Here’s an interesting take on the often sought-after vacuum tube amp, using both vacuum tube and solid-state technology. According to its description, “A vacuum tube input stage gives your music a nice warm sound while the solid state output stage provides low-distortion power giving you the best of both retro and modern worlds.”
This amplifier takes input from a standard 1/8 inch stereo plug, and mixes it into a mono output. According to the product description, this is preferable for ambient music listening, as the listening position doesn’t matter as much as with a stereo system. A lot of thought and analysis was put into how this system would perform, the process is discussed in-depth on the product page.
Physically, this system looks quite impressive. It has a CNC-cut birch plywood base that you can finish as you would like, and an acrylic top to show off the electronics inside. You can find build instructions as well as a circuit schematic on ubld.it’s site. This allows you to see what you might be in for with this build, or you could even make a few changes if so desired.
On the other hand, if this piques your interest, be sure to browse around on Tindie’s sound section for more audio goodness!
