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In this site you can familiarize with my Audio Projects their development flow and stages. I will tell you about most important concepts and terms which will make you confident when making a choice and I promise not to be boring and not to overload it with deep technical details by insistence of my kids . |
My name is David Gogoshidze and I have a Phd in Physics and Math in subject of acoustic and electromagnetic signals studies. First tube amplifier I built about 55 years ago - my Dad bought me tube amplifier Kit and I still wonder how I survived and was never shocked by high voltage as nobody was babysitting my assembling process. Maybe that luck established my strong audio hobby which newer stopped since that . Even owning Precise Electronic Equipment R&D company I always could find time for my favorite hobby [ as well as for fishing :) ]. This story has begun few years ago when my older son said that he bought turntable and some vinyls. After searching for preamplifier for reasonable prices he had bought one from Internet . Being aware of what is good sound reproduction as he was raised in a family where his dad continually was building audio equipment he felt very unsatisfied with his quality of purchase. It was an Op -Amp based preamplifier same as most turnable owners have today. I was excited with his interest to vinyl records as most young people of his generation grown in Transistors era, unfortunately has no idea how analog record should sound in Tube (Valve) amplifier system. Together we started looking for an acceptable Phono preamplifier for his turnable but unfortunately there was nothing with good Specs priced lower than thousands. Another thing is that even if we'll pay this money he still had to connect it to his solid state and get all beauty of sound "killed". So to complete the full Audio system he had to pay as much as enough for house downpayment? On the other hand my strong opinion is that the best audio system you need as yet you are young because hearing keeps fading after age of 40 and when you have enough income to buy top system - it's kinda late for it. |
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Besides, my children (he and his beautiful wife) still live in an apartment, as most of their age people do and I hardly could imagine how to listen to full system (amplifier-speakers) in such conditions without annoying neighbours. So I thought that having Highest quality of Phono preamplifier and Headphone Amplifier will be the best sonically set-up. Also there are lots of Headphones and turntable headshells not at astronomic prices and which are able to provide parameters even far beyond the Hi-Fi standard requirements. ....And I decided to build the entire system myself and soon got buried into the work. The whole project was divided on: Phono Preamplifier, Headphone Amplifier, classic Push-Pull Power Amplifier Schematics... all amplifiers are build by conservative classic circuits, well proved during the whole Tube Era and their outlines have been developed in past the century and have been time tested. There is very little you can add or alter as Vacuum Tube (Valve) is straight electronic device which is easy to control with 2-3 passive elements. All tube-based products that you can find anywhere vary mostly only by elements, mechanical design and tuning expertize . |
This is Project Development time chart :
So..I focused on a few and I started R&D simultaneously for all amplifiers . I made quick prototype of Power Amplifier and I being satisfied with it`s parameters started with Phono Preamplifier and Headphone as they had higher priority in this case .
Phono preamplifier just from the very beginning proved itself extremely well and I build 2 prototypes for my son and myself to put them on testing. They stand the the 5 years tests perfectly.
...But..... as yet we both already had working prototypes of Phono Preamplifiers, Headphone amplifier project escaped to the finish line as my son still didn't have Headphone amplifier for his headphones matching quality.
All previous amplifiers which he had for test runs parallel with me ,I took apart as they did not pass my sound quality "certification". They all are shown in the time chart above and "Development Page". All the Headphone amplifiers have gone through meticulous audiophile trials but only the the last one complied to the demanded specifications and won the "champions place": as it was expected there is no short cuts to get Top sound quality with Tube Amplifier for low impedance Headphones (12-200 oHm) -you should build Full Scale Transformer Output amplifier .
This is why transformer output headphone amplifier is rear on the market - it takes the same efforts to build full scale tube amplifier for Speakers which can be priced and sold better.
Furthermore - requirements to Headphone Amplifier are much higher as you have headphones placed directly on or in your ears and everything undesirable like hiss and hum becoming fully exposed. In case of Amplifier-Speaker System distance to speakers fades away all noises .
Phono preamplifier just from the very beginning proved itself extremely well and I build 2 prototypes for my son and myself to put them on testing. They stand the the 5 years tests perfectly.
...But..... as yet we both already had working prototypes of Phono Preamplifiers, Headphone amplifier project escaped to the finish line as my son still didn't have Headphone amplifier for his headphones matching quality.
All previous amplifiers which he had for test runs parallel with me ,I took apart as they did not pass my sound quality "certification". They all are shown in the time chart above and "Development Page". All the Headphone amplifiers have gone through meticulous audiophile trials but only the the last one complied to the demanded specifications and won the "champions place": as it was expected there is no short cuts to get Top sound quality with Tube Amplifier for low impedance Headphones (12-200 oHm) -you should build Full Scale Transformer Output amplifier .
This is why transformer output headphone amplifier is rear on the market - it takes the same efforts to build full scale tube amplifier for Speakers which can be priced and sold better.
Furthermore - requirements to Headphone Amplifier are much higher as you have headphones placed directly on or in your ears and everything undesirable like hiss and hum becoming fully exposed. In case of Amplifier-Speaker System distance to speakers fades away all noises .
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When Headphone amplifier was tested and approved and before I started with its final shape design my sons told me:
" Dad why won't you make and sell these amplifiers? There plenty of people interested in really good sounding systems. Besides you had invested lot of resources in your Project... Many people have collection of records as well as vinyls and they even don't know what they are capable of .You can make them as happy as me.... Just try to bring your devices to them! " |
So I started making this website and I hope you`ll find it informative and interesting soon.