[jrebman]

Folks, if you're into diy, and even if you're not, you could still build this kit when it comes out:

http://www.bottlehead.com/store.php?crn=44&rn=442&action=show_detail

No affiliation except I'm a satisfied bottlehead customer, am building another one of their amps right now, and have heard several BH products in my system.  The value for the money here is off-the-scale good and many folks who have never held a soldering iron have built them successfully.

Just passing along a hot tip on what promises to be a very nice headamp.

-- Jim

[jrebman]

Well, if you're thinking about this, you better act right now unless you want to wait a while for a second run of kits.  The initial demand for this amp was so great that they doubled their initial order, and now there is (maybe) one kit left.

-- Jim

[Pez]

Yeah I've been thinking of building one of these, putting in some upgraded parts. This is a very simple schematic.

[poseidonsvoice]

It would be nice if he can also offer the 6SN7 as the input tube. It is superior in every way to a 12AU7 and is its octal cousin. The operating points would be quite close, not the same, but close. The circuit is very simple indeed. Should cross post this fella in the Cheap & Cheerful forum as well.

Anand.

[jrebman]

Jason, yes, I think you'll see a lot of folks tweaking these with some nice parts, alternate tubes, etc.  They're already experimenting with CCSs on both the driver and output tubes, and theres been a lot of discussion about film-type output coupling caps.

Anand, there is plenty of filament current overhead so that a 6sn7 can be used easily, and the driver tube hole can be punched out easily to accept an octal socket (this is done at the laser cutting shop and the kit is shipped this way.)  There is also the 6cg7 that can be used with a bit of rewiring of the filament connections.  Lots of different driver tubes can be used with this design, but the 12au7 was the basis for the design to keep costs down.  Myself, I'll probably try an e80cc or 6cg7 first.

-- Jim

[jrebman]

Doc Bottlehead posted this today:

The first run sold out a bit after midnight. We have initiated a second production
run, and it will probably ship two to three weeks after the first run. We hope to
begin shipping the first run around the first or second week of April. We have been
selling several kits each day and it looks like this kit will continue to move pretty
quickly so I would suggest getting in on the second run early if you plan to order.

-----

Again folks, no connection to BH, just passing along some info about what is shaping up to be a really cool little headamp kit. (BTW, they will also build it for you if you think you can't handle the kit, but many people with zero electronics and soldering experience have successfully completed these kits, and this one looks about as simple as you can get.)

-- Jim