Alan Rutlidge wrote:

"paul packer" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Sep 2005 08:26:51 GMT, "Doug Flynn"
wrote:

and build your own high-end stuff. You can build amps for about 10% of
the
cost of the crap you find in shops. Doug

Yes. Only to have it go bang in your face.

No necessarily. I've built plenty of SS amplifiers including pre-amps and
power amps to in excess of 300W RMS per channel with no problems. Sure in a
lot of cases you can save money by DYI but I doubt it would be as high as
90% unless the manufactured amplifier is way over the top in the rip-off
stakes.

A decent solid case (chassis), heatsinks and a capable power supply are
generally the expensive parts in a high powered amplifier unless you are
using particularly exotic or expensive semiconductors. I haven't built any
valve gear in years, but gauging on the costs of valves and no readily
available off the shelf components (output and power transformers, smoothing
chokes, etc) I suspect a valve project is a somewhat expensive one?

Cheers,
Alan

The cost of the labour intensive output transformers and strong chassis
required to support the transformers will always make building
a tube amp far more expensive $$per watt project than any SS design.

But DIYers are never solely cost conscious ppl.
For a variety of other reasons tube amps are a DIYer's delight to build
and listen to.

But very few DIYers wind their own transformers and chokes.

One hasn't really built a tube amp unless one has wound all the
trannies though.....

Patrick Turner.