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Low watt tube power amp hunt

HiMcDunnough

HiMcDunnough

Member
Ive been poking around for a quality 10 or 15 watt tube power amp for a little while and not coming up with much.

There are a few cheap ones on amazon, but I’m wondering why don’t any of the reputable audiophile builders seem to make a small wattage power tube amp? Any suggestions?

(I currently run an integrated 40 watt/ch tube amp with 102db speakers and I hardly ever have the volume above two or three.)
 
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HiMcDunnough said:
(I currently run an integrated 40 watt/ch tube amp with 102db speakers and I hardly ever have the volume above two or three.)
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In other words you then have a good amount of headroom to cover the transient peaks in the music.

Are you under the impression that a amp with less power is going to sound better?
 
4-2-7 said:
In other words you then have a good amount of headroom to cover the transient peaks in the music.

Are you under the impression that a amp with less power is going to sound better?
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... I guess I was thinking that I’m using so little head room that I can’t possibly be getting all the benefits of the tubes... and that if I had an amp that I could listen to at, say, half maximum volume, than it would be using more of its potential... but I’m suddenly doubting that idea?
 
HiMcDunnough said:
... I guess I was thinking that I’m using so little head room that I can’t possibly be getting all the benefits of the tubes... and that if I had an amp that I could listen to at, say, half maximum volume, than it would be using more of its potential... but I’m suddenly doubting that idea?
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Well for me and IMHO, I like a amp that has plenty of power opposed to the speakers. One that sounds good is reliable and built to last. In other words a quality capable amp that will go beyond my needs, you might drag home another set of speakers to try that need more power, or work better with more.
 
And I guess that idea comes from guitar amps. Like I used to have this amazing silver faced fender twin, and at first I would be playing it in my basement at low volumes and thinking I don’t get why people love these. Until my friends came over and I cranked it and I was like, oh, that’s why.
 
HiMcDunnough said:
Ive been poking around for a quality 10 or 15 watt tube power amp for a little while and not coming up with much.

There are a few cheap ones on amazon, but I’m wondering why don’t any of the reputable audiophile builders seem to make a small wattage power tube amp? Any suggestions?

(I currently run an integrated 40 watt/ch tube amp with 102db speakers and I hardly ever have the volume above two or three.)
Click to expand...

Dennis Had (founder of Cary Audio; retired) Inspire amps, single ended triode and pentode tube amps sold on E-bay or used. :thumbsup:

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Thanks, guys. I just needed those three magic. Words: single ended triode. I’ve read a few articles on them, and this is definitely the route I’m interested in.
 
There's an argument to be made for headroom, and there's an argument to be made for not having a bigger amp than you need, in the tube world.

Having lower power and higher power options is a nice way to be.
 
I think quite a few reputable audio companies manufacture s.e.t. amps, but the better ones tend to be more expensive because of high quality transformers and other parts.
 
I am a fan of single ended triode amplifiers. With 102dB speakers I'd recommend a 1626 Darling, same as Shannon Parks' Clementine circuit if you're handy. It's output is 3/4 Watt but that's plenty for driving 102dB speakers. 1626 is a true Triode. Any of the common tetrodes 6v6, and pentodes like EL84 could be pressed into service as triode single ended. I am currently working on a single ended 6AV5 triode amp.
 
opnly bafld said:
Dennis Had (founder of Cary Audio; retired) Inspire amps, single ended triode and pentode tube amps sold on E-bay or used. :thumbsup:

EMieybG.jpg
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yes this is a great amp. you can get between ~2 and ~8 Watts per channel depending on which tubes you use. right now i'm in between speakers and just borrowing some Nova 8B's from my F.I.L. and they can honestly get pretty loud before clipping becomes noticeable. even 2.5Wpc on some 90dB speakers is enough for moderate volume, depending on your music choice.
 
How efficient are your speakers? I feel SET amps work best with highly efficient speakers. There’s someone on barter town selling a PP triode tubed amp that puts out around 15 watts, and it was made by Kegger, former members here (RIP). I have no affiliation but that looks like a cool amp for this purpose.
 
Yes! This is right where I wanted to be. From no options to tons, overnight.
My preamp is a Lector Zoe, upgraded with smooth plate 12AU7 teles.
I have never had the right amp paired with it, though, so I mostly use a sherwood integrated tube amp.
When I got these high efficiency speakers (electro-voice FR200), it kind of changed the way I listen to music. They sound so good at low volumes, it opened, late night kids sleeping listening, way up. I knew it was time to act on my separates situation.
All of these look great. The Dennis Hand seems like the no brainer, but there are a couple used Decware amps on ebay I could afford right now...
 
Maybe I can push it with one more question.
Assuming that power is not an issue (it sounds like even 2.5 watts would be fine for my sitch) is there a power tube choice that would match particularly well with my preamp? Being 12AU7s? Is that something I could find out? I know most of this is prob personal preference at this point, but maybe even a direction I might be steered in that way would be super helpful.
 
jeb98 said:
How efficient are your speakers? I feel SET amps work best with highly efficient speakers. There’s someone on barter town selling a PP triode tubed amp that puts out around 15 watts, and it was made by Kegger, former members here (RIP). I have no affiliation but that looks like a cool amp for this purpose.
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The speakers are Electro-Voice FR200. They are rated at 100db (I said 102 earlier, but that was wrong). I'll check out the barter page. Thanks!
 
Another cool option in the Barter Town section (you have to subscribe to view it) is a DGSE-1 power amp using 6bq5 tubes as a SIngle ended pentode amp. I think it’s about 4 watts.
 
jeb98 said:
Another cool option in the Barter Town section (you have to subscribe to view it) is a DGSE-1 power amp using 6bq5 tubes as a SIngle ended pentode amp. I think it’s about 4 watts.
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I have one of these and its excellent.
The OP seemed to want 17wpc otherwise I would have suggested it as well:thumbsup:
 
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