Looking for an integrated tube amp under $2500
I have this integrate designed by PrimaLuna, their sister company from the Netherlands and find it has excellent dynamics, tight bass and extended highs. Build quality is perfection. Mystere AI-11 http://www.mystere-eu.com/usermanuals/mystere_manual_ia11.pdf http://www.mystere-eu.com/products.php?p=ia11 |
Regarding proper ventilation and cooling of tube equipment, or class A amplification for that matter, everyone should consider a company called AC Infinity. I own their Controller 8 and four of their 140mm fans. The controller comes with four zone monitoring/thermostat capabilities, four temperature probes and the fans are usb driven by the controller, are variable speed and are whisper quiet. Easy to setup. Fans are designed to draw air toward or away from the equipment, can be vertical or horizontal and the best part...they really work. The temp of a Pass Labs class A xa30 using one fan on each bank of heat sinks is reduced by about 30 degrees. www.acinfinity.com They work and the controller plus 4 fans ran about $160 delivered. Caveat...my cabinet has air slots at the very bottom and the very top so the air can escape, otherwise, you are just going to circulate hot air...which my wife accuses me of quite often. LOL. Peace. |
@ghasley Thank you for the info concerning the fans. I imagine they are quiet since they are designed especially for audio type equipment. To all I returned the Magnum 3 to my dealer after the home demo. I mentioned I didn't care much for the KT120 tubes and preferred the GL KT77 in my previous Primaluna. It so happened he had used KT77 tubes in store and replaced the KT120 then adjusted the bias per the manufacturer. Wow! The midrange bloomed, the brightness became smoother and voices became more organic. Not only was I surprised but also dealer and another customer plus we all came to the same conclusions. So I ordered the amp with KT77 tubes instead of the KT120. Once I receive the amp, I will then consider using an NOS 12AU7 preamp tube. |
