Does anyone care to ask an amplifier designer a technical question? My door is open.
Thanks a lot Roger for your kind explanation why Tube SET amplifier sounds good. I had used only 4 tube amplifiers in my life. Jadis 500 made in France Silbatone 300B SET made in Korea Rogue Cronus Magnum II made in USA Line Magnetic 508 SET made in China I really like the sound of SET over PP. You can see my audio history in the below link. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/the-most-musical-sound-in-my-40-year-s-audio-history Thanks again for your kind advice Thomas |
Hello Roger I have one more question to you. I used to let my Silbatone 300B SET turn on for 3, 4 hours. But I started hearing sum hum out of it. Thus I had to replace key capacitors in it. After that incident, I never let my tube amplifier on more than 1 and half hour. I cool the amplifier for at least 15 minutes before turning it again. Will this help to extend the life of capacitors in it? thanks in advance Thomas |
@krelldreams, though you asked Roger for a recommendation of a low-powered tube amp for use with Maggies, I hope he doesn’t mind if I chime in on the question. As a long-time Maggie owner (my first bought in 1973, the original Tympani T-I; I now own Tympani T-IVa’s), I can assure you a typical low-powered tube amp is about the worst kind you can partner with a Maggie. But what do you consider a "lower" powered tube amp? Under a hundred watts? Under 50? Maggies are very insensitive speakers, and benefit from a "higher"-powered amp. Another factor working against tube amps with Maggies is that the speaker present a 4 ohm and lower load to an amp, and almost all tube amps prefer a higher-impedance load, producing less power at higher distortion into lower impedances than into higher. While this may strike some as inappropriate in an answer to a question posed to the designer/manufacturer of Music Reference amps, I’m doing it anyway ;-) . There is one tube amp I can suggest for use with Maggies, the one I use: the Music Reference RM-200 Mk.2. Unique amongst tube amps, it produces slightly higher, not lower, power into a 4 ohm load than into an 8 ohm one. About 100 watts/ch into 8 ohms, a little more into 4. Most 100w tube amps produce only 60 or so watts into 4 ohms. The RM-200 is also a real good amp in general terms. Low distortion ("clean" sound, including at bass frequencies, The Achilles heel of many tube amps), low output impedance (no tube amp colorations, such as added "warmth" and/or "soft" highs), stable into reactive loads (usable with ESL’s and ribbons), long tube life (some popular tube amps burn through a set of output tubes in as little as a couple thousand hours, and a replacement set are not cheap), and tasteful, classic styling, all at a reasonable price. Review, both subjective and objective, available on the Stereophile website. |
@bdp24 Thanks for the compliment and notes on the RM-200. I was also introduced to the Tympani speakers in 1973-4. At the time this product could only be bought from ARC dealers and was essentially a speaker that Jim made for Bill. Both were just starting out. At the time the largest amp ARC made was 75 watts/ch. Bill also required you buy his electronic crossover for the 3 way system which was a total of 8 panels. Those were the days. Great sound at nothing like today's high prices. Marketing took a back seat to engineering not its the other way round. |
