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A Single Ended Tube Amp for the Masses
Part III - The Chassis |
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"If you're going to market this thing so that it would appeal to the masses, it would be mistake to think the potential buyers are going to part the living room with it like the Red Sea... Nope, that only works when you live alone! |
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Well I have pondered the chassis design for some time now. Not only from the perspective of cost and appearance, but from the resulting topology of all the parts. Things like heat and shielding become large considerations not unlike where the thing is intended to be placed in the room. Do you make it like a conventional tube amp and plop it down on the rug, or try to cram it into a more standard chassis like a 19" rack mount unit. A unique opportunity with this little amp lies in the simple fact that it is so small. The 6BQ5 output tubes are not much larger than a normal pre-amp tube, and have nowhere near the heat of a larger output tube. Because of this and the size of the transformers I could build this into a nice rack mount chassis the size of an average pre-amp (3.5" high). Okay, how to give the owner of this amplifier the satisfaction of hypnotically staring into the golden glow of the tubes... you know that's a must - too many people talk about it. I happen to be one of them. In fact I'm not sure sometimes if it's a vice or a gift, but I have a real hang-up with how things look. What followed was the all too familiar, slightly out of phase, molting period of several days when I walk around in circles a lot. Two days ago while I was meditating to music, (I was really enjoying some "FRESH AIRE" on American Gramophone being played on this amp) it hit me like a Zen Lightning Bolt in the forehead! An image of exactly what it should look like, how to lay out the entire parts topology, and flashes of it sitting in many different listening rooms blew into my head. I love it when that happens! From
that image I did this conceptual drawing of it exactly as it appeared.
The picture can be seen here. The ventilation
will be through the top and bottom center of the chassis. The tube topology
will be horizontal opposing channels with the rectifier centered between
them in the back of a shielded "room" inside the chassis. I'm not sure
how cost effective this chassis would be, but I will defiantly be building
some. |
Part I | Part II | Part IV