27/56 Preamp from Jose Martins

Jose Martins sent me an email with his recent built on the 27/56 preamplifier using the gyrator load and these PCBs. I recently posted an idea using the lovely 27 IHT valve here.

Here is a picture of the finished preamplifier:

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45 SE Amplifier upgrade

Replacing driver for 7193 valve

Well, after nearly 12 months of playing relentlessly my 45 SE amplifier, had an unexpected failure in the power supply (passive regulator) which forced me to do maintenance to the amplifier. It was a great opportunity to remove the 6J5 driver and do a quick swap for the greatly respected 7193 (i.e. military version of the 2c22)

45SE Amplifier upgraded with the 7193 drivers

Bias point remains unchanged: 7mA and 260V for maximum swing and minimum distortion. Need to look at my notes, but I remember that I was something around 0.30% at 100Vpp driving the 45 (which is not an easy load for anyone).  Driver configuration was not changed, so had the 7193 now loaded with same DN2540 single transistor gyrator and mu-follower output for lower impedance. The valve was biased at about 8V with an LED array.

7193 in action

As a test, played the fantastic Symphony No. 3 from Henryk Gorecki….