Heater supplies, even with indirectly heated tubes, are a potential source of hum with high gain circuits like phono preamps. In a grounded cathode gain stage, the tube will amplify any signal it sees between the grid and the cathode. The tube doesn’t particularly care if that is an audio signal or an induced signal from some other part of the build. Indirectly heated tubes have a cathode sleeve around the filament heating it. The close geometry creates a happy little environment for coupling between the two. Eliminating this source of noise may require running heaters on DC rather than AC.
Here’s a simple schematic adapted from something Eli Duttman suggested for his modified RCA phono preamp:
This circuit (now on a PCB waiting for a phono build) uses a voltage doubler to turn a common 6.3Vac input into ~16Vdc which is then regulated to 12Vdc by a LM7812. The regulator is limited to 1.5A, but this is probably enough for any sane phono preamp’s heater demands (the pair of 12AX7 in the El Matemático require only 0.3A). This is one way of producing a DC heater supply.
I was recently discussing truly budget-oriented tube phono preamps with another builder. They proposed a $100 parts budget. The first place I’d look to start cutting costs in such a build is on the relatively pricey purpose-built power transformer needed for tube projects. In the case of a simple phono preamp like El Matemático, I’d try the following cost-cutting measures to the power supply:
- Solid state 1N4007 rectification
- Use a 115/230V isolation transformer like Triad N-68X in reverse (115V in, 230V out) for B+ @ $16
- Use a 12V SMPS like Meanwell EPS-15-12 for heaters @ $7
- Triad C-1X choke @ $10 and 220uF 350V+ caps @ $4 ea as CLC filter
- Add RC to end of CLC filter to lower B+ and/or clean up residual ripple
We can greatly lower the cost of the B+ supply with the isolation transformer trick but it leaves us without a heater supply. Rather than a separate 6.3V or 12.6V transformer followed by a regulator circuit like the one shown above, I’d be tempted to experiment with a switch mode power supply like this Meanwell unit:
The EPS15-12 supplies up to 1.25A at 12Vdc with 80mV of ripple (peak to peak). One need just supply it with mains voltage (85-264Vac). Power supplies like this switch at a very high frequency, which is why their transformers can be made so small. If that switching is audible, capacitively coupled between cathode and heater, additional filtering may be needed. Meanwell does not specify the switching frequency, but it’s very likely well above the 20hz-20khz range.
The final, potentially very affordable power supply, would look something like this:
wauwatosa tube factory 