APPJ 6v6 board

[henry]

I ordered an FU-32 board to play with and a month later I received this:



Sorry for the size, I can't seem to figure out how to resize in photobuckhole.

Anyway, this appears similar to the good Ol' Miniwatt using 6P6P tubes (can use 6V6).  It's configured differently and I wonder if it's be upgraded or just another version.  Has anyone played around with this one?  I haven't bothered trying it yet.  Aliexpress did compensate me for the mistake.  The cost is close to the FU-32 BTW.  I was hoping to own that cool FU-32 tube though.

edit: I now see that this amp uses a different output tube that the Miniwatt.  Also, I noticed there are some cool vintage 6V6 tubes to be had.

[henry]

Okay... as a leap of faith and my obsession, I ordered the parts to make this an amp that defies cat pee.  Also, I found some nice JAN NOS 6V6 tubes as well as replacements for the input tubes (the input tubes are dirt cheap).  All this without a listen, but I'm hopeful and that's all that counts at this moment.  I'm very impressed with the quality of the boards, their construction, and a few parts are nice.  I'll resist modifying this one.  It will be really good or really mediocre.

The hardware is on the slow boat from China, but I'll be tied up until late summer anyway.  I have a feeling that this could be a decent amp.  If nothing else, it should look cool.  Stay tuned.

edit:  I see that some of the Miniwatt guys are using adapters to convert to 6V6 output tubes.  And, they seem to think it's a good thing.

[Capt. Z]

Have you tried it as an amp in it's original state?

[henry]

I haven't tried it yet, I'll get to it soon.  I'll wait until I get new tubes for it to compare to the Russian tubes that came with it.

[henry]

Here are a few things you can use if you want to play with some of the inexpensive amp boards that use those small connectors for inputs and speaker outputs.  They are available on Amazon and each cost less than $11.  It just makes auditioning boards easy and of course can be reused.  For the money, I find them worth the cost as opposed to me having to make my own. 

CAUTION: I haven't tried these yet, but I'm pretty sure they will fit...  Most headers are 2.54mm dia.  (.1 in) and these pins are 2mm dia.
  I'll modify this post if they don't fit!!!

For source inputs:



For speaker outputs (5-way and banana plugs):





I hope this helps.

[thehornshoppe]

Hey guys, another fellow I know ordered the FU-32 amp and got that one. I have not heard back if it is any good. The FU 32 amp is killer. Get it from Ebay. I have not hooked my Beasts up since I got mine. I have 2. They are tough....Hel(L)en knocked one off the buffet and it fell on the tubes. Smashed the FU tube to shit. Others survived...amp is fine.

The pic is one of them w/o the speaker wires.....neither of mine ever progressed past this point....and yes, the wires on the FU tube will shock the shit out of you.

D. I forgot to answer you............no new speakers....my experiments with the last ones were pretty good but not "spectacular". They were cheap, however. I'm not done with them but they are on hold. They will be a gift if they pan out.

Thanks guys, for trying to keep this place alive. We sure got fucked when the old forum disappeared...so much lost info.........
Ed

[sonic]

We sure got fucked when the old forum disappeared...so much lost info.........

Those big tech thugs! 

[henry]

Thanks guys, for trying to keep this place alive. We sure got fucked when the old forum disappeared...so much lost info.........
Ed

No remorse, sometimes a clean start is good.... if you know what I mean.

[henry]

Hey guys/girls,
I finally hooked up the 6V6 amp to my connectors, real speakers, speaker cables and a source.  I have an ancient Yamaha tuner that's a big expensive tank and sounds very good. 

So, here's the deal: Out of the box it's impressive with detail, smoothness and low frequencies.  All this with a tuner source and speakers that love a little more power.  I won't mention the details regarding the speakers.  Ed knows.  I will say they aren't an answer to the Horns, just another path for being happy.

After letting these play for a day or two, I'll move them downstairs for some respect.  Once the sound settles into my head, I'll roll the tubes.  This may be better than the APPJ compactron amp. I really want to like that compactron tube, but it may be a little honest for my sources and speakers. 

I hope you fathers had a good day and enjoy,
Henry

[henry]

After living with the stock tubes for a few days of non-stop play, today I changed over to some vintage NOS tubes.  I put in a pair of 1958 Raytheon JAN 6V6GTY and a pair of GE JAN 5654W.  After 8 hours they sound significantly better than the stock tubes.  They sound smooth, dig deeper and well balanced.  The high frequencies are well behaved.  It'll be interesting to see if they improve further.  This is a good and cheap way to play around with something different.  I'm impressed with what I'm hearing. 

[henry]

I'll put this to rest for a while, but I have to say that these little tube boards delivered for little money beat the crap out of the small class D stuff.  I should know, I spent a decade polishing those turds.  The big power class D amps are a different story altogether, especially the B&O Icepower stuff.

Anyway, after I take a break from the hectic life of break taking, I'll put it into a nice aluminum enclosure (if I don't mess it up) and will have something pretty cool.