Hi all the DIY’ers !
First, sorry for my english...
I discover this forum, and I like it very mutch !
20 years ago, I discover also the tube amps and horn speakers. Thanks to the fantastic review Sound Practices (salutation to Joe Roberts
...), were I learn all that I love now. Reading Gordon Rankin, I build my first amp (The Buggle) with 45 tubes.
Then, reading Herb Reichert (salutation too, I meat him at Munich several time...), I build a modified version of the Flesh and Blood SE 300B with Tango Trans. Then I fall in love with DHT triodes !
Note that I have the chance to go to Munich since 2 years, and the Silbatone + WE horn system is outstanding ! JC Morrison is a really great designer, and Silbatone make really jewells, also for transformers and phono. The sound is so beautiful, and far better than the majority of modern stuff... Not to say the great vinyl set up (Frank and Thomas are fine analog specialists).
Four years ago, I build the great preamp 26, reading the big thread on DIY Audio, and the good site VT52.
The combination 26 + 300B is fantastic on horn speakers.
So, it’s a long time than the Altec VOT A5 are in my living room : 416/8B, 299-16A on 1005B Horn, EV ST 350A for the tweeter, all in 6dB crossover, and a mix of PIO Leclanché and small ITT PP caps. Important : the Low Pass on the 299 A, that make a good combination with the EV. Soon, I add a JBL subwoofer with a 2240A drived by a Yamaha PX8 for Home Cinema : the big show ! (My wife is 100% OK !).
I love the vinyle, and also my Garrard 301 grease with Schick tonearm, plus FR64S (soon a Schröder CB9), with SPU retiped Linear Contact by Ana Mighty Sound, and also an EMT TSD 15 retiped by AMS too. Step up Peerless, and Acteon (a little french builder, using vintage trans. from mic. LEM).
My tube phono preamp is a RCA passive RIAA with two 6SL7 and a third stage 6J5 (not cathode follower, I prefer). So it invert phase, but no matter, the 26 too ! I’m modifiying it, to a split RIAA like the Hagerman Cornet (octal version). It’s on the table...
But, at the end, I’m very interested by the phono of Salectric, based on the D3A + 5687, a very good project I think.
But a phono preamp is difficult to make, the more difficult thing that I ever build.
With my job, journalist at the french review Haute Fidelité, I can hear pretty good phono, but the best ones are very expensive ! So, better to build one !...
Lately, I will post some pictures of my system. But the amp + pré have not a really good look, very grunge
( I want to modify them easely...).
A bit too long, but I’m happy to read you soon...
Bruno
First, sorry for my english...
I discover this forum, and I like it very mutch !
20 years ago, I discover also the tube amps and horn speakers. Thanks to the fantastic review Sound Practices (salutation to Joe Roberts

Then, reading Herb Reichert (salutation too, I meat him at Munich several time...), I build a modified version of the Flesh and Blood SE 300B with Tango Trans. Then I fall in love with DHT triodes !
Note that I have the chance to go to Munich since 2 years, and the Silbatone + WE horn system is outstanding ! JC Morrison is a really great designer, and Silbatone make really jewells, also for transformers and phono. The sound is so beautiful, and far better than the majority of modern stuff... Not to say the great vinyl set up (Frank and Thomas are fine analog specialists).
Four years ago, I build the great preamp 26, reading the big thread on DIY Audio, and the good site VT52.
The combination 26 + 300B is fantastic on horn speakers.
So, it’s a long time than the Altec VOT A5 are in my living room : 416/8B, 299-16A on 1005B Horn, EV ST 350A for the tweeter, all in 6dB crossover, and a mix of PIO Leclanché and small ITT PP caps. Important : the Low Pass on the 299 A, that make a good combination with the EV. Soon, I add a JBL subwoofer with a 2240A drived by a Yamaha PX8 for Home Cinema : the big show ! (My wife is 100% OK !).
I love the vinyle, and also my Garrard 301 grease with Schick tonearm, plus FR64S (soon a Schröder CB9), with SPU retiped Linear Contact by Ana Mighty Sound, and also an EMT TSD 15 retiped by AMS too. Step up Peerless, and Acteon (a little french builder, using vintage trans. from mic. LEM).
My tube phono preamp is a RCA passive RIAA with two 6SL7 and a third stage 6J5 (not cathode follower, I prefer). So it invert phase, but no matter, the 26 too ! I’m modifiying it, to a split RIAA like the Hagerman Cornet (octal version). It’s on the table...
But, at the end, I’m very interested by the phono of Salectric, based on the D3A + 5687, a very good project I think.
But a phono preamp is difficult to make, the more difficult thing that I ever build.
With my job, journalist at the french review Haute Fidelité, I can hear pretty good phono, but the best ones are very expensive ! So, better to build one !...
Lately, I will post some pictures of my system. But the amp + pré have not a really good look, very grunge

( I want to modify them easely...).
A bit too long, but I’m happy to read you soon...
Bruno