K-16LS Tube Amp Kit with PL Tube Preamp

After months of looking I finally decided on the S-5 Electronics K-16LS stereo tube amplifier kit together with its sister PL tube preamplifier kit. The Stereo Integrated Tube Amplifier produces up to 16W and utilizes 5670 triode and 6005 pentode tubes. The PL tube preamp kit uses a 5670 triode tube.

I ditched the supplied wood board for a larger board to accommodate the preamp. Using my IPod and a set of Celestion floorstanders (90dB) I sat back to listen. WOW - seriously loud. Bass is fantastic, treble is sharp. Mid range seems to be missing a bit but after trying different tracks I am putting this down to poor quality source MP3 via the IPod. There is a reasonable amount of hum when you take the volume up but nothing annoying.

Next step is to attempt the mods for the K-12 kits.

David - UK