Valve Amps

[Crackie]

P700DEE said:

As he states that his 300B amp would set him back about $4000 inc special capacitors and WE valves we can eliminate all but the cheapest. Sadly whilst price cannot be taken as a guarantee of quality there are very few exceptions in terms of giant killing cheap amps. For T class amps they are expensive, £27 on e-bay buys you a new 20w per channel amp with the same chip

I don't know about the quality of the output transformers used in his but the reviewer has one of these http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/10... which is apparently based upon the respected WE91-A circuit. The reviewer, who seems to be a big fan of valves, appears to rate them very highly so I thought you may be interested too .

BTW which £27 20wpc amp on e-bay do you mean ? The only other product I've seen using that chip is B&Ws £200 MM-1.

Edited by Crackie on Thursday 30th October 17:44

[kitz]

I have recently bought a Cary 300 BSE
I am sure the beauty of the amplifier influences my perception of the sound !
It is about 18 watts per channel but goes plenty loud .
The instructions say most speakers most of the time need about 3 watts
And what is most important is the amps recovery time from peak loads .
I am very pleased with it .

[nyt]

Thanks all. I'm going to go for the free trial that someone suggested and see what I think.

This is obviously a complex area.

[Tam Lin]

Valves are a complex subject, and can be infuriating at times, but in the right circuit they're a great antidote to dull, samey sound. Not saying that all solid state amps are dull and samey by any means (I love my Albarrys), but valves do allow more indulgent personal preferences in listening. Hope your ears enjoy!

[thesyn]

Alternatively I use a valve preamp, conrad johnson pv 11 (with MM phono stage) and a solid state power amp.

To me this is the best of both worlds.

[Troubleatmill]

Got some nice valve amps around Chez Troubleatmill which I built.

I love the sound and the philosophy. The fewer bits of gubbins in the box - the less there is to change the original sound from the source.

It works for me.

Your mileage may vary.

[Nerfbat]

I've got an Audio Innovations series 500 that used to belong to my Dad - it's a terrific piece of kit !

I also have a Leak Stereo 20 that I really should get serviced..

[900T-R]

Nerfbat said:

I've got an Audio Innovations series 500 that used to belong to my Dad - it's a terrific piece of kit !

I also have a Leak Stereo 20 that I really should get serviced..

Both classics in their own right, for all the right reasons. Lucky you!