Champ type kit sounds good but so quiet

[NotSure]

Hey,

First of all I really appreciate all the feedback on so many helpful topics. My thanks to all you problem-solvers out there.

So, my kit went together just fine. The instructions were clear, easy to follow. So I think everything is correctly connected. The amp sounds good. Its a little dirty up to about 5, breaks up pretty quick after that, and has a really cool distortion around 8 or 9. No hums, squeals, as a matter of fact its disturbingly quiet for a tube amp. That's good? I guess. But also its not very loud. I know for a little 5 watt kit its not going to be very loud, but I think it should be louder than your average speaking volume? If if put it on  a high shelf and stick my head next to the speaker, it sounds really cool and loud enough to get inspired playing it.

Is this what I should be experiencing for a 5 watt, 4 ohm , 8 inch speaker system? Or is there some trouble shooting necessary here?

Thanks

[kagliostro]

You must consider that the speaker has a big influence in this thing

try your amp with an high efficience big in diameter speaker and you'll hear the difference

if you can try it with a 4 speaker cabinet (of good efficiency) You'll be surprised

K

[PRR]

Get some DC voltages. A Champ should be pretty exciting in a garage without sticking your head in it.

Assuming a GUITAR speaker. If you use car-radio or hi-fi speakers it will be much less impressive.

[stratele52]

Get some DC voltages. A Champ should be pretty exciting in a garage without sticking your head in it.

Assuming a GUITAR speaker. If you use car-radio or hi-fi speakers it will be much less impressive.

Not sure if those speakers are built tough enough for guitar playing . I won't try that .


Not sure ,


5 watts is powerful, more than I read your post , what is your speaker ?  Low voltage = low power , give some voltage reading .

[stevehoover]

With everything working correctly in a champ you would not want to leave your head in front of the speaker for more than a few seconds.  Chopstick every connection while you have something playing thru the circuit
(iPod) perhaps.  Volume level is tuff to describe in writing but 5-7 watts with a halfway efficient speaker is enough to get you in trouble in an apartment.



Cheers,
Steve

[NotSure]

The Champ rocks now. The suggestions about speakers and speaker efficiency seemed like a logical place to start. I have a 12 inch speaker that came out of a Blues Jr. and quickly twisted some speaker cable around the 1/4 inch jack and the speaker tabs. Now plenty of volume and Champ mojo. I thought, maybe I got a bad speaker with the kit.  Then I remembered I had a bunch of wire that I've saved over the years, and I realized where the wire came from. I had wired up my 8 inch kit speaker with single strands I had stripped out of an old power cord.

I still don't see why that would make a difference. The guage from the power cord wire "feels" the same as the stuff that works. The wire cover is a little thicker and kind of more rubbery feeling than the other wire I'm using, but that shouldn't matter should it? I wish I could say why, but don't use stripped out power cord wire for speaker wire. I guy from my local electronics parts store told me once "electrons don't care what kind of speaker wire you use." But in this case, they do.

Thanks again you all for jogging the thought process.

Dave

[eleventeen]

Back in the 20's thru the 40's, there were power cords that were resistive. They were made from "polluted" or doctored copper (in some way I don't know about) but the point is that they acted as resistors. Normal copper wire, even everyday dumb doorbell wire is remarkably pure, .999 copper. it has to be...otherwise, the impurities seriously impact the conductivity and wire made therefrom would act, yes, as a resistor. Sometimes they were called "line cord resistors" or "resistance line cords". 


http://www.radiolaguy.com/info/resistance_line_%20cords.htm
http://www.nostalgiaair.org/References/Articles/TheFlash/Flash01.htm





So if you somehow used some of that from a junkbox somewhere, that could be it.

[HotBluePlates]

Then I remembered I had a bunch of wire that I've saved over the years, and I realized where the wire came from. I had wired up my 8 inch kit speaker with single strands I had stripped out of an old power cord.

Most any wire (that's thick enough) will work as speaker wire. Maybe your old power cord had some breaks in the strands (increasing resistance of the wire) or was cruddy and oxidized (preventing a good solder joint).

So that the wire came from a power cord wouldn't be the problem, but the failings of that hunk of wire or how you used it could be a problem.

[sluckey]

I use good quality power cords for speaker cables all the time.

[kagliostro]

May be that to put in your new Ferrari sparks you salvaged from an old Fiat Topolino, isn't a good idea   


K