Hybrid Vacuum Tube Headphones Amplifier (Part 6) Battery Powered

This month posting is full of hybrid vacuum tube amplifier.

The title said headphone amplifier is actually not quite suitable because this amplifier cannot drive high impedance headphone very well. But for sensitive and low impedance earphones like Sony MH1C, it work very well.

On the previous part about the building process of this pocket size vacuum tube amplifier is intended for the experimental project using 2 AA type batteries. This is not enough juice from those little batteries to drive the tube heater. Then the name portable will not suitable because at the end it still using external power adapter.

I keep try to find the best way to make this vacuum tube amplifier portable. This could be achieve by using the batteries. So here I am building the batteries pack for this vacuum tube headphone amplifier.

Hybrid Vacuum Tube Headphones Amplifier (Part 5) Nichicon Audio KA Capacitor Review

As we are know the capacitor playing major role in audio equipment. It smoothing the ripple from power supply and for most of application is at DC blocking so only the audio signal can be pass through. The capacitor is also become an evil, meaning it dispute for the effect from overall sound performance. One may agree but many others don't and it is really okay because this audio hobby is an art to discover the best sound possible. This is including improving the components quality and one of them is changing the evil itself.

So on my hand is a quite new capacitor from Nichicon. This is KA type for audio and I eager to know how it perform.

Hybrid Vacuum Tube Headphones Amplifier (Part 4) Foxconn Mini Jack Upgrade

This hybrid vacuum tube headphones amplifier has comes in 3 part. I don't have any planning to make an additional post about this but because it sound so good and beyond my expectation, so why not to make some update posting.

For pass few days, I have listen from this little vacuum tube amplifier and it is a new listening experience for me. In the initial built, I am using cheap 3.5mm socket connector. This is very common to use cheap components for the first trial and upgrade it latter. But with this outstanding result, I can spending more for the better components.

So in this post I will return this amplifier to my working desk and make an upgrade on the 3.5mm socket is now using Foxconn.

Hybrid Vacuum Tube Headphones Amplifier (Part 3) Desktop Amplifier

On the previous post, I failed to make this hybrid vacuum tube amplifier works by only using 2 AA batteries as the power source. This is because not enough power to crank up the tube heater.

So going to the Plan-B, which is back to the basic schematic. This hybrid vacuum tube amplifier will using 12 volt DC wall adapter and with all components are all the same. The voltage inverter module will be remove and now using LM317 voltage regulator for the tube heater instead.

Hybrid Vacuum Tube Headphones Amplifier (Part 2) The Building Process

This post is continue from my previous post about the photo teaser of hybrid vacuum tube amplifier.

In this post I will share the building process in detail, including the building idea and schematic.

Building this hybrid vacuum tube amplifier require the skill not only on electronic, but skill to work with small parts, including cutting and sanding material. I should also make some improvisations to make all components fit into this small candy tin. More over, there is no PCB available for this amplifier. So I made with an universal board and all components are connected in point-to-point using each components leads.

At the end, this is just like the real vacuum tube amplifier building. I spent about more than 6 hours building this amplifier, with the result I review at then end of this post.

Hybrid Vacuum Tube Headphones Amplifier (Part 1) Photo Teaser

I saw a photo somewhere similar to what I have done right now.

A small candy tin built for a headphone amplifier and it only powered with 2 AA bateries.

But it is not just an ordinary solid state amplifier, instead it has a vacuum tube inside. It also not the small miniature vacuum tube, but it is a full size vacuum tube you normally see in the home amplifier.

This is a new project for me, especially building a vacuum tube amplifier in this pocket size using candy tin. This amplifier will driving a headphones or earphones and it should be sound good, like what a vacuum tube amplifier sounds like.