Older PURE CLASS-A Amplifiers

Well, actually the 8008BB is not really class A, but it shares the same platform that its big brother the Palladium is based on and it's available used for under 1k.

Did somebody say STAX? I got a DA 300. A littal harsh on dynamic speakers. oh so sweet on ribbons & electrostatics. However I don't have anymore:( Anybody looking for some sweet class A amp?

Aloia or a sugden

You can also try Pass labs Aleph series of amps. I used to have an Aleph 5 which was very nice, if your speakers are efficient they are excellent.

A shortlist of the amplifiers you are looking for:

Classe DR-3B or DR-3 VHC (very high current)
Bedini 25/25 under serial number 100 -- these were the real 25's -- not the later and cheaper Japanese version, as John likes to call them.

Levinson ML-2's
Electro Research A75 John Iverson's first real amplifier
Krell KSA-50
Threshold SA-3

best Class A , don't forget krell ksa 80b and threshold s200/e

Here's to keeping the thread alive. Good for the search engine and anyone looking for good old class A amps.

The smaller Bedini's like the 45/45 and 25/25 are underated. I have a 45 that puts out sweet music to my Maggie 3.6's.

Jimmyblues, my 45/45 has a less than 100 ser #. When I spoke to John about it and mentioned I liked SET amps, he said mine was single ended and no wonder I liked it so much. Is this what you meant by the "real Bedini"?

Hello,

Is it necessary to change the caps after many years of intensive use on a Classe Audio DR3B? What kind of caps am I supposed to buy?

Regards
Vesaas96

threshold sa3, or any ot the pass aleph amps, if they have enough can power for you. one of the biggest secrets in hifi is that some of these older amps not only compete with the new stuff, they are actually much better than what is out there today. goodluck chris

hi. another thing to add is anything made by nelson pass. the guy is really cool. I called pass labs once to talk to someone about my older threshold amp and pass himself took the call, I told him upfront that I did not have the funds for one of his newer amps, but he still talked to me for over a half hour about his older threshold and aleph amps. he gave me lots of good advise. good luck, chris

Is it necessary to change the caps after many years of intensive use on a Classe Audio DR3B?

Is it necessary? No, unless you're having audible problems (muddy, veiled, undetailed sound).

Electrolytic caps deteriorate with time & heat & other factors -- a major factor being non-usage. You have used your amp, so deterioration is less than in other cases.

Replace with caps of same value -- or even adding coupling caps... BUT leave this stuff to a qualified tech.

Look for the rare Pass Labs Aleph 0s (40W pure Class A)stereo power amplifier. This was one of the most natural sounding power amps I have ever heard. I am always looking for one ever since I heard the Pass Aleph 0s years ago. By the way the Pass Aleph 0s is one of Nelson Pass's favorite amp of all time. I talked with him for about an hour one day and he told me if you can find a Aleph 0s make sure you grab it.

I second the Classe DR-3B. A friend of mine had one for a short while and I told him to never sell it. It was one of THE best amps I have ever heard IMO. His speakers were relatively ineffiecient so he sold it. I couldn't swing owning it at the time.

Krell KSA-100MKII - one of the best balanced and mid ranged voiced amplifiers of all time. Caveat- You must send it in to be serviced every 15 or 20 years! Power supply caps need to be changed as they dry out - degrading sound & bass performance. Highly recommended - if you can find one.

Bedini 25/25. If you can find one, buy a lottery ticket the same day. The 25/25 continues to astonish me!

Luxman M-05. 105 watts per channel of the absolute most beautiful Class A power that can be found anywhere.

Anyone compare all these vintage amps to the PASS .5 and now .8 series.
Are the newest .8 pass amps truly in a whole different league than the older amps mentioned?