12AU7, so it begins....

It's the Crack that started my own DIY amplifiers and tubes journey and how I got lost in the rabbit hole of "collecting" tubes... It's a gateway drug basically..
Fair word of warning. As can be deducted from the above, there's a serious chance of addiction .

Hope this helps some of you. I'm very much aware there's a whole boatload of cheaper DIY kit options. I just wholeheatedly recommend a walk along this path, with just the right baby steps to get you there.

Here's a nice introduction video to Bottlehead for those not familiair with the brand.

My next post will be a price overview for my own build.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

And in the end you may end up actually designing one.
Just like @L0rdGwyn did, asking advice on the Bottlehead forum in October 2017. To figure out how the 150 Ohm impedance of the new HD660s would pair with his planned first time amplifier build being the Bottlehead Crack with Speedball upgrade. And a few posts later he was already asking how to alter the circuit using 5670 instead of 12AU7, so it begins....

That's a blast from the past. Funny thing is I ended up preferring the HD650, and still have it!

Starting with the Crack if you have no DIY experience is a great recommendation. The stakes are lower and it will give you many of the skills (and equipment) you would need to be successful with the Aegis.

 

[wirewiggler]

To be honest between the manual and design it is done so well while not a beginner project I could see a less experienced builder being able to build this. The only really hard soldering is on the impedance switch the rest is straightforward as it gets. Just be warned calling Keenan's baby ugly won't make you any friends
Bill.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

To be honest between the manual and design it is done so well while not a beginner project I could see a less experienced builder being able to build this. The only really hard soldering is on the impedance switch the rest is straightforward as it gets. Just be warned calling Keenan's baby ugly won't make you any friends
Bill.

I'm normally very mild mannered. I have reasons for reacting that way that I'd rather not get into.

 

[DenverW]

It is a blast from the past. I’m on a lot of those Bottlehead threads as I souped up my crack and did other builds.

I think why people recommend a crack and not an aegis as a first build is because it gets you familiar with soldering, wiring, and most importantly, following instructions accurately. How many people soldered a point that instructed ‘attach’ instead? *Raises hand.*.

When you have an issue with a $400 build it’s annoying. When you have an issue you can’t figure out on a 2k build it’s…stressful. Bottom line, no matter how awesome the instructions are (and they are very, very, very good!) you learn by doing, so make sure you’re aware of the risk in learning with a end game project.

 

[goldwerger]

It's great to see everyone getting along nicely.
I'd like to contribute to this sharing philosophy.

So. For everyone on the fence. I'll do some posts on here for the next coming days/weeks.
On how I build this amp and what my experiences where. Where hickups happened and what considerations I made in construction.
I'll add tips and tricks, alternative part options, where they matter. Where not.
I'll go into tube rolling and share my experiences from the last few months enjoying this amplifier.
If you want specific answers and they are urgent, PM me.

First question to answer is; can I build it? Can I build it myself? Even with no experience?

When in doubt -> Read the manual!!

With soldering experience, knowledge of circuitry and layout of tube amplifiers -> go right ahead; read the manual first and then decide to build an Aegis.
With soldering experience but no experience with tube amplifiers DIY -> Read the manual whole, and again, and decide wether to try it; or not? In doubt? Read on.
With no soldering experience -> read on.

You may be able to build it without any experience. But wouldn't recommend it. I'd recommend the Bottlehead Crack DIY kit as a start.
The reason is price and accessibility. Even with all experience form L0rdgwyn put into the Aegis kit, when you try hard enough, there's room for error.
And since there's a serious price tag to the Aegis kit, hence an error may become expensive. I'd recommend another kit to get to know the basics.

The Bottlehead Crack is a simple kit, low parts count, awesome manual (similar style to Aegis) and simple; clean circuitry (similar to Aegis).
With a relatively low price (369$), compared to Aegis, it's a good kit to learn from.
The Crack kit will teach all the basics needed for understanding Aegis, serve as an introduction to the cathode follower tube output topology.

And in the end you may end up actually designing one.
Just like @L0rdGwyn did, asking advice on the Bottlehead forum in October 2017. To figure out how the 150 Ohm impedance of the new HD660s would pair with his planned first time amplifier build being the Bottlehead Crack with Speedball upgrade. And a few posts later he was already asking how to alter the circuit using 5670 instead of 12AU7, so it begins....



It's the Crack that started my own DIY amplifiers and tubes journey and how I got lost in the rabbit hole of "collecting" tubes... It's a gateway drug basically..
Fair word of warning. As can be deducted from the above, there's a serious chance of addiction .

Hope this helps some of you. I'm very much aware there's a whole boatload of cheaper DIY kit options. I just wholeheatedly recommend a walk along this path, with just the right baby steps to get you there.

Here's a nice introduction video to Bottlehead for those not familiair with the brand.

My next post will be a price overview for my own build.

Inspirational