zwuttoo
Super Member
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Favorite EL-84 amplifier?
- Thread starter albusark
- Start date
It sounds excellent. Was listening to it yesterday.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
Your half way there then.
All you need are the two boards, and a few lower supply bits.
The best EL84 guitar amp that I've owned is the Matchless. The 15-watt Hurricane has a smooth, BIG sound.
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Some of those combo console amps really sound sweet. Too often overlooked and way underestimated.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
I'm really wanting to build a Matchless. The model with the copy of a AC30 for one of the two channels?The best EL84 guitar amp that I've owned is the Matchless. The 15-watt Hurricane has a smooth, BIG sound.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
Those look like some nice OPT's for a console amp. But it is a Fisher.
Dandy
Addicted Member
Many people think it's hard to make a bad EL84 amp. In the late 50s most were just copies of the Mullard 5-10 (then two for stereo). Some good ones were made by small British companies that are long gone, e.g. Verdik, Tripletone and Beam Echo. I'm listening to a restored Beam Echo SPA-21 now that sounds sweet, but these are scarce, even here.
As always, high quality depends both on a good design and good output transformers. I have had good results from building a couple of clones of this: https://www.hificollective.co.uk/kits/ank/l1-el84-amplifier.html, designed by Andy Groves for Audio Note. While the kits are hard to come by, the assembly manual and clone boards are available online. You can even get the chassis from third party sellers. Then it's just a matter of getting the PT and OTs. e.g. You could use those from your spare Dynaco SCA-35. Or, of course, you could use them with Dave Gillespie's ST35 boards which are highly rated, available here: http://tronola.com/html/daves_store.html.
Then there are the American classics from Scott, Fisher, Eico, etc. Many people like the Eico HF81, but I've never seen one in the wild and these usually sell for a lot. You could look for a pair of HF32 ones (monos) for the iron.
As always, high quality depends both on a good design and good output transformers. I have had good results from building a couple of clones of this: https://www.hificollective.co.uk/kits/ank/l1-el84-amplifier.html, designed by Andy Groves for Audio Note. While the kits are hard to come by, the assembly manual and clone boards are available online. You can even get the chassis from third party sellers. Then it's just a matter of getting the PT and OTs. e.g. You could use those from your spare Dynaco SCA-35. Or, of course, you could use them with Dave Gillespie's ST35 boards which are highly rated, available here: http://tronola.com/html/daves_store.html.
Then there are the American classics from Scott, Fisher, Eico, etc. Many people like the Eico HF81, but I've never seen one in the wild and these usually sell for a lot. You could look for a pair of HF32 ones (monos) for the iron.
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My friend has a DC30 combo amp. He does jazz gigs with it. He'll never sell it — you'd have to pry it out of his dead hands.
daveshel
Super Member
Yes. With the ST-35 you can use a real preamp. The SCA-35 doesn't have a true line stage, and it has those funky passive tone controls.
Granted, the original ST-35 cut some corners to make price point. But these can be overcome with DaveG's EFB power supply board.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
What is the other channel like, do you know?
As much as I enjoyed my Luxman SQ-N150 integrated amp, the Manley Mahi monoblock amps were my favorite. If I go back to tubes I'll likely find another pair of Mahi amps.
I sure am glad I custom-ordered Almarro A205 Mk II with 4-pin XLR headphone output jack
Almarro has been out of business for 10 years now..
0122201915 by drjlo2, on Flickr
Almarro has been out of business for 10 years now..0122201915 by drjlo2, on Flickr
The fellow that helps Dennis Had build his current line of Inspire amps/preamps just released a new headphone amp.I sure am glad I custom-ordered Almarro A205 Mk II with 4-pin XLR headphone output jack
Fisher made some really nice stereo consoles in the 60's, my neighbor had a Fisher with Jensen speakers and AMPEX stereo reel-reel in the cabinet. Everything was so clear and detailed, bass was full but not boomy or muddy. I was 12 when he cranked up Young Rascals Lonely So Long from a 45 and it has stuck with me ever since. That was 1981 and it had the same amp that Aerobat has in the previous post. I remember the zig-zag layout and thought how cool was that.
A short time later I got my hands on a Fisher 800B which used the 7591s and sounded just as good on a pair of beat-up KLH 17's... parents were NOT happy with the size or intensity of these in my room but it kept me out of trouble. (for the most part) Moral here is 6BQ5 or 7591 (even 7968) we're hard pressed to find a *bad* Avery Fisher receiver from the 1960's. As a kid I had to make the best of what I got my hands on (and sometimes zapped by) but I learned to fix them on my own with the encouragement of my Elmer who at the time had new Cunningham 227's in their boxes. I made the best of a Dual 1214 with the stubby post, still have it and that Heathkit AA-111 which still gets regular use driving a set of Vega L-7's. I'm a little behind the times at 56 now and wouldn't have it any other way, my daily watch TV is a 1970 Magnavox Astro Sonic console which I've modified to accept composite video in from a DTV receiver box and it uses a heathkit AA-100 amplifier to drive the original alnico speakers to spellbinding proportions. Original family set that survives and looks great today... wish it had more tubes in the audio section.
So I may be biased (cathode) when it comes to what I think is my favorite EL-84 amplifier and clearly there are many others with just as many opinions. To me the output tube is one link in that chain and not always the weakest in the big picture. What I would like to hear in the context of the thread is why do others believe the EL84 is somehow a magical tube that uses sheets of gifted electrons that adds life to music in ways others don't.
Has anyone heard the Finale F-7189 amp from Canada?
It's been one 7189 tube amp that has intrigued me and has an interesting amount of iron.
Heathkit made 7189 mono amps back in the day, those would probably sound excellent if you could apply Dave Gillespie's mods to them? There's also his modded out Magnavox 8604 amp.
Then there's the Trafomatic Audio Kaivalya EL-84 mono amps, which I believe they cost a pretty penny. No idea on how they sound?
Then Leben CS-300X
Then "Still Audio" EL84 integrated amp
It's been one 7189 tube amp that has intrigued me and has an interesting amount of iron.
Heathkit made 7189 mono amps back in the day, those would probably sound excellent if you could apply Dave Gillespie's mods to them? There's also his modded out Magnavox 8604 amp.
Then there's the Trafomatic Audio Kaivalya EL-84 mono amps, which I believe they cost a pretty penny. No idea on how they sound?
Then Leben CS-300X
Then "Still Audio" EL84 integrated amp
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