Another vote for Manley or build a pair of VTA M-125 monos.
Tube Amps With Good Bass Qualities
I have been reading over posts about tube amps and their bass qualities. I understand that for the most part, that a ss amp with have an edge in bass qualities compared to a tubed amp. Damping factor, etc. But I can give up a little of that edge for what I enjoy in the midrange qualities of a tubed amp. So my question is, what tube power amps have you heard that have good bass qualities? Raven, Quicksilver, Mac, etc.? Let's give a price point. 5K or under. What do you think?
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We had an "amp try out fest" one Sunday a while back at friends house that had a pair of JBL Synthesis 1400 Array's,**Any** 60 watt OTL will be uncomfortable with a load like that (see JA's comments in the review at the link). This is a great example of how *not* to do it- you always want a tube amp to play loads for which it is intended! By the way what are the woofer's in your speakers? Are your enclosures vented?Yes. The drivers are dual TAD 1602s (Fo of 21Hz), one forward firing and the other downfiring. Flat to 20Hz is no problem at all :) how to match a tube amp to a speaker, is one to find what the lowest dip in the speaker measurement and make sure the amp can over come that dip rather easily ?@oem-wheels In a nutshell, yes. |
The M-125 has excellent mid-bass. I roll mine off ≈88Hz, so can't comment on the low bass. Square wave is very good, so I'd imagine the low bass is fine. As built by VTA, the M-125's were very noisy, but can be quietened quite a bit. In my case, almost 40db. Complete instructions: http://ielogical.com/Audio/VTA_M-125.php |
Another vote for Atman-Sphere. I have the M-60s with the upgraded power supply driving speakers that are basically 10 Ohms (minimum is about 8, I think), and the bass is deep and articulate. I couldn't be happier. But as has been well articulated above, you have to have a happy match between speaker and amp. If you don't get this right you are going to have issues. BTW, these amps are gems from top to bottom. Get the right tube complement and these amps sing like angels. |
@brownsfan Another vote for Atman-Sphere I completely agree, and I will also add that most speakers with drivers presenting a 8/10 ohms load (or more) "nominal" will provide good bass qualities for most tube amps, that's the "happy match" you mentioned. I have MA-1's and love the sound. BTW which "right tube complement" you have (power and driver tubes) |
@luisma31, I've stuck with the SED winged C power tubes. I haven't seen anything likely to be better for any kind of reasonable cost. I've done a good bit of tube rolling on the 6SN7s, using a few NOS RCA, Sylvania, and GE tubes, as well as a few different current production brands. Right now, I have a Shuguang WE+ at the position requiring the GTA/GTB tube. I've tried other tubes in that position, including various NOS RCAs, Sylvanias, and a GE GTA, and I like the Shuguang WE + best. It is a very large tube, and it will only fit in the isolated front position because of its size. In the rear positions not requiring a GTA/GTB tube, the best I've found in the rear middle is a NOS Sylvania Bad Boy. Every other tube I have tried in that position results in decreased dynamics and top end sparkle. For the rear row right and left tubes, I really liked the early 50's NOS RCA grey glass. I recently picked up one of the new Sophia Blue Glass tubes and rolled that into the rear right position. I really like that tube, and I am thinking about getting another pair for the left rear position. Those are very nice tubes! Sweet and smooth. I don't know how the various tube locations in the M-60s (MK 3.3) correspond to the MA-1 amps. I'm curious about your experience with the 6SN7s. |
Thank you, I have kind of the same experience, not using the WE+ but the CV-181-TII (Shuguang BT) very decent tube, comparable to the Psvane, the Psvane is prone to failure IME, and very similar to the BT. Like you RCA and Raytheon NOS 40's and 50's produce good results, I have short bottle Sylvanias not bad boys but same plate if I remember correctly these are 6SN7W and sound is good too. The standard chrome top from Sylvania I agree produces some sparkle (I thought it was just me as most people like the chrome tops). If Ralph could have made the M60 and MA1 with the driver tubes sockets a little more spread you could use the boutique chinese in every position, that will mean possible re design the chassis of course |