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Valvet E1R Mono Amps

Just picked up a pair of these this morning from jimndre. Great transaction and he is a true gentlemen! Very easy to work with. It took a while to get everything set up but I've been listening to them now for about 2 hours. They haven't been played in a while so I suspect it will take a couple days before they fully open up. First impressions frankly have me floored. They are so smooth & uncolored, or in reviewer speak... organic. When I say smooth I'm not saying the top end is rolled off either, its not. So far they sound "right". For those not familiar with this product, these are single ended 10 watt solid state mono amps. They are also little space heaters :-), although I doubt they run much hotter than the tube amps I've run in the system prior to this. I'm not going to compare the sound of the prior tube amps to these yet, but will after I get more familiar with them. BTW they are driving Lowther speakers. The pre & phono amps are tube powered.   
boxer12
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skiroe
131 posts
 
boxer12,   I had always wondered about this brand and their amps --assuming that these are their operating in class A amps.   @ 10wpc  I would assume that but want to be sure we are talking about the same thing as I haven't  googled the model yet.    Walter - can't remember his last name at the moment --- seemed to be an early retailer of these here on the Gon awhile ago.   So are they getting nice and hot in operation?   I always wonder about some of the companies that purport to sell S/S class A amps because often they are not quite biased high enough to be class A.  Pass labs is generally the benchmark  of this type of amp (that I am most familiar with)   I do have one...  but back to yours I  have a liking also for a lower power  class A  amp as it can be operated  with less cost and impact on the room with the heat output and would certainly sound good with the proper speakers.    How is yours coming along?  Assuming you bought used?     and how much?    What are using for pre and phono? 
boxer12 OP
8,656 posts
 
Skiroe,
The amps are developing nicely. Still improving. My biggest concern for them was stage width & depth which was less than the tube amps I've had in the system before these. That concern is now out, these amps go wall to wall with a nice detailed stage. One of the things I like about Lowthers are there ability to reproduce lifelike vocals. These amps are certainly helping them in that area as well. Very 3d with nuance detailing. Beautiful. I did buy them used for $900. They are worth every dime of that for sure. I believe they sold new for around $2800 with the WBT rca's. My preamp is a Melos 222 & the phono amp is a Sonic Frontiers SFP-1 signature. The amps are mating well with them & the Lowthers. These are 10 watts single ended class A mono blocks. I was in the market for either this brand or First Watt. These came up first in my price range. Not sure how they compare with First Watt but am very pleased with their performance so far.  
paullb
127 posts
 
Glad they're working for you. $900 seems like quite a bargain. Years ago I had a pair of Blue Circle BC-2s which are also class A single ended solid-state. They sounded glorious, very organic, wonderful on vocals. Not a lot of punch, though. They could raise the temperature in my room 15° easy, you wouldn't dare touch them.
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