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What high end brands offer best bang for your buck?

mcgarick

mcgarick

Super Member
Greetings, looking for excellent low power tube amplification at a real world price.. Yes, used is most likely the scenario.
There's an Audio Note Kit 4 available in my area... the guy wants a 1000.00 for it, 6v6 push pull 10 watt per side.
What do you guys think the best I could do, for no more than 1500.00 used?? I would like between 8 to 20 watts, more's OK
Inquiring minds want too know. Quality first watt is King..
Thanks!
 
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a grand for a 10 watt 6v6 amp seems like a *lot* to me, but I'm cheap and not a good judge of what things realistically cost.

Found a schematic for it, it just seems like an excessive amount of gain. 12ax7 floating paraphase inverter, 6sn7 second voltage amp, then a 6v6 output stage. The 12ax7 has more than enough to get the job done on it's own.
 
For that money if you live in CA there is a Sonic Frontiers 2 for just less than a grand. He won't ship otherwise I would have purchased it.
 
spantou01 said:
More contextual information will glean more useful advice. What speakers, what music sources, pre-amp, what volume controls, do you want tone controls?

Else, get a Dynaco ST35.
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My current speakers are Infinity Intermezzo 2.6 The pure passive version, 8 ohm 90db
Also have Bostons that are about the same rating.. But I use one pair at a time. I rotate...I also run a Martin Logan Abyss Subwoofer.
My preamp is a VTL 2.5
So, a power amp is fine, or a good integrated too. Want musicality, good for low level listening . Dont care about tone controls, but not against them..
Looking for a gem in the sea of amps that are out there. Ive had many amps..
Currently, I got this large Denon POA 2400A beast, and its really great actually. Maybe the best SS amp I've had, not far behind a Pass labs I had awhile back.
It was made in Denons heyday back in the early 90's late 80's Actually its a total sleeper..
I'm wanting to maybe rotate in some accurate, but full tube sound once in awhile.. Maybe I need to up my budget? Wanting some Depth and color of a good 2a3 amp. Im sure there's some low powered sleepers out there??
 
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mcgarick said:
My current speakers are Infinity Intermezzo 2.6 The pure passive version, 8 ohm 90db
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Like most speakers on the market now, 90dB is low sensitivity. I say this from the perspective of the early 1970s when many systems still employed tubes and many speakers were still commonly available upward of 95dB. There are many environmental factors in this of course, as well as the preferred type of music, but I wouldn't want less than 30W/ch unless the listening area is very small.

Jack
 
Bang for the buck? For tubes, I'd say Dynaco, Heathkit, Eico, and *maybe* HH Scott and Sherwood. Some of the old Dynaco, Heathkit, and Eico iron is really, really good...

You can find Eico HF-20s and Heathkit W2As, 3As, and 4As for $100-$200 apeice right now. Monoblocks for $400? Heck yeah!

Edit: Whoops, you wanted "high-end" brands. I guess I don't know what you are looking for—resale value? Caché? Probably McIntosh, then. But SQ-wise, I'm more of a fan of the ones I mentioned before...
 
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BassKulcha said:
Bang for the buck? For tubes, I'd say Dynaco, Heathkit, Eico, and *maybe* HH Scott and Sherwood. Some of the old Dynaco, Heathkit, and Eico iron is really, really good...

You can find Eico HF-20s and Heathkit W2As, 3As, and 4As for $100-$200 apeice right now. Monoblocks for $400? Heck yeah!

Edit: Whoops, you wanted "high-end" brands. I guess I don't know what you are looking for—resale value? Caché? Probably McIntosh, then. But SQ-wise, I'm more of a fan of the ones I mentioned before...
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Thank you for chiming in!
Not necessarily "boutique" gear although there's a reason some of those brands flourish..
Ive had some of the vintage you mention. I liked the Eico HF87 the best, a friend updated it and took away the magic I felt. Now they go for CRAZY money.. I'm open to consider older classics too. I was actually thinking of some Eico el84 based blocks, but none are for sale. I remember seeing them all the time on auction..
 
I don't think your speakers are going to pair well with any 2A3 amps, but if you're looking for that flavor, some 300b, might fill in. But your budget might not have room for them as the tubes can get pricey for good ones. I just repurposed a pair of old RCA amps that use a quad of 6L6 tubes for each channel, for 30 watts per side and I really like their flavor. I found them really cheap and did the work myself so that kept the cost lower.
 
mcgarick said:
I was actually thinking of some Eico el84 based blocks, but none are for sale.
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I was factory authorized service for many major brands beginning around 1970. I auditioned nearly every brand of tube and SS gear from that era at one time or another - Pioneer, Sansui, McIntosh, Crown, B&O, Kenwood, Scott, Fisher, etc., etc. IMO, the Dynaco ST-35 is one of the best sounding amplifiers ever made. I'm not sure its power level is quite sufficient for 90dB speakers, but it's certainly more powerful than the AN you mentioned (and less expensive). The 6BQ5 rules in this power class, and the Dynaco transformers were second to none.

Jack
 
FWIW - I am using the Dyna ST-35's cousin the SCA-35 that my brother sold me recently. Plenty of power for a pair of KEF 150's..I recommend highly. I continue to get surprised at the detail etc from this amp .. I believe I have reached my journey's end .. good luck in your search..
 
How about Allen Organ 75s? Aside from the cost of the 6550s/KT88s, these would have plenty of power and good sound quality for your loud speakers. Rated at around 75 Watts before clipping.
 
If you can find an Elekit, I say go for it. I have a TU-8200R that will run 6L6, KT66, KT77, KT88, 6550. Plenty of power for your speakers.
 
If you feel handy, the Elekit TU-8400 is the new version of the TU-8200. The 8400 will run everything from EL34 to KT170 tubes. I believe Victor Kung has them in your budget or for slightly more he will provide upgraded Lundahl transformers (highly recommended). The Elekits are very easy to put together if you have any soldering experience at all, and Victor is very helpful with advice if you run into problems. Check out the Elekit forum on DIY Audio.
 
The question of power depends on how loud you listen to music and how far away you sit. I have a pair of 89db sensitive speakers sitting about 9 feet away. I top out around 85db listening loudness. 4 watts is plenty for that most of the time. If you’re sitting farther away or at louder volumes you will definitely need more power. Some speakers require more juice for the low end as well.

IMO none of the “high end” brands offer anything that approaches a reasonable bang for the buck in the tube world. I think an ST-70 or ST-35 would be great options. There are companies that make newer versions like the Will Vincent and previously Van Alastine.

I’m no expert but it seems to me that there are strata with the old hugh end companies. McIntosh, Manley, and Conrad Johnson made good stuff but they are still expensive even used. The nice thing about those is if you buy them used you can probably sell them again for about what you paid.

I get the impression that Audio Research made good sounding stuff but isn’t as reliable and is harder to repair than the other brands. And then there are companies like Jadis, VTL, and Quicksilver that people either don’t like how they are made and/or have questionable designs. Early VTL amps were classic head scratchers, tubes biased and cooled for early deaths.

I’m willing to bet that if you can get a custom amp builder to make you a Williamson or Dynaco clone you’d get more bang for your buck than buying a 40 year old amp that needs to be overhauled. @StepheK has started a push pull project that will probably be available for sale at some point. There are others like Home that have been at it for a while as well. You can also find builders on USAudio mart and Facebook. Mick at Supratek offers amps. Hell, maybe you could convince Dennis Had to build something for you. You’ll have to do some homework on any builder you are interested in.
 
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