Considering tubes. 16 ohm speakers

hunter00 said:
If moneys tight find one of these...my 40.00 tube amp pickup in an old 1960's radio console.Had all the tubes minus 1 that went free to air I had to replace,then removed the harness that linked it to the preamp/radio...its now a stand alone 6bq5 PP tube amp...in my world worth at least 5 bills..it sounds georgous!

taklaView attachment 744557
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Good idea Hunter. I've been keeping my eyes open for old consoles in rough shape that might have a tube amp. I've been fortunate with the right gear showing up at the right time, I'll do my best to be patient.
 
Your from the states so look for any Magnavox console radio/with turntable .Enquire that its not a solid state unit as they are usually badged as such .Get them to take the back cover off and send you picks of the power supply to ascertain tubes are present before you commit to the drive and sale.If you have any prob PM me and i'll try to help out,look for 4 out put tubes per side for stereo..
good luck in your search leben



hunter.
 
hunter, if it's PP it will have 4 tubes, identical and if it's SE it will have 2 identical tubes. There were some Magnavox's built with other combinations but they are a bit rare
 
ya was a typo, fingers are faster than my brain sometimes.ment 2 output per side 4 total,mind you I own tube mono blocks with 4 output tubes per mono .I posted a pic of the electrohome pp amp I just scored for a song so he'd have a visual to go off of..its got 2 optubes per side, those are the good ones to find

hunter
 
There are of course the odd exceptions. Things that ran the ELL80 have one physical tube per channel, but are push-pull amplifiers. Not much used them but they do exist. I have a Fisher console pull receiver with a pair.
 
Dave451 said:
Some good choices above. I am partial to the vintage H. H. Scott and Fisher equipment (search for both in AK for both brands--Fisher equipment has it's own forum in AK). I have bought and refurbished Scott 299B and LK-48B (both 20WPC) integrated amplifiers and a Fisher X-200 (35 WPC) integrated amp. I drive a pair of upgraded Klipsh KG 4's that mate very well with tube amplifiers. All these amplifiers can drive 4, 8, or 16 ohm speakers by selecting the proper output terminals. Good working sets can be had for amounts within your budget. The X-200, being more powerful, has deeper bass and, to my ear, higher highs but the Scotts are hard to beat for their wonderful mid range and overall good sound. The two Scott amps I mentioned use the 7189 output tube, which is considered by many to be very musical and is still readily available in various forms (a more robust version of the EL84/6BQ5 tube used for years in 'golden age' tube amps & receivers). The Fisher uses 7591A output tubes, which were getting pretty hard (and expensive) to find, but now some good versions and re-issues are available. I think its sound is also outstanding and it was used in many amp brands toward the end of the tube age, right when SS was starting to take over. Scott and Fisher produced many of these type amplifiers, so they are relatively plentiful and of moderate cost, although prices for this type of gear are rising. Shop carefully when looking at used equipment.
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Well, I ended up getting a Fisher KX-200 from a great AKer. I ordered a rebuild kit and a tube set from Jim McShane that just arrived today. It looks like I have some work ahead of me and I'm finally on my way to getting this setup ready. Thank you to everyone that offered suggestions, I'm looking forward to this chapter (tubes) of my audio journey.
 
I think a lot of console amps were designed for lower impedance speakers, no? Weren't many of the Magnovox consoles 4ohm secondaries?
 
ferninando said:
some say best sounding dynaco amp.
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Leben said:
I have a pair of 16 ohm Stephens speakers as well as some 8 ohm Klipsch speakers that I would like to try with a tube amplifier. My budget would likely be $500-1000.
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Start perusing Barter Town, or better, place a WTB there. I guarantee stuff will come out of the woodwork with your budget. See what is available and then consider your options. You might even attract the interest of one of the custom builders that post there. The main thing is don't get too set on having any one amp at the beginning of your journey; be open to what is available. You may find something great that no one mentioned previously. There is no perfect tube amp except the one you find and like.
 
Although we always tend to recommend what we have ourselves, a used Jolida JD-302brc or crc could be picked up for $750, leaving some cash left over for extra tubes, or different ones.

I went modern, as although I love vintage equipment, it seems I'm always fixing something in my older rigs.

Plus the 302 models listed above can bias up to 500mv, allowing you to use a variety of output tubes including EL34, KT77, 6ca7, 6550, and KT88.

Mine does not sound as "soft" as vintage kit, but I sure do like it.
 
soundmotor said:
Start perusing Barter Town, or better, place a WTB there. I guarantee stuff will come out of the woodwork with your budget. See what is available and then consider your options. You might even attract the interest of one of the custom builders that post there. The main thing is don't get too set on having any one amp at the beginning of your journey; be open to what is available. You may find something great that no one mentioned previously. There is no perfect tube amp except the one you find and like.
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I've actually just picked up a really nice Fisher KX-200 (post 26) and was just updating to let others know what I ended up with and to say thanks for the ideas. (I admit that it took me a while for me to take the plunge) I definitely agree that Bartertown is the way to go. I did recently buy a nice custom SE integrated through Bartertown as well as this one from another great AKer. What a wonderful community we have here!
 
Selmerdave said:
I think a lot of console amps were designed for lower impedance speakers, no? Weren't many of the Magnovox consoles 4ohm secondaries?
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Yep, Magnavox were 4 ohm. I have a Madison-Fielding amp wound for 2.5 ohm speaker setups. Fisher made some 2.5 ohm output models as well.
 
The Tru-Sonics will sound VERY NICE with the KX-200. FISHER actually sold the 15" Tru-Sonic with the multi-cell horn as an option in a lot of it's early to mid 50's Mono consoles. If you find one with a tru-sonic, rebuild it and listen, closely. It really is a sound that is like no other.
 
larryderouin said:
The Tru-Sonics will sound VERY NICE with the KX-200. FISHER actually sold the 15" Tru-Sonic with the multi-cell horn as an option in a lot of it's early to mid 50's Mono consoles. If you find one with a tru-sonic, rebuild it and listen, closely. It really is a sound that is like no other.
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Hi Larry, that's good to hear. I would love to find a Fisher mono console to restore someday. My Tru-Sonics are the 15" with multi-cell horns (206ax) so I expect that the sound should be similar. I've been doing my best to be patient while searching for a proper way to power them. The KX-200 was purchased from the same AKer that sold me the cabinets that I'm going to use with the Stephens Tru-sonics. It was a nice turn of events to end up with both at the same time. I am hoping that I can get both the Fisher and Stephens projects completed soon and give them a try.
 
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