Solid State Class A Amplifier

[alnewall]

It would need to be something special. A decent Gainclone can be built quite easily without a kit for £100 and beats all ss amps that i've heard so far.

[Richard]

A decent Gainclone can be built quite easily without a kit for £100 and beats all ss amps that i've heard so far.

It would be a near impossibility for a total novice to track down the designs and suppliers and learn the skills of metalwork and construction to produce something that worked well and was good to look at. By great contrast a decent kit gets him up and running, and teaches, all in one go.

We perhaps need to take a step backwards and remember how we started. Many of us are now experienced builders or even armchair designers who can easily read a circuit and think we know how it will sound.This is not the case for many people who would otherwise be interested in a WD kit.

Hopefully WD will offer something to tempt all of us but we must be realistic about where their market lies.

Rich

[alnewall]

It would be a near impossibility for a total novice to track down the designs and suppliers and learn the skills of metalwork and construction to produce something that worked well and was good to look at. By great contrast a decent kit gets him up and running, and teaches, all in one go.

Agreed. But there is a website out there that will hold the hand of a total novice, and take that novice through every stage of the construction, parts sourcing and upgrading. Producing a working amplifier without any previous experience.
I was and still am that novice.

If WD are to aim a kit at total beginners then the instructions would have to written by someone who can still remember struggling to find info on wiring up transformers and pots, and not someone who assumes such knowledge is imparted at birth.

[Richard]

If WD are to aim a kit at total beginners then the instructions would have to written by someone who can still remember struggling to find info on wiring up transformers and pots, and not someone who assumes such knowledge is imparted at birth.

Forgive me asking Al but have you ever had a WAD kit? That is exactly what they did . The hardwired kits require interpretation of the circuit to some extent but the pcb kits are literally soldering by numbers. Every component is in there along with step by step instructions and detailed wiring drawings and lay-outs. A dedicated website and return-to-base back-up is offered as support.

I should say that they aren't only for novices as many of us have built them due to the high standard of the finished article which is very difficult to acheive as a one-off by an individual. Many experienced builders here have bought them for that reason alone, knowing they will build them using their own mods and components.

The time element also comes into play. Yes, we could do a scratch build given the time and resources but many buyers may be working, perhaps without workshop facilities, just basic tools, and want something to interest them for a few hours of a few evenings with a guaranteed result. Furthermore, the results are always saleable at good prices, should the buyer want to move on, due to the high respect for the finished product.

Rich

[alnewall]

Forgive me asking Al but have you ever had a WAD kit?

I bought a ready built Kit34 due to lack of confidence in my ability. I still have the instruction set which i have read thoroughly and found to be a bit thin on detail for a first timer. I would like to be able to pick any available kit and know that the instructions were comprehensive enough to make assembly easy.
I fully understand that the pcb based amps are there for beginners, but i believe in choice. Also I have found that hard wiring teaches more about circuitry basics than sticking components on a pcb and is not really much more difficult.

[Richard]

Fair comment Al. I wouldn't like to have done a Kit34 from scratch as a first kit. Kel84, Kel34, Kit88, Kel80 were easier. But, now imagine trying to build any of those by sourcing your own components and using just the help of a website. Rich.

[Paul Barker]

The reason I cam into valve audio was because I went over to Zen in Hull and auditioned various solid state and valve amps. The two valve per channel amps sounded OK against the Sugden A1 amp (I don't know which model was about 1997 the current at that time), the valve amps had better depth to the soundstage. But I bought the EAR parallel push pull el34 which floored the Sugden and the two valve per channel valve amps. It was no contest. I spent the extra grand and came home with a bigger credit card bill, but I could do no less.

EAR subsequently blew a valve and took half the pcb on that side with it, so I started to learn about valve amps after that. The rest is history.

solid state a1 isn't good enough.

Chip amp like gainclone or t amp or that new thing Leo is onto are the only viable solid state projects and they are difficult to get into as they are readily and cheaply provided already.

I put the t amp on last night. Aint half bad. No base but very good top end. Like the base of the gainclone but very solid state sounding in the voices. T amp trances it in voicing.

[colin.hepburn]

Hi ALL

I would Like to see the John linsley Hood Class a Single Ended amp available As a Kit from WD I has a large following very popular Amp

Lots of info on the web about the amp can be built from 10 watt / 15watt/ 40 Watt

Details can be found @


http://www.tcaas.btinternet.co.uk/jlhupdate.htm

[Richard]

Thanks Colin, interesting site .
I'd like to hear one if anyone has built similar.
Rich

[colin.hepburn]

Hi Richard
Theirs More about the JLH over at @ http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...&highlight=JLH


In addition, nelson Pass of Pass Lads Has done a Mosfet Version knowing as the PHL
Maybe of intrest too you
http://www.passdiy.com/