2. amps-preamps
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Highest BUILD quality tube amps?

Not so much with sound...lots of ways to fine tune thru tube rolling, etc. I'm just curious which tube amps are built to last for many years with the least amount of repairs. I know Mcintosh comes to mind for longevity. I was snooping around on the web and Air Tight seems to be built like a tank and I've never read any poor repair histories. Luxman same thing. Any others come to mind?
aberyclark
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,486 posts
 
Check out the Bob Carver Raven 350 amps.
ozzy
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,701 posts
 
I own Quicksilver amps for ten years and never a hiccup!  
jond's avatar
jond
5,845 posts
 
I have a custom amp and preamp from Deja Vu Audio both are point to point wired and both around 15 years old. Other than replacing tubes I've had to clean the volume control of the preamp once. The amp once blew a resistor when the voltage in my home spiked. That's it.
aberyclark OP
1,355 posts
 
Check out the Bob Carver Raven 350 amps.
I am hoping some reviews start popping up for the Carver Crimson 275
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,379 posts
 
There's a number of them that are very high quality and low maintenance.
VAC, Atma-Sphere, BAT, Lamm, Music Reference, Herron, VTL, Rogue all qualify IMHO. Audio Research is one of the biggest brands, but while they certainly have a large number of fans, I have heard plenty of stories and had one personal experience where they are a step down in reliability (and repair cost) vs. those mentioned above. 
The Air Tight I once owned was also trouble free, but my read is that there aren't too many sold so it's hard to get a meaningful sample. Cheers,
Spencer
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