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Low watt tube amps/pros/cons

300B's, 845's and others. What are some of the benifits of these tubes as well as the limitations. I see someone posted that he has a 15 watt tube amp and wants to get 30hz bass. It is highly unlikely that his amp will deliver as low as 30hz, even if he did find a speaker that went to that level, would the bass have any authority? Also by saying I want to find a speaker that goes to 30hz hows the mids anf highs. IOW I'd never buy any speaker based on the fact that it goes to 25hz, its a package deal.
Back to the main idea here. Can anyone give a list of +'s and the ='s of the low watt tube amps. For myself its not something I'm interested in as all my listenings are classical, and I want the orchestras to sound full rich, dynamic, that is the low and high end extended. I heard a 300B amp, the Cayin, and was incredible with light jazz, blues, but for classical orchestral it fell flat and lifeless. The speakers were the Silverline Sonatas.
bartokfan
newbee
4,767 posts
 
I don't know about you guys's but BF's mere existence as well as the state of his knowledge makes me feel good about myself, both personally and as an expert in things audio. Be thankful for small things! :-)
dlstephenson
121 posts
 
I just purchased a Cary Rocket 88 and enjoy it tremendously. I use it almost exclusively in Triode, I find the Ultralinear a little dry for my taste. This system has a very black background with very good bass, and a very low noise floor, for a tube amp. It is more powerful than some but at 20 watts in Triode lower than most. With 95db efficient speakers it produces excellent dynamics from very low to more than moderate volume levels for a 18 x 24 room.

I find the KT88s sound very lively a lot like the EL34s but not rounded off in the upper frequencies. I am very impressed with the build quality of such a low end price point for Cary.

Compared to SS this amp does not have the “punch” in the very low end, and my preference is single driver speakers with this amp. I have a pair of triangles that are more than efficient enough but in my listening environment with this amp the bass seems just a bit bloomy or loose, where as the Abbys seem more controlled. I prefer the Triangles with the Tripath amp that I have, as the bass just seems to regain the punch.
undertow
1,033 posts
 
unfortunatley its a forum of grown men putting way too much time into electronic dreams... Oh well gotta find a new hobby.!
bartokfan OP
664 posts
 
Ok I see my error. No amp can be all things. That there are tradeoffs with any design. I have my eye on a pr of 845 amps and hopefully one day will own the pr and will report back.
beemerrider
63 posts
 
Whacky spot for this thread! As for the question posed concerning KT88 amps I can report that amongst my amps is a KT88 tube integrated with what I consider to be a remarkably authoritative low end that is on par with the best SS amps I've spent any time with. In fact, I was under the impression that KT88 amps were pretty much the class leaders for low end dynamics amongst tube units. N'est-ce pas?
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