2. amps-preamps
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I'm going to buy my first tube amp. I need honest blunt opinions

 

 

Recommendations please. I am thinking of dipping my toes in the tube amp water.  For the longest time I have been tempted to buy a modest tube amp to run my Monitor Gold 300’s at 90db.

I’ve been toying around, researching the different characteristics of SET, class A, class AB, B Ultralinear tube amps for months. It’s a bit much. As far as the reviewers go, they are too vague. They are afraid to be upfront honest.

Sources are a Parasound JC 3+, a Innous ZENith Mk3, and a Oppo going to a Benchmark DAC, then all go to a Benchmark LA 4 preamp that will feed the new amp.

My room is 16 x16. The speakers have a 12-foot spread. I sit 14 feet back, so it’s not that big of a room.

I have narrowed it down to four candidates.

A used Canary Audio M90 300B Tube Amp at 24RMS,300B push-pull stereo triode Class A $4,000

A used Jadis Orchestra Black, 40 RMS, Class B $4,000

A 16-year-old, Used Cary Audio Six Pac Monoblock’s, 50 triode watts A/AB $2,000

A new Dynaco by WILL VINCENT 35RMS Ultralinear $2,300

 

marshinski15
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,912 posts
 

I have had several different tube amps over the years.  40 and 50 watt EL34 and 6l6 amps.   They drove speakers around 90 dB sens in a room about 17 X 15    
 

My latest amp is a 40 watt Solid State amp and it can drive 86 dB sens speakers to pretty decent volumes cleanly in roughly the same size room. 
 

That said I would avoid low powered SET amps with those speakers and look at something 40 or 50 watts with tubes that are readily available is what I would suggest 

I have a 300b and it sounds beautiful but only with my Forte.  It just doesn’t have the power to play low to moderately low sensitivity speakers    

noromance's avatar
noromance
9,848 posts
 

None of them do anything for me. 
Maybe have a look here:
Tube | New & Used Hi-Fi For Sale (audiogon.com)

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,978 posts
 

Honestly? Quicksilver. See three options, today, here.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,846 posts
 

@marshinski15 , @soix has given you excellent advice. Four Ohm speakers are usually not the best way to be introduced to a tube amplifier. If it has an output transformer (and most do, but not all) you can lose as much as an octave of bandwidth in the bass department. Distortion will be higher too, and even though the output transformer might have a 4 Ohm tap, it will be less efficient so you'll have less power (although that will only be a few Watts at most). In addition your speaker cables become more critical.

If your speakers were 8 Ohms I would say any of the amps you listed would be fine.

ghdprentice
7,093 posts
 

I think the Jadis and Cary would likely be good choices. I agree, that with Benchmark stuff a really warm amp will probably greatly enhance the sound.

 

But a question on your setup. That is a huge triangle you have for listening. Do you get solid center image and homogeneous sound stage between the speakers? Have you tried an 8’ to 9’ triangle? 

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