DCC Archive Amp question

Anyone know of a currently or recently available amp (integrated or preamp) that has a stereo/mono switch?

Bonus question: anyone built the diyhifisupply.com Ella?
http://www.diyhifisupply.com/page/m100.htm

Seems well-priced, but despite being advertised as an 'integrated,' it only has one input.

Same question re: the AES AE-25.
http://www.audioelectronicsupply.com/products/AEHTML/kits/ae_25kit.html

[ September 23, 2001: Message edited by: Patrick M ]

 

I've been eyeballing a lot of these kits since I lost Steve's Dynaco Mark III auction a few weeks back. They look like a lot of fun don't they?

There are a lot of comments in the tubes forum at www.audioasylum.com about different kits, but I'm not sure about these exactly.
You might want to do a search. I just found a review of the AES Superamp at www.audioreview.com.



Actually, I have put on order a foreplay preamp and paramour 2A3 Single Ended Triode amp from www.bottlehead.com. Now I just have to shop for some high efficiency speakers to go along with the whopping 3.5 watts of output power those paramours put out.

I might go for one of those AES superamps or something comparable in 6-9 months if I have the desire for more power. I know Sckott endorses the venerable Dynaco ST-70, but I think I'd learn more from building a new kit from scratch.

Some people collect stamps (never understood it much myself). Maybe I'll start a collection of vacuum tube driven power amps to go with my Gold Plated CD's... Yeah, thats the ticket!

 

You might know I built the AES PH-1 and welcome it into everyday of vinyl playback. When I got my Rotel preamp, although it came with a very clean, honest sound of a MM Phono input, it could not stand against the Ph-1. I am playing it now with some recommended RCA tubes Steve had told me to scout out.

If the PH-1 is indictive of the products AES has, I can whole heartedly give a few pointers:

-Get a damn good soldering iron. No rat shack $30 soldering "screw in" tips or shortcuts. (I did this first out of desperation and failed miserably at some tricky elbow-room soldering around some caps). Get a Weller. Get one used, and get a few extra tips. Anything else than a Weller is less than a Weller. Do NOT F around.

-Speaking of F, tell the world to GO AWAY while you're building circuts and try to complete even a few pages at a time. Get a lamp for your desk that incorporates a large maginfying glass in the middle of it on a spring-arm. Get a dedicated table in your basement or garage. You have to concentrate on what you're doing. The PH-1 was very complicated for a 1st time builder. It was a crash course for me, and I had to seek out someone who had knowledge of push/pull circuts. I'll be honest to say that a 2001F resistor fell underneath my kitchen table and I didn't know it. It took this very smart guy 20 minutes to find my mistake, which is a miricle. He wipped out a replacement resistor, and I was working. Lucky for me, he also had an oscullator of some sort to test points that seemd dead while we sent signal though it, to watch how efficient it worked/didn't work. If you're not willing to fenatically concentrate, don't build. This means you (and not only Pat).

-Get yourself a Fluke voltage meter. How will you know that 20-30 solder points in a circut work, or where the problem is? You need this so you can test your way around a circuit that doesn't work. You'll have a lot of guessing to do if you don't have a good working meter, preferably digital, like most Flukes. You might be able to pick one up for $30-50 used.

-Read the build manual(s) long before you build. Be familiar with the steps so you don't misread them as you "jump out of the box" and start at it. It's very easy to misinterpret some steps, as some designers might tell you to solder 3-4 things together than "cut" the wire. Eeek. No turning back, doode, and Radio Shack won't have what you need if you slip.

Now... The instructions for the AES I built was very straight forward, very step by step, page by page, but the PH-1 was murder on your eyes, because of all of the resistors crossing and being soldered to only a few solder lugs. Was it worth it? Hell yah! But I was lucky it wasn't summer, else beads of sweat would have been in my eyes as well. The manual also made me feel babysat, but a few places made me look 3-4 times before I wipped out the hot iron. The circuit I built was VERY detail oriented, but this was an RIAA preamp with specific rollover and amp positions in the audio spectrum, not just an amp. Amps are a whole different field.

Which brings me to a few recc's: The Dynaco's I got later were a lot more friendly to build and fix. Maybe these you've looked into are the same, as amps specifially. They sure look simple. Also, 1st time builders should look into the line preamp, the foreplay. It's been equally a great audiophile unit as well as a course for 1st time builders: http://www.bottlehead.com/et/et.html

You will become a better builder once tackled that fine piece of tubage. Nicer also they give you straight wood to furnish on your own.

Nothing you can buy can ever come close to what is either rebuildable or buildable as far as tube amps come. You have the pride that you did this "yourself".

Pat, I would recommend you ask people in audiosylum.com (under tubes) as those folk are notorious for building everything. Name it, someone's done it. Anyone will tell you caviats that's not on the seller's web pages.

Hope your arm's steady and your dedicaton is there (I bet it is). Some Dynaco users end up giving up on thier ST-70's and MkIII's because they suddenly lost dedication ito fixing them occasionally. With all honesty and probable assumption that one would be very serious, for GOD sake, always start simple.

Sorry for the length, but I hope people can learn from my experiences too!

 

Scott, I'll trade you my Fluke 12 for your Weller. Deal?

Seriously, I'm probably not going to build an amp anytime soon. Just thinking out loud. The more salient question for me at the moment is which integrated or preamps have stereo/mono switches? That would be most handy. I don't think any of the Rotels or NADs (not the hair remover) do. Anyone?

 

Next time I go to MIT in October I'll get yet ANOTHER Weller and wave it at you via email. Last one I got was a single piece WP25 for $15 w/holder. Ya should be able to afford that, no?

 

Yeah...but Hakko is better.

 

A reasonable priced and exceptional pre-amp with a mono switch is the Audible Illusions 3a. It is a tube pre-amp that can be ordered with a John Curl designed phono stage. I used it for about 1 1/2. It offers a well defined image, but is not the last word in detail retrieval. The Audio Research LS-25 MK II also offers the mono switch however it is in another price level all together.