I'm surprised the Cary 300B drove those 90dB, 4 ohm speakers to their potential and in fact the speakers could have reduced the life on the amp....or perhaps it's just the tubes that have gone bad? While it won't be exactly the same sonics I'd consider a Pass XA30.8 (Class A up to 60 watts) which will handle the speakers easily and drive a 4ohm load smoothly. If you want to stick tubes I'd be looking into a 60-100W push-pull design. Many good ones out there and you can stay in your budget.
Amp recommendations
Looking for some advice. My 25 year old amp has given up the ghost and I haven’t kept up with what’s good out there. Instead of sinking money in my existing amp, I’m thinking of replacing it. The amp that went bad is a Cary Audio CAD 300B (none of the tubes are working, one of the rectifiers flashes when turned on, I checked the tube fuses). The preamp is a Cary Audio SLP-70 (I recently had it checked out and retubed it). The speakers are Chapman T-7. I also have a Creek CD-60 and Project 1.2 turntable. Music Meter inter connects. My budget is around $4000 for a new amp. Is this a reasonable budget? What amp recommendations do you have? I’d prefer to stay with vacuum tube but if there are solid state amps that you’d recommend, please do so. I can provide specs on the components if needed. Thanks for your advice.
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- 51 posts total
- 51 posts total