You Can DIY! Type 3 Mu Stage Breakthrough

The original Mu Stage project, published in Glass Audio in 1993, remains a popular build, serving the author's purpose to "combat listener fatigue." His Type 2 Mu Stage, published by audioXpress in 2019, introduced a streamlined version with added capabilities. Now, the new Type 3 Mu Stage resulted in what the author believes to be a breakthrough, improving the realistic reproduction of music. This latest iteration of the circuit was prototyped by Kim Bond, an enthusiastic builder of the previous Mu Stages.

This DIY-focused article introduces the Pentriode, a concept to explore the familiar idea of connecting commonly available pentode tubes as triodes, creating a circuit that excels in linearity. The Pentriode is formed by making one simple change to connect the screen grid to the cathode of a cathode follower. The article proposes different possible approaches, including for a mu stage, a design that the author previously wrote about for audioXpress. This article was originally published in audioXpress, May 2022.