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Which one to choose between two 80K$ tube amps?

There are two interesting 80K$ tube amps on sale at Audiogon.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9jhj0-david-berning-co-211-845-otl-tube

The first one is David Berning OTL design with output of 60 Watts.

it looks beautiful. But I had never used OTL amp yet.

I am curious how it sounds with high efficiency speaker.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa27ii-jadis-ja800-flagship-tube-amplifier-six-chassis-best-ever-made-nos-new-old-stock-tube

The second one is Jadis JA800 with 6 pieces and 400watts.

I had used JA500  (only 4 pieces with 350 Watts) from 2000 to 2002 to drive B&W Notilus 801 with utmost authority and unbelievable slam.

It was kind of lifetime experience to own this beautiful and overbearing monster.

But I could not use it during summer time in modest size room.

Thus I let it go and got Silbatone 300B SET amp to drive efficient full range speaker.

350 Watt to 8 Watt

If you have money or hit the Jackpot, which one will you go for?




128x128shkong78
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Skifi is overpriced on all his 30 or 40 year old gear and nasty as well.Buy nothing from them!!
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,915 posts
 
The other thing I notice about Skyfi is they offer no warranty on the used stuff they sell once you receive it on good working order. 

Also they say they have a tech that checks everything before sale to make sure in good working order but do not seem to provide any repairs once sold.
That would be a big no go for me especially for those big ticket items.


Compare to a local shop near me that is similar but not nearly as upscale. Their specialty is service and repair.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,236 posts
 

Mike,

Thanks for your informed reply. I should have been more clear with my inquiry. I know based on my listening neither the Dan’Agostino or Boulder are what the OP is searching for. You characterized the no NFB/simple circuit/linear genre of tube amps very well. I was just curious on purely sonic grounds what you thought of the other two amps in light of   your vast exposure..
Based on my limited exposure to both I’d also choose D’Agostino over the Boulder. Given my taste, the Berning over both of them.

Charles

stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,280 posts
 
I thought it was just me with Skyfi I sent them a very polite message saying they were doing a big disservice by saying the Technics SL1200 MKII they were selling for a lot of money is the same as the Technics SL1200G which is a completely different turntable and a lot more money. I received a very smug reply saying ”excuse me for not knowing All about the Technics turntable. Next time I’ll consult with you first”. Then I got banned and couldn’t reply back. Their loss.
audition__audio
1,365 posts
 
Berning would be my choice if you have the appropriate speakers. To me speaker impedance trumps efficiency. If I were to buy a S.S. amp then the darTZeel would be on my short list, but there is no way in the more sublime aspects of reproduction that the dar is going to match the Berning. With higher impedance speakers, no amp type I have ever heard matches OTLs or David Berning's version of an OTL. 
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