jsg1469
Member
I've owned solid state all my life. I curently own 3 early 70s pioneer and a Samsui amp that ive had for several years. Last year i wanted to start experimenting in tube so i purchased and Old Chen EL34 SE from overseas for less than $200. Took about 6 weeks to arrive but didnt care. I removed the "warranty voided if removed" sticker and inspected the internals and i must say it was all very neatly hand welded and neatly done. I made note of all the capacitors because I had read stories about Chinese cheap caps. Sure enough after 3 days I blew one so i ordered and replaced with all Panasonic at the suggestion of a forum i read and this amp has never missed a beat. I'm currently running 1969 Mullard fx2 El34's, 1952 Sylvania 6SN7GT tall and a 1945 Jan 5U4g rectifier. It pushes 4 Klipsch 600M bookshelves and y connected to 2 10" Klipsch subs. Sound is beautiful. I've accumulated about 30 or 40 different power/ preamp tubes for different sounding combos and i just love this amp. It never gets hot and I'll run it for anywhere from 2 to 6 hours a day. I know alot of these type of amps catch grief but if you know how to make repairs or perhaps, you'll never run in to a problem, I would say go for it. They make really good first time tube amps and seem to be a real workhorse. Time will tell how long ot holds up but about a year in and running excellent.
