It has been my great pleasure to have a fantastic little 5 watt SET Amp in my home for the past few weeks, a big thanks to AK and BrianB/Venus Hi-Fi for the opportunity to demo the Almarro A205A. I’ve learned a lot over the past few weeks about SET amps (never knew just how big 5 watts could be), component matching and about audio in general. I’m glad I allowed BrianB to talk me into this.
First let me say that this is the first SET amp I have ever listened to and my experience with tube systems in general is very limited compared to some AK members, to say the least. Therefore, my review of this amp will be limited to my impressions of how it sounds. I’ll leave the technical evaluation to those with more experience than me.
I will include the basic specifications and physical description of course. The Almarro A205A is a Class A SET amp using pentodes. Output tubes are EL84/6BQ5 (Sovtech) and the input is a ECC83/12AX7 (Electro-Harmonix) twin triode.
As I stated in an earlier post – the packing was first rate as was the fit and finish. The outstanding manufacturing quality is obvious at first sight. I have to say it is a great looking unit in all its simplicity. A power switch, volume knob and beautiful glowing tubes - what else do you need!
Rear panel has a single set of inputs flanked on either side by speaker binding posts. Hefty at what I would guess to be 17 to 20 pounds, it has a small footprint at a little over 11 inches wide by 9 inches deep.
Over the past few weeks I tried the little Almarro with a number of sources (CD players) and speakers. Had a lot of fun trying different combinations of equipment and tunes as well as running comparisons to some of my existing systems. The following is a list of all equipment that I used during the evaluation of the Almarro.
Speakers:
JBL L26
JBL 4408A
ACI Emerald LE
Audio Note AX-Two
Jean-Marie Reynaud Twin MKIII
CD Players:
Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai
Music Hall MMF CD-25
Cambridge Audio D500se
Jolida JD100A
Without a doubt, my favorite combination was the Almarro mated with the AN AX-Two speakers and the Music Hall CD-25. The fact that I preferred the CD-25 over the Jolida JD100A with the Almarro really surprised me. I was never able to quite place my finger on why, but it just sounded better overall. No surprise really that the AX-Two speakers matched up best. These are great little speakers, very easy to drive (most efficient that I own) and they just love tube amps.
Best thing to come from this experience is that I now understand why folks love SET amps so much. Problem is I’m having trouble finding the right words to describe the sound. Sweet with plenty of shimmer, but not overly bright; full and rich, but not to warm; forward where it needed to be, but yet balanced overall. It is certainly a sound that you can fall in love with a first listen. Of course the type of music I listen to just sounds best with tubes, plain and simple. But as I’ve discovered – SET can take it to a whole new level.
My Jolida JD301 Hybrid is a mother beautiful sounding little amp, but it sounded almost harsh and edgy when compared to the Almarro. A closer match in sound quality was my ASL AQ-1001DT amp operating in Triode mode. The AQ-1001DT has a smoother sound, but the Almarro is gutsier. I kept going back and forth between the ASL and Almarro. One day the ASL sounded better, the next it was the Almarro. In the long run the ASL won out for best overall sound, but it was damn close.
I do have to say that the ASL AQ-1001DT amp, Jolida JD100A CDP and Jean-Marie Reynaud Twin MKIII speakers are still my favorite combination. I call it my magic system.
What surprised me most about the Almarro was how gutsy it is and how solid and strong the bottom-end was. The Almarro beat both of my other amps on bottom-end performance. Don’t know if that is unique to this amp, or a common characteristic of SET amps in general, but it sure surprised the hell out of me.
I hope some of the others that sign up to demo this amp have another SET amp to compare it to. I would be very interested to hear how it stacks up against others.
Listening to Alison Krauss, Natalie Merchant, Nanci Griffith, John Prine, Joe Ely, Sarah McLachlan, and Tom Russell (just to name a few) through this amp and the AX-Two, or the Twin MKIII, speakers was pure sonic bliss. I easily sat for hours on end listening to disk after disk with no fatigue. Dreading the day when I would have to pack it up and send it on its way.
Well I’m sorry to say that day has finally come, so now the little guy is heading off to pay Dave, better known as Botrytis, a visit and hopefully enrich his life. The house seems a bit empty now, kinda sad, and almost lonely - like when your kids grow up and take off. To quote one the greatest songwriters of all time –
Well it’s 99 in Topeka
The wind is blowin’ hot
Blowin’ through my oldest daughter’s hair
With everything else I forgot – I drove her out to college
Drove back through an empty space
Thinkin’ back to when she was a baby
Tryin’ hard to see that face
So now I got an empty space, a void if you will, that can only be filled by a SET amp. When that time comes, the Almarro A205A will definitely be at the top of my list.
In other words – Dr. Evil has struck again!!