Customer Reviews

Building Valve Amplifiers

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently purchased this, the companion work to the author's definitive book on tube amp design, Valve Amplifiers. There are quite a few books on how to design a tube amp, but very few resources available on how to safely construct them. I say safely because vacuum tube amplifiers use voltages that are lethal, some extreme designs using voltages in excess of a kilovolt! Safety is essential when dealing with tube amps at all times.

Originally, the author covered amplifier construction techniques in the first edition of Valve Amplifiers, but that volume is now in it's third edition and is over six hundred pages long WITHOUT the construction section. It's understandable that Mr. Jones decided to put out a separate tome on amp construction, since the construction information is as long as the entire first edition of Valve Amplifiers.

This book goes into great detail on how to build a chassis, wiring techniques, PCB's, metalwork and assembly using only hand tools. Examples are given of tools to be used (often with more than one choice for a given job) and how to use them properly. The book then goes on to explain the use of oscilloscopes, distortion measurements and troubleshooting, completely illustrated with pictures and drawings needed to do these things. There are also useful tricks, such as using a discarded radio tuning capacitor to find the optimum capacitance for feedback compensation.

This, along with Valve Amplifiers, are the definitive modern works for the amateur on how to design and build tube amplifiers. If you're interested in tube DIY audio, there just aren't any substitutes for these books, they're simply the best currently available, period.

It is safe to assume that if you are considering this book, you feel you have ingested enough theory and are now ready for the nuts and bolts of assembling a vacuum tube amp of your own.
(Not the least of which regards the critical importance of safety when dealing with lethal voltages)
My rating of this book is a little low, inasmuch as the buyer might be disappointed to see so few words about assembly, and so many more chapters of theoretical/empirical esoterica. The author here is no slacker. He obviously has spent a lifetime in the field and has a vast body of expertise to share; and does so in that ever popular British circumlocutive amble. There is indeed a lot of subtle minutiae in the book that is informative, entertaining, and edifying. But aren't we interested in what to do and what not to do and why we do it this way and not that way regarding assembling the actual components? You can find all that info in this book; including what tools will help immensely and save a lot of starting over, and cursing inanimate objects on the way to starting over.
(and be encouraged to discover that even this practised author, Morgan Jones, has a bit of dread when he first powers up-hoping not to see sparks & smoke!)
But there are a couple more books that you might also consider:... On precisely what is taking place in a tube amp, one can do no better than to make sure to have on your electronics shelf, An all American classic by the late great USAF Colonel John Rider (of Rider Technical Publication fame)-a reprint of his superbly well written "Inside The Vacuum Tube". He takes you one step at a time; and at the beginning of a new chapter, reviews "what we learned, and explains what we will now learn and now build upon in the next chapter". In other words, it is a very well thought outand in depth treatise, with a beginning a middle and an end. You will emerge with a command of vacuum tube circuitry.
Once that is digested, ...and perhaps you are precisely at that point now... you want to know exactly why you use this value of resistor, and that value of capacitor, and this arrangement of components, and not THAT kind of resistor, etc,.. and I do mean exactly how...you will find no better book than another fine reprint by the title of "Mullard Tube Circuits For Audio Amplifiers" If it comes down to choosing one over the other, with both time and budget concerns...I'd go for the Mullard book, hands down, nol contendre. It gives all the exact reasons for why we provide feedback, precisely how the phase splitter splits the signal for the push pull, and why we even want a push pull rather than a single ended amp; and diagrams for drilling out the chassis, and time honored, and tested methods of assembly. 'S alright? 'Salright!

...this book contains a lot of good, hard to find advice on the pratical issues that arise when building a tube amplier. This allows the novice to learn quickly without having to learn only by their own mistakes (which can be dangerous, frustating and costly). There are useful discussions on choosing basic equipment (although perhaps a little too much) such as Digital Volt Meters and Oscilloscopes. The author also usefully discusses sourcing components which is, in my experience, the big hidden work item you run into building your own electronics (especially tube electronics) these days.

This book, sensibly, does not contain a lot of theory (the author moved that to his other book -- which I did not find useful) or circuits for re-use -- but for the practical issues of safely producing a safe, robust, low noise amplifier this book is very good.

My interest is primarily guitar amplifiers and this book is equally applicable to that domain as it is to hi-fi amplifiers, albeit without any special consideration of guitar amplifier issues or circuits.

The authors writing style is fine (it could, perhaps be more concise in some areas) but the pictures and layout of the book are dated and, given that, the price seems high (although this book represents better value than the author's theory book, in my opinion).

This is an acceptable guide for those who are completely unfamiliar with the construction of their own electronic equipment. If you have never built electronics and aren't familiar with the basic tools and techniques, this is a suitable text. It discusses tools, very basic sheet metal working, electronic construction techniques, and common pitfalls.

If however, you have some knowledge of electronics construction, then you can safely pass by this book. The author covers the basics of safety (important when working with voltages over about 70 volts) and construction but spends the entire volume on the very basic aspects of the topics covered. For example, there is a discussion of appropriate soldering iron tips and making good solder joints. Good information for the uninitiated, but hardly advanced topics. There is also a discussion of the differences between analog and digital volt meters. Again, the raw basics for getting started but not the higher level details for which you might be looking. I bought this book looking for some information on how various design flaws might manifest themselves in amplifier performance. I found nothing of the sort. There are some very basic discussion of potential sources of hum and crackle in the sound, but that's it. No discussion of component interactions, nonlinearities, field interactions, or appropriate shielding. The author also seems to have some serious misconceptions on grounding and ground currents. Be careful following his advice on this topic.

Don't get me wrong, this book and the author's companion book "Valve Amplifiers" both contain some good information. However, it is beginner level information. I am a twenty year Electrical Engineer looking for specific information on certain topics. As such, I found both the author's books rather disappointing.

If you're new to electronics construction and vacuum tubes, you'll probably find this book helpful. However, if you already have some experience with electronics design and construction, you probably need to look for something a little more advanced.

For your own good, don't take the advice of people saying that this book is "great for beginners" etc. A background in electronics will help you, but an understanding of general amplifier design, practices and layout is assumed by the author and this book may be over your head at parts otherwise. Also, the author is british, so he'll write something like HT and you may not know that that means high tension which is britspeak for high voltage.

Also, I was hoping to get a solid guide on circuit design as well as amplifier construction and layout, but the circuit design is almost completely absent. Perhaps this is too much to ask for... after all it's "Building Valve Amplifiers" not "Designing Valve Amplifiers." If you want to design and build an amp, this book is only the second half of the solution.

With that said, it is probably one of the best resources once you reach the build phase of your project. The author gives numerous valuable tips to avoid humming, distortion, shocks, and all other negativities that can occur with tube amps.

It is a good book directed to beginners. You will find there many advices on how to plan an amp lay out and hints on metal working.
Don't expect to find there math based circuit analysis for the advanced experimenter.

When I started building Hi-Fi tube electronics a few years ago, I dove right in ,searched out what were touted to be awesome sounding circuits, only to be rewarded with buzzing, hissing and humming results, with little understanding of what went wrong! I took a fellow Diyer's advice, and purchased both of Morgan Jones books, "Valve Amplifiers" and "Building Valve Amplifiers". Well written and fairly easy to understand, the time I spent with those Books gave me the knowledge to turn those nasty noisey projects into well laid out, safe, audiophile grade equipment!

This guy builds beautiful one-off tube amps. Amazing. The section on suspending the first stages of a tube amp to reduce microphonics using the elastics from you knickers pays for the book, right down to the calculation of the required mass for the circuit. I think everyone who want to build tube circuits will find some wacky techniques of interest.

The book has nothing to do with tube amp theory. It's all about how to make a chassis with the required holes, wiring, grounding, etc.

Lovely.

This book in my opinion is not what I had expected. If one has not used any kind of tools, doesn't know what a screwdriver is, this book might be for them. There were some interesting suggestions. No schematics or very little. If one has worked with electronics this is a book to avoid. I wished I had not bought it. There is far better information on the internet, lots better and it pretty much free. The title really does not fit the info held within it's covers.

This book does give hints about proper consruction techniques but it is NOT about building a complete amplifier of any sort. It would be a good book to have on the shelf; it is not the first one to buy.