Class a tube amp design software

It thus has three electrodes where two of them called anode and cathode reflects the diode function of the tube according to svwp. This amp puts out some amazing sound and has more than enough power. How do you find a set of operating conditions that will work with 3 different tube families. A trio of software programs for the intrepid tubephile. A vacuum tube amplifier design that performs vinyl playback as you desire phono amplifiers. This is not as efficient as the class b design which only draws current when it needs to, or the ab which is a hybrid somewhere between the two.

Welcome to my vacuum tube audio page, which i dedicate to the reader who seeks an indepth understanding of amplifier design who wants to learn the factors that contribute to audio quality who doesnt buy the myths of the highend marketplace, where old designs enhanced with premium components and dressed up in impressive packages command astronomical. Since for power amplification it is usual to use pentodes or beamtetrodes, which produce predominantly odd harmonics, we can expect all possible harmonics and a. The sound produced by a singleended amp is rather unique. We will now evaluate the software which runs on different operating platforms. Designing and building a class d amp from scratch is a laudable. Singleended tube based guitar amplifier by joe linn senior project. A vva can be used to color the sound of a digital recording by adding tube warmth or fatbass in addition to adding subtle harmonics. As it applies to tube amps, though, class a isnt necessarily on a par with gradea beef or firstclass mail. I have 3 tube amps including 300b set, 2a3 pushpull, and a larger, high powered tube amp. Abstractthe design and construction of a singleended classa amplifier is presented. Software for the hp 8903 audio analyzer make professional plots from this.

Classes of amplifier operation rf amplifiers are classified a, ab, b or c according to the phaseangle number of degrees of current flow during each 360degree rf cycle over which plate or collectorcurrent flows. After building and listening to jean hiragas le monstre, a 8w class a amplifier, i wanted to build le monstres bigger brother the 20w class a amplifier. Anyone out there using software for drawing up schematics of tube amp designs. Keep those filaments lit, design your own vacuum tube audio. The following pages of this chapter will describe how a williamson ul class ab ab1 amplifier works and how valve amps can be serviced and maintained to give the best performanse. Your amp s best bias setting is pretty subjective so play it while you adjust it. By employing the use of tube technology and transformer coupling, a musical sounding amplifier is devised taking advantage of 2nd order harmonic distortion and a shortest possible signal path. Power amplifier circuits output stages are classified as a, b, ab and c for analog designsand class d and e for switching designs. This the first video of many on design and build of an audio tube amp. Theyre oriented ic guys but they do include most of the passive components that youd want to draw up tube amp designs. That is, the power tubes are not strictly in series. Yes if the symbols arent in the program,you can dl them fro.

Assembly manual schematic parts list tubes and applications design simulations. Typical plate efficiency for a class a amplifier is about 30 percent. In this paper however a software tool called ltspice is used as an aid in the design process of an guitar amplifier. Eventually you may want to create a power amplifier.

A virtual valve amplifier vva is software algorithm designed and sold by diamond cut productions, inc. To get the most power out of a class a amp, it is generally biased so that the bias current puts as much power through the valve as it can take. The stainless steel tube amp is a functioning prototype, but may. Ever wonder what goes into the design of a vacuum tube audio amplifier. There are a number of classes and variants of tube audio power amplifiers. Tube amp design wikibooks, open books for an open world. Crate v16 15w class a tube combo amp musicians friend. Some amps have multiple power tubes and claim to be class a but when the waveform is viewed with an oscilloscope, clipping is apparent. This deluxe revised edition contains 40% new material, with a comprehensive a z section covering all the great tube amp manufacturers, with histories, photos and information.

This website aims to fill the gap between the two extremes. It is possible to emulate tube distor sound using software. If you have not been trained to work with high voltage then have an amp technician service your amp. Our tube amps and preamps are renown for their extremely low noise and musicality. Musical instrument amplifiers on the other hand have always had limitations. Beside that, el34, el84, and 12ax7 vacuum tubes are used in many practical examples, to design the various parts of the circuits and to compute the values of the needed components. With transistoramp you are able to create your individual transistor amplifier with a few mouse clicks. Aimspice download a student version from their site anasoft schematics entry integrated with industry standard spice 3f5 engine, the demo which can be downloaded from the website seems to work well. Get the guaranteed best price on tube combo guitar amplifiers like the crate v16 15w class a tube combo amp at musicians friend. The fender 5f6a bassman and most marshall amps are fixed bias class ab amps. Since for power amplification it is usual to use pentodes or beamtetrodes, which produce predominantly odd harmonics, we can expect all. If youve been itching to try your hand at building such a thing, this looks like it could be a good place to start.

The fender 5f1 champ is a class a cathode biased amp. Musical instrument amplifiers are fundamentally different from hifi or stereo amplifiers. Where stereo equipment is and should be as completely distortion and coloration free as humanly possible to design. The slides are pretty heavy on engineering design terms, but give a good feel for what it takes to construct and tune an audio amplifier using vacuum tube technology. Transistor amplifier circuit designer software electronic. The tube is ready to amplify the signal at all times. Listed under the technical referencevacuum tube category that is about vacuum tube resources. Spice simulators will allow you to check out your designs on the pc, before committing the design to the breadboard or prototype stage.

By trying out several different sets of operating conditions in the computer i could eliminate hundreds of possibilities without playing with electricity. In turn, when the signal goes negative, the positive device biases off while the negative device turns on and conducts the negative portion of the signal. The first tube power amplifiers were singleended circuits using a single tube driving the primary of a transformer. Sorry some of the best amps produced are tube amp hands down imo.

If you want to build a tube amplifier and you dont want to just copy someone elses circuit it might be a good idea to learn how to design it. Gio writes in to tell us about his latest vacuum tube based audio amplifier design, the 5751 srpp el84 6bq5 pushpull tube amp. Class a amplifier design introduction to amplifier design basic design process. I just go turned on to a free program called expresssch and expresspcb by tweeddlx. Electron tube spice models are examined and used in the process. The amplifier being designed in this paper has two types of electron tubes, 4 el84 in the power section and 2 ecc83 in the preamplifier.

Vacuum tube calculators basic theory using 21stcentury technology to design vacuum tube preamps, power amps, and power supplies system design a professional methodology for crafting a complete guitar amplifier. Pi winding output trannys are not known to have been used in audio valve amps. Transistoramp bjt transistor amplifier circuits designer software. The designation might be significant if youre looking for a certain sound from an amp, but it doesnt make that amp better in and of itself. This deluxe revised edition contains 40% new material, with a comprehensive az section covering all the great tube amp manufacturers, with histories, photos and information. It is easy to get sound out of vacuum tube audio circuitry. Call a thing class a and it automatically sounds superior, right. A possible reason is the high tooling and assembly costs. The grid of cathode biased amps will be at 0 volts. The most common tube type in audio amplifiers regardless if it is in power stages or in pre amplifiers is the socalled triode svwp.

Feb 02, 2017 i cover how to calculate the reflected impedance of the output transformer secondary onto the primary. A 30 watt class a amp will sound louder than a 30 watt class ab amp. A tube amplifier chassis contains lethal high voltage even when unpluggedsometimes over 700 volts ac and 500 volts dc. Its alltube design relies on a pair of el84 power tubes to give it classic british crunch. Amplifier design software rf amplifier design programs you can run from the web or download and run from your hard drive. Welcome to my tube amp simulation software page paragraph about tube amp design simulation. Buy products related to tube amplifier stereo products and see what customers say about tube amplifier stereo products on free delivery possible on eligible purchases. Step by step design of a pushpull vacuum tube amplifier. I would have to say the thd univalve is the best bang for the buck class a amp. Single ended class a 6v6 6j5 valve vacuum tube amplifier circuit. Get a low price and free shipping on thousands of items. Tube bias calculator rob robinettes car and tube amp website.

Fixed bias amps have a bias circuit that puts a negative voltage on the power tube grid. It can be found within their dc8 and forensics8 software programs. This configuration provides much greater efficiency than class a. Vacuum tubes are old electronic components that act like transistors, controlling a lot of current. Our designs emphasize simple, trouble free operation. We also have a world class tube line level preamps and tube phono preamp. Well, radio building master greg charvat has you covered with his. Words alone cannot reveal the otl tube amp experience. C, remodelled the tt21 transmitting tube, naming it kt88. Well, it is a annoyed problem for diy tube amp lover. Design and build your own tube guitar amp guitarsite. The tube cad journals first companion program, tcj filter design lets you design a filter or crossover passive, opamp or tube without having to check out thick textbooks from the library and without having to breakout the scientific calculator.

Singleended classa tube amplifier design and construction. Its built like a tank, and has that beautiful class a chime. Power gain is high because of the low drive power required. By employing the use of tube technology and transformer coupling, a musical sounding amplifier is devised taking advantage of 2nd order harmonic. Build your own professionalgrade audio amp on the sort of. Well, radio building master greg charvat has you covered with his latest presentation, design your own vacuum tube audio amplifier. Also host the excellent magdemo transformer design software, and a host of useful newsletters on spice modelling. Starting with the premise that the amplifier would combine many of the best characteristics of class ab amplifiers, and further refined using the comments and suggestions of other diyaudio members, the design took shape. Ever wanted to build a highly dangerous, inefficient, yet awesomely retro piece of electronics. This site contains a description of an integrated simulator program ispice, and lots of useful newsletters on spice modeling. It has two channels, clean and dirty, that run the gamut between clean licks and ultramodern, highgain pulverization.

For the design of transistor amplifiers there is a new software available. The fender 5e3 deluxe is a cathode biased class ab amp. How to design bjt amplifier in proteus software part 1. Most of the boutique amps being made today are cloned vintage fender and marshall amps or at least heavily influenced by their circuits. This knowledge is then used to design an electron tube amplifier in the software tool ltspice. In short, class a2, whether in a singleended or pushpull amplifier, requires much more thought than most expect. Welcome to my vacuum tube audio page, which i dedicate to the reader who seeks an indepth understanding of amplifier design who wants to learn the factors that contribute to audio quality who doesnt buy the myths of the highend marketplace, where old designs enhanced with premium components and dressed up in impressive packages command astronomical prices. There are also many books on the subject of tube amp circuit theory, design and building that you can read to.

Audio research, mcintosh and many more are still produced today. Sep 01, 2003 already known as the bible of tubes and tube amps, the tube amp book is now even better. Already known as the bible of tubes and tube amps, the tube amp book is now even better. The amp consists of two sections, the audio circuit and the power supply. In this paper the underlying technique of electron tube amplification is investigated to give an insight in how a common electron tube amplifier works. The signal is instantaneously amplified because the tube does not have to wake up. The classes are based on the proportion of each input cycle conduction angle during which an amplifying device passes current. For additional information about designing tube amplifiers, refer to the theory section. The amp s tone is what really matters so dont just set a standard bias target like 70% for class ab amps and forget it. The valve wizard single ended how to design valve guitar. Audio amplifier software is need on operating systems like windows, linux, mac and also on mobiles which are ios and android base.

Remote control reuse robots sensors software soldering speakers. Singleended classa tube amplifier aug 10, 2007 1 abstractthe design and construction of a singleended classa amplifier is presented. Attached please find a table of contents for this class. If you are down with bode plots and circuit diagrams, though, it could serve as a nice introduction to building a class ab amplifier circuit. The image of the conduction angle derives from amplifying a sinusoidal signal. The summary is intended to prepare the reader for basic design and analysis of amplifier stages. Schematic of a class ab tube power amplifier with negative feedback. In this video i will show you to design bjt common emitter amplifier design using simulation software proteus.

You can change the tube current, and the cathode resistor will change. This is a really great book on designing linear power supplies in general not only tube power supplies, of course theres an emphasis on power supplies for tube amplifiers but the material covered by the author is not restricted to tube amps. It is relatively easy to find introductory information on how to design simple amplifier stages, and it is also fairly easy to find extremely advanced information on complex circuit design, and nearly all of it is intended only for hifi. The output of this small amplifier in which a 6v6gt output pentode is connected as triode is about 4. There are many class d amplifiers on the market now, and the best of these are dominating the upper reaches of the high end. A pure class a design transformed into a mkii model capable of optimising sound density new. You have the flexibility to choose the software which you need. Theres a page on how to use it with the vacuum tube models here. When you hear a product rated as an a, you often think that it is the best there is.

There is a computer program that comes with this page to help you. The largest one i know of is rated at 750 watts by audio research. This programs goal is to provide a quick and easy display not only of the frequency response, but also of the resistor and capacitor values for a passive and active filters and crossovers. Ltspiceswitchercad iii a nice easy to use simulator which is gaining rapid acceptance. Jan 14, 2015 this approach will allow us to discover unique insights into the fundamentals of class a, class ab, and class b operation and will also help more experienced circuit designers to understand why it. In 1977 i designed and published in audio magazine a singleended class a amplifier using bipolar followers biased by a constant current source. Class b are pushpull amplifiers, similar to conventional solid state amplifiers, where there is a pushing tube and a pulling tube being driven 180 deg out of phase. Having read jean hiragas article construction of a 20w class a amplifier and in copies of the old french magazine laudiophile, i was interested to hear for myself how le monstres. This module shows how to simply calculate the values needed to make a working amplifier that has correct class a bias as described in amplifier. I have both class a and class ab ss systems with both planar speakers magnepan 1.

How to design valve guitar amplifiers the valve wizard. Keep those filaments lit, design your own vacuum tube. Jun 04, 2014 keep those filaments lit, design your own vacuum tube audio equipment. Apr 10, 2010 the slides are pretty heavy on engineering design terms, but give a good feel for what it takes to construct and tune an audio amplifier using vacuum tube technology. Never touch the amplifier chassis with one hand while probing with the other hand because a lethal shock can run between your arms. Thus, the driver tube will see a lower cathodetoplate voltage than the power tube, which means that we run the risk of the driver tube entering positive grid voltage. Tube bias calculator rob robinettes car and tube amp. If there is only one power tube, you have a class a amp. I have always been keen on valve or tube audio amplifiers, both for hifi and musical instruments. This programs goal is to provide a quick and easy display not only of.

215 884 1437 1670 1466 1294 1068 138 1246 631 828 750 616 990 184 1356 182 847 1389 777 1322 182 312 376 297 100 1141 462 1482 633 49 1334