My tubes are bigger than yours
- Thread starter BirdOnAWire
- Start date
There was someone here a few years back selling a custom tube amp that used a gigantic tube, I think they were raising money for someone.
All I can remember from the thread was a picture of someone sitting in a chair next to the amp with some fans blowing around.
Perhaps someone can remember this thread.
All I can remember from the thread was a picture of someone sitting in a chair next to the amp with some fans blowing around.
Perhaps someone can remember this thread.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
So how do you like the Elvis?
BirdOnAWire
Active Member
Maybe I'm wrong but 250,000W per tube might just melt it right there.
BirdOnAWire
Active Member
I think the Elvis is super clean - 0 hum, zero biasing issues. Holger made it wit Triode/Pentode switches. I can listen to it longer than the Cary. I do not use a pre-amp - I go straight from DAC, so for now it is less general purpose than my other amps.
I have it my CO place powering some smaller Maggies. But the tubes are smaller.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
I have the Ella preamp with the phono board. I've been very happy with it.
BirdOnAWire
Active Member
Yes, I agree. I have done as well for the money on some refurbished vintage, but this was new and clean and well built by a guy I spoke with in Tucson (important to me).
I have no reason to rate it any lower than those exotic brands - other than it is not an exotic brand.
And the tubes still glow.
BirdOnAWire
Active Member
My Scott has a phono channel. I was looking at that for the Elvis, but the DAC stuff meets my needs pretty well and, I rarely use albums.
That said - I might look again.
Mere pikers! Here are mine. I had to put fencing around them so no one steals them.
whoaru99
Epic Member
Maybe I'm missing something in the comment, but in actual use it would be water-cooled.
Sandy G
Retired Member
I THINK this has come up here on AK a time or 2 before..The WLW transmitter/tubes in Cincy back in the 1930s/40s ? THEY were pretty impressive, too. And don't forget the "Border Blaster" radio stations that were WLW's "Competition".. A FASCINATING time in American history..
linuxslate
Well-Known Member
Do laser tubes count?
I used to work on large frame gas lasers. Some of the laser heads were 6 - 8 ft long, and all but a few inches on either end was laser tube.
They weren't pure vacuum, since they had an argon gas mixture in them. They had the normal "Tube parts" in them -- Anode, Cathode and a getter the size of a fender washer. No heaters or grids, of course. They were electrically just massive diodes that emitted a "by product".
Most of the length of the tube was surrounded by a water cooling jacket and a massive electromagnet that helped to confine the plasma to the center of the tube.
In most of (at least the earlier ones) I worked on, the tubes were actual glass - Beautiful works of art, and perhaps just a bit of science. Most of it was pure horsepower. Put thousands of watts of electricity in, get a few watts (on a good day) of light out. But all that light was in a very small space. I think they were the most inefficient product sold commercially.
I used to work on large frame gas lasers. Some of the laser heads were 6 - 8 ft long, and all but a few inches on either end was laser tube.
They weren't pure vacuum, since they had an argon gas mixture in them. They had the normal "Tube parts" in them -- Anode, Cathode and a getter the size of a fender washer. No heaters or grids, of course. They were electrically just massive diodes that emitted a "by product".
Most of the length of the tube was surrounded by a water cooling jacket and a massive electromagnet that helped to confine the plasma to the center of the tube.
In most of (at least the earlier ones) I worked on, the tubes were actual glass - Beautiful works of art, and perhaps just a bit of science. Most of it was pure horsepower. Put thousands of watts of electricity in, get a few watts (on a good day) of light out. But all that light was in a very small space. I think they were the most inefficient product sold commercially.
BirdOnAWire
Active Member
The intent was for it to be pictures of currently in-use audio tubes.
At this point about anything bigger than the prior thing seems to count.
Still -
Pictures are good
Something used in electronics are good
Currently used
Tubes for audio currently in use is ideal