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My first Tube Amplifier

I have a 40 years of audio history starting with Garrard Turntable, Fisher Intergrated(SS), ADS bookself speaker on 1978.

But I started using tube amplifier on 1999.

Since then I had been using only tube amplifier in my main system.

My last SS main amplifier was Krell KSA 150 to drive Apogee Duetta Signature speakers.


http://www.jadis-electronics.com/photos/ja500/45/3/ja500.jpg

My first tube amplifier was Jadis 500 which comprised of 4 pieces weighing 120 lb each.

B&W 801 driven by Jadis 500 gave most deep and powerful bass at my home.

But it generated too much heat so it was hard to use during summer.

It was memorable experience to use it for 4 years.

I may not go back to such monster tube amplifier again.



How about you?

What is your first tube amplifier?



I bet two cents on no one had used larger one as the first tube amplifier than mine.


128x128shkong78
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Alternately, you could buy a nicely restored pair of Heath W5 mono tube amps. 6L6 PP with outstanding transformers (Peerless). A true classic! I have a pair, so it's an easy recommendation! Can be found on EBAY!
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
@atomheart411: see my two posts above! I'd go for a pair of W5's or a nicely restored Dyna ST70 with 6L6/KT66 output tubes!
shkong78's avatar
shkong78 OP
1,485 posts
 
@ atomheart411

It is very nice of you to give your experience as recording engineer.

Tube amplifier  sound more real than SS amp.
unreceivedogma's avatar
unreceivedogma
999 posts
 
Shkong78,

I believe that the OTLs are very fussy about their load. They are most famous for being matched with electrostatic speakers. I however, have been driving Altec 604Cs at 16 ohm with them. The Altecs are 101 dB efficiency. 
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,874 posts
 
@unreceivedogma---OTL’s (primarily and most-famously the Futtermans) came to be considered a good choice for use with the original Quad, primarily because an OTL likes to operate into a high impedance load, and the Quad was/is nominally 16 ohms. The problem was, and remains, that most ESL’s have a wildly-varying impedance curve (the Quad from under a single ohm to maybe 50), and a curve like that creates large variations in loudspeaker frequency response unless the amp has a low output impedance. The Futterman was good in that regard; not all OTL’s are.
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