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6N2+6P1 SE schematic question

WizardWG4

WizardWG4

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I ordered a diy 6N2 6P1 SE kit from eBay. The schematic they provided is a little strange in that they have 1/2 of the driver tube setup as a cathode follower to drive the 6P1 power tube. Anyone else seen an arrangement like this and would there be any benefit to it?

In reality I can't build the kit as the schematic suggests since the chassis has three tube sockets and only came with one 6N2 so I'll have to implement a more traditional dual triode driver setup.

6N2+6P1 eBay.jpg
 
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Some of these Chinese kits use the same chassis for several different amplifiers. I was looking at one where three or four different amplifiers can be used with the one single chassis they sell. They even have octal socket hole adaptors if EL84's are used instead of 6L6's.
 
The one I have is definitely a stereo kit. It included 2 output transformers, one 6N2 and two 6P1 tubes. The cathode follower in the schematic they sent just seemed a little odd to me. I understand the need for them in a separate phono stage or preamp but I've never seen one used in the same chassis as the power amp.

I think I'll build it similar to the below. The power transformer is 110v but I have a variac and bucking transformer to drop the primary voltage.

upload_2022-9-16_20-11-24.png
 
6N1p is similar to 6BK7, 6N2p similar to 12AX7. May not matter with a single amplifying stage, but bypassing R3 may be necessary to reduce hum. Which will also increase the gain considerably.
 
After some more digging I may build based on the below with the addition of the choke filter. This one has global negative feedback.



upload_2022-9-17_13-27-49.png
 
The 12AX7 is substituted for the 6n2 a lot. The EAR phono preamp.one I gave to my son has a switch to switch between 6N2's and 12AX7's. A guitar amp I restored uses 6N2's alao and some people rewire the sockets to use easier to get 12AX7's. I asked if I should rewire the sockets, but my son wanted to keep using 6N2's. So I had to order some Russian 6N2's from Romainia.
 
Lavane said:
The 12AX7 is substituted for the 6n2 a lot. The EAR phono preamp.one I gave to my son has a switch to switch between 6N2's and 12AX7's. A guitar amp I restored uses 6N2's alao and some people rewire the sockets to use easier to get 12AX7's. I asked if I should rewire the sockets, but my son wanted to keep using 6N2's. So I had to order some Russian 6N2's from Romainia.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I was thinking of just wiring for a 12AX7 and EL84s from the get go but I think I'll give the Chinese tubes a chance.
 
WizardWG4 said:
Thanks for the info! I was thinking of just wiring for a 12AX7 and EL84s from the get go but I think I'll give the Chinese tubes a chance.
Click to expand...
The Russian 6N2's are much better if your going to use 6N2's. I've had Chinese 6N1's, 6N2's, 6N3's and a few others. All were microphonic except the 6N3's. Just touch the tubes or even the amp and you hear it through the speakers. The 6N2's I had, if I yelled at them I could hear myself through the speakers. I also found them very thin sounding. You might get lucky though with the Chinese tubes. The Russian Reflektor brand 6N2's worked out very well in the guitar amp. Quiet and non microphonic. But there are good sounding new manufacture 12AX7's. I like the JJ's. The JJ frame grids are supposed to sound good too.
 
Here are some pics of the kit and current schematic. I have the 6P1s wired in triode mode and it's sounding very nice. I think I'll end up converting to pentode with feedback for a bit more output.

This was a fun build and I would recommend to anyone looking for a simple SE amp project.

I welcome any comments about upgrades/mods.

Shout out to my son for helping me edit the schematic in MS Paint.
 

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Nice little amplifier. I'm building an SE 6BQ5 amp using the same Chinese OPT's.
So far I have the chassis plate jigged up and have the power supply wired up.
I'm using a 6EU7 for a driver, same as a 12AX7 with a different pin out and 6.3v heaters only. I do have an adaptor to use a 12AX7 if I choose to. I thought about going with a SS rectifier, most of my tube amps use SS recrifiers, but I'm going with a tube this time.
 

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Lavane said:
Nice little amplifier. I'm building an SE 6BQ5 amp using the same Chinese OPT's.
So far I have the chassis plate jigged up and have the power supply wired up.
I'm using a 6EU7 for a driver, same as a 12AX7 with a different pin out and 6.3v heaters only. I do have an adaptor to use a 12AX7 if I choose to. I thought about going with a SS rectifier, most of my tube amps use SS recrifiers, but I'm going with a tube this time.
Click to expand...
Very cool! I'd be curious to see the schematic if you have it.
 
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