[fierce_freak]

In the interest of keeping temps down on the caps:
 

 

 
I'll have to find some mesh or perforated metal to place there for safety, of course. Probably also going to need to refinish the case - I managed to knick and scratch it up a bit while making the hole.

 
Also wouldn't recommend all this to anyone. Casework is the devil.

 

[tomb]

Wow!  I guess you felt you had to do this.  Yet, coming from someone who knows the amount of work that went into producing those cases, it's a bit depressing. 

 
Still, I am amazed at the cut - very straight and true.  What did you use to do that?
 
P.S. Next time, let me know.  I could swap you a case (with rebated $$) that might already have a questionable finish - good for cutting up and experimenting.

 

[badf00d]

@tomb, I have to say... the packaging you did for the Torpedo III is fantastic. Very professional, and I can't wait to finish the assembly. My soldering station went wonky on me, so as soon as I have that sorted I should be able to finish up and listen to the unit. Thanks so much.

 

[fierce_freak]

Yeah seriously inspired packaging. Excited to see others complete theirs. Really is a killer amp.

I know, tomb, obvious care went into the case. I didn't want to do it, but i got paranoid about boiling the caps. I used a dremel followed by lots of filing. I'm actually not satisfied with it and am exploring options to "fix" it. Maybe use a drill press to set the corners a bit further it out followed by careful filing or maybe a nibbler? I want to get it as close to perfect as i can as I'll be getting it powder coated to cover up my scratches and nicks. I appreciate any suggestions here.

I'm going to use the downtime to wrap the cap leads in teflon and a couple other small things.

Good to know about the b stock cases. I'll keep it in mind, for sure.

Ps- you weren't kidding about the uv led. Not very bright. I don't particularly mind, but I'm curious to try another. Just a standard superbright?

 

[tomb]

Yeah seriously inspired packaging. Excited to see others complete theirs. Really is a killer amp.

I know, tomb, obvious care went into the case. I didn't want to do it, but i got paranoid about boiling the caps. I used a dremel followed by lots of filing. I'm actually not satisfied with it and am exploring options to "fix" it. Maybe use a drill press to set the corners a bit further it out followed by careful filing or maybe a nibbler? I want to get it as close to perfect as i can as I'll be getting it powder coated to cover up my scratches and nicks. I appreciate any suggestions here.

I'm going to use the downtime to wrap the cap leads in teflon and a couple other small things.

Good to know about the b stock cases. I'll keep it in mind, for sure.

Ps- you weren't kidding about the uv led. Not very bright. I don't particularly mind, but I'm curious to try another. Just a standard superbright?

 
A Dremel did that?  Surely you had a jig of some sort.  If not, that's nothing short of amazing.
 
Yeah, all UV LEDs are that way.  They're down in the 1000 mcd range, while all the rest are at least 4000 (that I have).  They're actually much lower than that, because we all size resistors for about 1/2 max current or less.

 

[tomb]

  @tomb, I have to say... the packaging you did for the Torpedo III is fantastic. Very professional, and I can't wait to finish the assembly. My soldering station went wonky on me, so as soon as I have that sorted I should be able to finish up and listen to the unit. Thanks so much.

 
Many thanks for your kind comments!! 

  Good luck on the build!

 

[grendel23]

I finished building my Torpedo III with Cinemags last night. Assembly was easy. The kit is superb, great attention to detail.
 
Compared to my previous amp, a SOHA II, the T3 is a huge step up. The bass is more powerful, with better definition. The treble is smooth and the overall sound is very clean.
 
I haven't heard any other high end amps to compare it to, but to my humble ears it sounds great. I am listening with a Gamma 1 DAC and HD600s.
 
I modded my SOHA II to run 12BH7A tubes, twice the heater current of the 12a_7 family, and really liked them. Would the T3 be able to run these? Since the power transformer is custom, I can't look up the ratings. I suspect they would sound worse than the 12AY7s in the T3, but i would like to try and see. If I can do so without damaging the amp.
 
Now I am going to have to get a better DAC. I am thinking of a Bitfrost MB, or possibly a DAC-19 or maybe a Gamma 3 when AMB finishes it. I would love to hear what pairs up well with this great amp.

 

[tomb]

  I finished building my Torpedo III with Cinemags last night. Assembly was easy. The kit is superb, great attention to detail.
 
Compared to my previous amp, a SOHA II, the T3 is a huge step up. The bass is more powerful, with better definition. The treble is smooth and the overall sound is very clean.
 
I haven't heard any other high end amps to compare it to, but to my humble ears it sounds great. I am listening with a Gamma 1 DAC and HD600s.
 
I modded my SOHA II to run 12BH7A tubes, twice the heater current of the 12a_7 family, and really liked them. Would the T3 be able to run these? Since the power transformer is custom, I can't look up the ratings. I suspect they would sound worse than the 12AY7s in the T3, but i would like to try and see. If I can do so without damaging the amp.
 
Now I am going to have to get a better DAC. I am thinking of a Bitfrost MB, or possibly a DAC-19 or maybe a Gamma 3 when AMB finishes it. I would love to hear what pairs up well with this great amp.

 
Many thanks for the kind comments!  Glad you're enjoying the Torpedo III!
 
As for the 12BH7, we need to hear from Dsavitsk.  The 12AZ7 has 225ma at 12.6V, which Dsavitsk said was OK (even though I did not like the 12AZ7).  Still, as you say, 300ma for the 12BH7 is quite a leap from 150ma with the 12AY7.
 
I would strongly recommend the 12AT7 or 6201 if you are searching for tubes that may sound just as good, but with a different signature.  I have tried both and like them very much - perhaps better than the 12AY7.  There is even a computer-use upgrade model known as the E180CC or 7062.  There's also the 6414, which is very similar.  Like the E90CC vs. 6J6 in the Torpedo I, the E180CC/7062/6414 are much taller tubes and were designed for 10,000 hr use.  Maybe it's a magic tube for the Torpedo III just as the E90CC is for the Torpedo I.  I have a pair of the 6414's coming in and will let you know. 

 

[dsavitsk]

I modded my SOHA II to run 12BH7A tubes, twice the heater current of the 12a_7 family, and really liked them. Would the T3 be able to run these?

I think it is too high, so I would not use them.

 

[badf00d]

Ok, nearing completion of my build. The grounding wire has been a bit tricky, First I had to find suitable wire (not included) which proved to be harder for me than I hoped. Now @tomb mentions in this thread that he soldered it. There doesn't seem to be anything to solder it to. I ran my wire from the screw on the Alps pot through the hole in the board and out the other side.
 
Before I try to button this thing up, is there something different I need to do with the ground wire? Where does it get soldered? I'm confused. 

 

[dsavitsk]

The pot grounding wire should be soldered to the small pcb via right next to the pot. It is in the space between the pot, the output transformer, and the edge of the board. It is labeled "PG" for "Pot Ground."

 

[dsavitsk]

The safety ground wire should be soldered to the via right next to the power inlet that is labeled "SG" and then connected to the case. There is a large hole in the PCB through which you can insert a socket wrench or a screw driver to tighten it.

Please note that you must scrape away some of the anodize to make a good electrical connection. There are detailed instructions at the beginning of this thread.

 

[tomb]

@badf00d,
 
As a normal practice, I have never included hookup wire in a Beezar kit - for anything, except the special cabling for the GrubDAC-CableDAC.  I do go as far as supplying heat sink grease in the Starving Student kits, but that's sort of specialized and not really available in a normal hardware store.  I still don't supply wire for the Starving Student.
 
That said, you probably don't want to wait this long, but if you PM me with your address (Beezar doesn't know Head-Fi usernames), I'll ship some to you.
 
Or, you can do what I do - order from John at John's Wire Shop on ebay (navships).  Get teflon-coated (PTFE), SPC (silver-plated copper), multi-strand, 22 gauge.  That's about the thickest you can use and still fit it in the holes on the PCB.  This is green (good to represent Ground) and would be a great selection:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-feet-22-AWG-Silver-Plated-PTFE-Wire-Green-19-strand-/231675375027?hash=item35f0edadb3
 
You'll see some people complain about this wire in the headphone cable thread (microphonics, too stiif, etc.), but for hookup wire it's unbeatable.  The teflon will not pull away from the focus of heat while you are soldering.  It's outstanding wire, IMHO.
 
The other choice is to get normal hookup wire at your local hardware store or Radio Shack, but it's tough to solder wire with PVC coating and keep the insulation in place.  You'll watch the insulation literally move away from the solder joint, leaving your nicely trimmed wire with a 1/4" of bare wire exposed - or worse.

 

[badf00d]

Thanks for the quick reply, guys. I ended up using some telephone wire that appeared to be a reasonable enough gauge to work. Mistake?

 

[funch]

   
 
Or, you can do what I do - order from John at John's Wire Shop on ebay (navships).  Get teflon-coated (PTFE), SPC (silver-plated copper), multi-strand, 22 gauge.  That's about the thickest you can use and still fit it in the holes on the PCB.  This is green (good to represent Ground) and would be a great selection:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-feet-22-AWG-Silver-Plated-PTFE-Wire-Green-19-strand-/231675375027?hash=item35f0edadb3
 
 

 
That's the exact wire I used, except mine is orange (had some in my stash). 
 
I finished mine a couple of days ago and have already been rolling some tubes. Mine has the Cinemags and stock cap's btw.
My source is a Yggy, and 'phones are HD800's.
 
Here's my short take.
 
The stock EH's sound OK, but are bit thin and harsh sounding.  
 
The RCA 6072/12AY7's I picked up on ebay are a noticeable step up. A much more fleshed out, full sound. Mid's are much sweeter without losing
the detail.
 
I also tried a pair of these that I had in my stash; platinum and cryo'ed. http://www.upscaleaudio.com/mullard-cv4003-12au7-vintage-new-old-stock/
Even better yet than the 6072's above, but I paid less than 60 bucks for the RCA's, and to be honest, I'm not sure that the Mullards
are enough better to justify the price difference, especially since the Torp III was designed around the 12AY7.  The 4003's had plenty of gain though.
 
I also had a pair of these on hand; also platinum and cryo'ed. http://www.upscaleaudio.com/mullard-cv4004-12ax7-british-new-old-stock/
Tomb is correct that the 12AX7 is not the best choice. Even at their much higher price, these sound too aggressive, probably because of some
distortion. As with the 4003's, plenty of gain.
 
My main amp is an Eddie Current Balancing Act with PX4 output tubes. After reading the original Torp I thread, I wanted to build one just
to hear it. Then along comes the Torp III with optional Cinemag OT's, so I couldn't resist ordering one. Besides, I haven't built anything for
quite a while, and was Jones'ing pretty bad. 

  Of course, I couldn't help but compare the two amps, and while the Torp III can't keep up
with the BA's 'otherworldly soundstage', it holds its own quite well in all other aspects; detail, dynamics, bass, et al. At around $850 with the
Cinemags, stock cap's, and a pair of vintage 6072's, it's a steal.
 
A massive thanks to dsavitsk and tomb for bringing us this marvel and for their continued selfless assistance.
 
Of course, FWIW and YMMV.