@mattw73 Thanks for your detailed response. Very generous of you! The GU50 looks interesting and I like those guys too
Your journey with lower-watt tube amps -- Can a kit be good enough?
Looking for stories about your low-watt amp journeys.
Here's the situation: I have new speakers, 97 db. Trying them with lower watt tube amps (45/211, 300b, etc) seems generally wise. I am attempting to borrow some from audiophiles in the area.
The horizon beyond trying these things involves actually buying some. I'm looking at a budget limit of about $5k.
Curious as to folks' experience with lower-watt amp kits vs. those of good makers (e.g. Dennis Had, etc.).
If you have any thoughts about the following, I'd be interested:
Did you start out with a kit and then get dissatisfied? Why?
Did you compare kits vs. pre-made and find big differences?
Did you find you could get the equivalent level of quality in a kit for much less than the same pre-made version? How about kit vs. used?
Also: did you find there was a difference between "point to point wiring" vs. "PCB" in these various permutations?
I realize that there are good kits and bad ones, good pre-made amps and bad ones. I'm hoping you'll be comparing units which seem at comparable levels of quality and price-points.
Thanks.
- ...
- 60 posts total
@hilde45 no problem...I was just babbling on about whatever was popping into my head. Your thread is a topic I've been thinking more about recently though. I always just assumed one needed speakers with just a high sensitivity like 98db plus to be able to use an oldskool sound SET amp. Trying my Fritz speakers with a 25watt tube hybrid amp made me think that I might be able to get away with a low watt SET amp. I didn't have my Fritz when I listened to the GU50. I sold this guy an old pair of speakers & drove almost 2 hours to hear it & some other things he had. All of his speakers were older & mostly diy stuff. I just took his word for it that the couple speakers we listened to were 92-93db sensitivity when using the low powered amps. Everything sounded natural, big dynamic swings, clarity, just realistic. But I couldn't honestly say if my speakers would sound or could be handled the same way with low power. So I debate that if I'm really going to invest in a true SET amp that I should first build or own some speakers that where designed to really thrive with that type of amplification. Though I would take a chance on a good budget priced kit. Maybe it's all in my head but I do think there is something different yet enjoyable to a tube rectified single ended triode preamp & amp. I do think that going forward I will be more interested in diy & kit stuff..speakers included. I see now that I'm better off buying quality drivers using crossovers someone else designed & then implement quality parts. I've only done budget type preamp & tube amp builds but the outcome so far has exceeded my expectations. Low noise simple circuit tube gear sounds pretty good. I guess it just depends on where one is in their audio journey. If one is still out there striving to find the best sound possible then a kit is probably the very last thing on your mind. If you've gone that route, spent that cash, seen what you really get every time you up your budget & want to explore something really different..try some DIY. Get your feet wet with a kit that has great build instructions. Buy a soldering iron. It's kind of a cool feeling when someone comments that the stereo sounds good & I can say, thank you..I built that. My wife thinks it's amazing. I have yet to tell her that I'm just following someone else's instructions. |
@hilde45 This is a comment worth exploring! The ST35 uses a triode Voltage amplifier while the ST70 uses a pentode. In addition, the smaller output transformers of the ST35 have wider bandwidth. The input of the ST35 uses a 7247 tube, which is a 12AX7 section and a 12AU7 section in one envelope and is in current production. The 12AX7 section is the Voltage amplifier and the 12AU7 the driver. Since the 12AX7 is far more linear than a pentode (and has the most gain of any miniature triode) when feedback is applied, the tube distorts the feedback less (than a pentode) so the feedback is more able to do its job properly. This results in less higher ordered harmonic generation, so this is a much more interesting and relaxed amplifier to listen to and will fulfill your lower powered amplifier interest. If one of these is properly built/refurbished it will give any SET a run for the money! It will play bass better, be more revealing (less distortion) and more neutral (less distortion). And there’s a kit! Or there was. Their website says out of stock. Go with the metal film option. Carbon resistors are really terrible. |
Another source for pre-built all things Dynaco is: GetDynaco GETDYNACO. My understanding is that Kenny Russell is the builder. I have no connection to his products, but learned about them from the You Tube channel drD E Audio who uses a Kenny Russell ST-70 and Pas-3 preamp. The combination sounds stunning with his Klipsch speakers. |
Wow! Thank you @jetter and @atmasphere for the additional comments. The thread is really becoming a resource for others, as well as for me. |
- 60 posts total