Is the Eico HF 81 really that good?

>>your 400.00 little amp will kill any solid state unit over 1000.00<<

I want to make sure what you wrote is what you meant. Your position is this amplifier will "kill" any solid state amplifier over $1000. Is that correct?

Very good sounding small amp. If you can find a vintage dual concentric Tannoy speakers or Altec 604 you will be suprised how this little amp sounds.

I urge everyone who is interested in the HF-81 to try Pilot 602 receiver which has outraging bass and presence, at least on my Tannoy Arden II, MG III LZ, and even the low efficiency (read: 81.5dB/1 watt) Celestion SL700.

These two EL84 PP amps seem to have comparable output transformers and I suppose their sound should be similar. Not the case, to me at least. The Pilot 602 doesn't even sound close to the Fisher SA-16, a console amp from the 50's. The Fisher has thinner bass, though.

I had one for awhile, paired with Klipsch Cornwalls. Very open sound, but not enough "weight" in comparison to my Decware and Cayin integrateds. The phono section hums a lot too. I ended up trading it to a friend for EI KT90 quad, and other goodies.
Mike

I have one mated with some university 315c (like Altec 604s)... Doesn't get too much better and if it does one must ask themselves at what cost...