Valve Amplifiers

by Morgan Jones

Morgan Jones' Valve Amplifiers has been widely recognised as the most complete guide to valve amplifier design, modification, analysis, construction and maintenance written for over 30 years. As such it is unique in presenting the essentials of 'hollow-state' electronics and valve amp design for engineers and enthusiasts in the familiar context of current best practice in electronic design, using only currently available components. The author's straightforward approach, using as little maths as possible, and lots of design knowhow, makes this book ideal for those with a limited knowledge of the field as well as being the standard reference text for experts in valve audio and a wider audience of audio engineers facing design challenges involving valves.
Design principles and construction techniques are provided so readers can devise and build from scratch designs that actually work. Morgan Jones takes the reader through each step in the process of design, starting with a brief review of electronic fundamentals relevant to valve amplifiers, simple stages, compound stages, linking stages together, and finally, complete designs. Practical aspects, including safety, are addressed throughout.
The third edition includes a new chapter on distortion and many further new and expanded sections throughout the book, including: comparison of bias methods, constant current sinks, upper valve choice, buffering and distortion, shunt regulated push-pull (SRPP) amplifier, use of oscilloscopes and spectrum analysers, valve cooling and heatsinks, US envelope nomenclature and suffixes, heater voltage versus applied current, moving coil transformer source and load terminations.
* The practical guide to analysis, modification, design, construction and maintenance of valve amplifiers
* The fully up-to-date approach to valve electronics
* Essential reading for audio designers and music and electronics enthusiasts alike

Genres: Nonfiction

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[stephan wintner · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this as a result of having to fix and old Eico amp. (turned out the coupling Caps were bad)

Anyway, as I recall, a great deal of the book was spent covering the advantages and pitfalls of particular designs Mr. Freeman had built - instructional, yes, in the sense of a being a good "Applications of Theory" sort of course, but still. I thought the book could use a bit of trimming down, the theory sections were admirably non-technical, clear, and concise - the applications thereof could have been more concise.

I should add - when I say non-technical - I am a mechanical engineer, so technical does not scare me. But excessively theoretical descriptions can often leave even engineers floundering when it comes to applying the theories. This book did a good job of that. (Are you listening, oh former professors of mine?)

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a geek. I love music. And I have a thing for vintage electronics. So this book ticks all my boxes.

An essential library item if you like to build your own HiFi equipment.

Also required is the companion book - "Building Valve Amplifiers" by the same author.

[Tampinc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, although it concentrates on hi-fi design, greatly assisted me in progressing from the copying of existing designs into designing my own guitar amplifiers. Certainly the best book I have in my library on valve-amp design and, very importantly, some of the practicalities of building them.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technical book on modern vacuum tube amplifier design, fundamentals.