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Building Valve Amplifiers is a unique hands-on guide for anyone working with tube audio equipment--as an electronics hobbyist, audiophile or audio engineer. This 2nd Edition build… Read more
LIMITED OFFER
Immediately download your ebook while waiting for your print delivery. No promo code needed.
Building Valve Amplifiers is a unique hands-on guide for anyone working with tube audio equipment--as an electronics hobbyist, audiophile or audio engineer. This 2nd Edition builds on the success of the first with technology and technique revisions throughout and, significantly, a major new self-build project, worked through step-by-step, which puts into practice the principles and techniques introduced throughout the book.
Particular attention has been paid to answering questions commonly asked by newcomers to the world of the valve, whether audio enthusiasts tackling their first build or more experienced amplifier designers seeking to learn about the design principles and trade-offs of "glass audio." Safety considerations are always to the fore, and the practical side of this book is reinforced by numerous clear illustrations throughout.
Preface
Acknowledgements
Section 1: Construction
Chapter 1. Planning
Chassis layout
Parts having specific problems and solutions
Examples
References
Recommended further reading
Chapter 2. Metalwork for Poets
Lighting
Artificial lighting
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Marking out
Drilling round holes
Sawing metal
The traditional folded chassis
Making a chassis from extruded aluminium channel and sheet
Finishing
Recommended further reading
Chapter 3. Wiring
Tools
Hand tools
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
Types of wire
Wiring techniques
Class I and Class II equipment
Earthing
Rectifiers and high-current circuitry
Balanced interfaces
Layout of small components within a chassis
PCBs
Problems and solutions
Reference
Recommended further reading
Section 2: Testing
Chapter 4. Test Equipment Principles
The moving coil meter and DC measurements
Comparative versus absolute measurements
Precision and accuracy
Errors and uncertainties
Combining uncertainties
Why worry about uncertainties?
Calibration
Meters and AC measurements
Digital voltmeters (DVMs)
Oscilloscope principles
Analogue oscilloscopes
Bells and whistles
Digital oscilloscopes
Applying signals to the oscilloscope
Oscillators and dedicated audio test sets
Other test equipment
References
Recommended further reading
Chapter 5. Faultfinding to Fettling
Safety
Electrical safety testing
Functionality testing
Faultfinding
Classic amplifiers: Comments
References
Chapter 6. Performance Testing
Linear distortions
Measuring gain at different frequencies
Impedance against frequency
Non-linear distortions
Measuring power supply ripple and hum
Measuring noise
References
Section 3: Examples
Chapter 7. Practical Projects
Bulwer-Lytton power amplifier
RIAA power supply (a.k.a. the “Thing”)
Hybrid balanced RIAA stage (a.k.a. “Toaster”)
References
Appendix
Two-terminal modelling equations and spreadsheets
Six-component worked example
UK to US glossary
Index