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Tube amps and heat

I have 2 systems in play. #1 PrimaLuna Dialogue amp with a Mytek Brooklyn DAC using Tidal. # 2 BelCanto Ref 600 Mono's same Mytek and Tidal.  I like the PrimaLuna slightly better. More separation and just the right amount of bass. The Bel Canto is very close but ever so slightly missing something, maybe in clarity separation. Since I live in AZ using the PrimaLuna with 14 tubes is difficult (HEAT). Question --- Is there am amp the will give me the sound of the PrimaLuna tube and not generate as much heat, something like a hybred. Or can I put in the BelCanto system a tube pre amp/hybred and get the tube benefit on that system as well. I've been using the PrimaLuna system during the winter, however we are starting to warm up here. 90+ this weekend and I'm afraid I'll have to shut down the PrimaLuna for 6 months or so. Suggestions anyone. BTW I just tried a Aesthetix Calypso Pre with the Bel's and didn't like the sound. I could live with it, but it's not what I'm looking for.
Thanks

gary
128x128onehole149
jsm71
141 posts
 

(most) Tube amps do have issues.  Heat, tube life, tube matching, and the fact that iron core output transformers add a lot of chassis weight and distort the music that you don't realize until its gone.  

Check out Linear Tube Audio, which licenses David Berning's ZOTL design.  I'm running ESL speakers with the ZOTL40 amp, which really puts out more than the rated 40 watts/ch.  At least with my speakers, the speaker/amp handshake is just about perfect.  If needed, it can be bridged as mono for nearly twice the rated output.

The amp weighs less than 10 pounds, tubes last 10-20 years because they aren't run hard or spew a lot of heat.  The sound is so clear and linear you think SS except you are hearing the beauty of the tubes, not the iron transformers.  I run a quad of NOS Mullard XF2 EL34s, hard to beat.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,778 posts
 
To all the fan proponents, it’s a no go.  AZ summers peak at up to 120 day time and stay 95 overnight. A/C systems run almost continuously. If one room generates much more heat than others which requires the thermostat to be turned down, then you run the additional expense of cooling the remainder of the house which doesn’t require additional cooling.
@onehole149 One of our customers lives in Guatemala City, and if you think it gets uncomfortable in Arizona, try adding some humidity to that.

He does not like air conditioning (he could have it if he wanted, he's a millionaire and just the art alone in his house is worth more than everything I own), and has our largest amp which has 42 power tubes **per channel**. In his listening room, the amps can be on all day and night (I know because I've been there) and yet the room stays comfortable. This is because he installed vents in the ceiling above the amps. The heat rises, and a low power fan at the other end of the ductwork in the ceiling moves the heat out of the house. He has a light switch on the wall to run the fan. Its silent, inexpensive, draws very little energy and the amps don't contribute heat to the room.
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
Running a DAC/pre direct to an amp, especially class D, can sound a bit dry and cold. I'm willing to bet if you put a tube preamp that is a bit warm blooded, may be a Conrad Johnson or older ARC model, you'll get that element that you feel you're missing. Regarding hybrids, I can recommend a Vincent SP-331 or SP-331 MKII for a bit more money. It has tubes in the input stage and delivers 150wpc into 8 ohms and doubles down to 300wpc into 4 ohms. Very underrated amp for its price. 
edwardmellish's avatar
edwardmellish
13 posts
 
I had a pair of Golden Tube Audio power amps wired as mono blocks back in the day. I sweated my nuts off in summer and got tired of tube rolling and the associated microphonics of NOS room heaters, so I sold them used at The Sounding Board , formerly in Ridgewood NJ, where I sold the High End part time. Took a beating on my price... Pretty much stick to Solid State and Digital these days,  except for my Cary LSI -80
radni
96 posts
 
I live in western India where summer temperature ( Highs ) is 40-46 degree Celsius (104 - 115 degree F ) everyday during day time , my tube amp is AES SuperAmp Signature 35 wpc with 4xKT88 , 2x E88CC  and 2x6BQ5 . I have A.C. fitted in the listening room. 
I have three vents ( size 55 x 55 mm each ) with holes in the bottom plate of my amp chassis and installed a fan 50 x 50 x 10 mm ( 12 Volt ) over only one vent to push the air from bottom of the amp into the amp interiors . The other two vents are without fans. More ever on the top of the amp , under each power tube KT88, there are 6-8 small holes in the metal chassis around the tube socket , from where the hot air escapes  upward brushing  the glass of each tube.  This arrangement keeps the heat of amp under reasonable control .
I am thinking to add two more fans of 50 x 50 mm under the other two vents also , but not sure if that would be too much air to blow into the amp !
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