Vintage tube sound from a modern amp

48pm

I’ll stick with this vintage beauty I’ve owned for 25 years. It’s going back to VAC for the MkIII S update in January 2023. It’s has worked flawlessly all these years.

This VAC Renaissance 70/70 amplifier in my opinion is a true classic and wonderful sounding. Very wise to have it sent to VAC and let Kevin Hayes do his thing.
Charles

That VAC is desirable….   Expensive to retube , but that’s the only downside to that amp. 

@oddiofyl 

Re-tubing expense is a valid point, given that it requires 4 pairs of the 300b. Fortunately 300bs are generally long lifespan tubes. It’s nice having only 1 pair in my SET amplifier.

Charles 

Yes, part of the reason I went SET.    Simple , no matching tubes , auto bias is nice too.   First amp I’ve owned that I don’t have to bias.  
 

That amp is a mythical beast though.   One came up for sale a while back and the first thing I thought of was $$$ to retube.   

     If one seeks a warmer, more romantic (colored) presentation from the typical tube amp, whether newer or older: try NOS tubes manufactured in Britain (ie: Mullard, Brimar, Genelex) especially in the amp's early stages.

     For a sound somewhere between the cleanest and warmest: tubes from Holland and Belgium (ie: Amperex, Philips, etc) will generally do it.

     For the more dedicated tweaker: change out resistors in the signal path, for noisier/warmer types, such as carbon composition.

     Some of the oil-filled capacitors out there are quite warm, or: seek out NOS Black Cat types.    They'll warm things up also, when used as coupling caps.

      Lots of way to find a sound that sates your particular tastes, with a valve amp.