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Amp design logic

I hope you'll excuse my absolute and obvious ignorance...but this is a sincere question.

I don't get why one company is selling a new tube amp for ~$1000, and another is selling one for ~$50,000. What is one paying for? The proprietary circuit design?

Surely if one adds up the cost of the parts, trannies, chassis, etc. it's not worth $50K.

I accept that the more expensive one sounds lots, lots better. But what makes the price so high? Demand?

I think given a circuit diagram from a repair manual, I could eventually build most tube amps from scratch, using the absolute best of each part available. After I learn to solder. For less than $50K, just buying the best cap, resistor, wire, etc. made, for each part, I could slowly build an amp equal to the best in the world. So I don't get it.

What makes an amp worth $50K? It can only be the proprietary tube amp design.

Maybe another factor is the transformers. Each company seems to have their own iron, but that can't be a significant part of $50K?

Thanks, just really wondering about this. And wondering why don't I just make my own? If I buy one part at a time, eventually I can have the best amp there can be.

Jim
river251
wolf_garcia
6,722 posts
 
Any factory in any country is capable of building things well with high part quality. The key is establishing quality control and avoiding slave labor issues by paying fair wages...Jolida apparently does that and others might also but you don't hear much about it.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,879 posts
 
Wolf_garcia, 'capable', true enough. But if they do is another matter. We build a guitar amp for a company here in town. They got in some parts from China for testing.

One of the parts was a filter capacitor for the power supply, rated 47uf at 450V. It looked a little peculiar- most tubular electrolytic capacitors have a metal end of the part and an insulated end, with a crimp around the body of the insulated end. This one was crimped at both ends and was insulated at both ends. It was branded Nichicon, a respected Japanese brand.

We took it apart as it seemed odd. Turned out it was a shell, a ruse: inside we found a different part, marked 22uf and rated 400 volts (with a name on it I could not pronounce)! Imagine if we had used that in a 450V application...

So yes, the capability is certainly there, but the intention is another matter. And even if there is the intention, such a manufacturer has to be on the lookout for parts like this.

rleff
1,065 posts
 
Ralph the semiconductor industry is seeing a lot of rebranding of parts and miss markings as well;my customers are seeing more since they are now buying COTS (commercial off the shelf) components and are not doing incoming inspection with the exception of my military customers.It was a pretty good idea that you kind of did a DPA (destuctive parts analysis) of your own and saw it for your self;probally would have been used in a power supply application and resulted in early component failure and caused major/minor damage depending on where it was used.
Some have even reported blank die installed in chips and other components as well.
wolf_garcia
6,722 posts
 
I remember when US made Fender guitars SUCKED...from the late 60's until the late 70's...you had to look at 10 Telecasters until you found one put together correctly. Now they're mostly fine, even when made in Mexico or wherever. I understand that some Chinese component weirdness can trickle in, but I have some Chinese built gear that is amazing...a Kavent preamp, Jolida amp, and an original Reverend Goblin guitar amp (now made in the US by somebody who bought the designs) are 3 examples of "imports done right", likely due to a "lookout" posted at the gate (send him a sandwich).
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,879 posts
 
some Chinese component weirdness can trickle in

'Trickle' is really an understatement. I can give you plenty of other examples if you like. Just the tube sockets alone are example enough! Filter caps have been problematic as well as semiconductors, in fact in the semiconductor realm its become quite risky to buy parts off of ebay and the like because there are so many knock-offs now that won't meet spec.
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