Try to fix what you have first, and if that works out, do as others have suggested and get speakers that are more tube friendly. Keep in mind that tubes love high efficiency speakers and horns. Hint...anything in the Klipsch Heritage series.
Amp recommendations
Looking for some advice. My 25 year old amp has given up the ghost and I haven’t kept up with what’s good out there. Instead of sinking money in my existing amp, I’m thinking of replacing it. The amp that went bad is a Cary Audio CAD 300B (none of the tubes are working, one of the rectifiers flashes when turned on, I checked the tube fuses). The preamp is a Cary Audio SLP-70 (I recently had it checked out and retubed it). The speakers are Chapman T-7. I also have a Creek CD-60 and Project 1.2 turntable. Music Meter inter connects. My budget is around $4000 for a new amp. Is this a reasonable budget? What amp recommendations do you have? I’d prefer to stay with vacuum tube but if there are solid state amps that you’d recommend, please do so. I can provide specs on the components if needed. Thanks for your advice.
- ...
- 51 posts total
Given the amplifier gave you 25 years on those speakers says something to your listening preference. You enjoyed the combination. I would repair 300B or sell the core to someone interested in reviving it. If you are considering a different amp, the CAD-120s Mk II appears to be a good choice. https://carydirect.com/cad-120s-mkii.html I just purchased a Parasound A21, used, to drive my power hungry AR303. The A21 would definitely drive your T-7 speakers but may sound harsh compared to a mid size tube amp. Your speakers are also in a different class from what I have. |
@charles1dad I’ve had this amp/speaker combo for 23 years. I’ve always loved the sound. Before the 300B amp, I had a pair of Cary 40 watt mono blocks with these speakers. The 300B was a big step up sound wise. The pairing was suggested by The Audio Connection in Seattle. By the way, the Cary 300B amp is not an SET amp. It’s a push-pull rated at 25 watts. |
@z32kerber, The 300b is a marvelous output tube in either SET,PSET or push pull mode if well implemented in an amplifier design and build. You’ve been happy with your amplifier and speaker pairing 23 years, that speaks volumes for certain. After such a long time of satisfaction ("loved the sound") what makes you believe or suspect that you need a higher power amplifier? 25 watts of push pull 300b is not meager IMO. It would be interesting if you’re curious enough to compare to higher power amplifiers using KT 150, KT 88, el 34 , 6550 etc. You may or may not prefer these indirectly heated Pentode type tubes to your DHT type 300b. Some here have also suggested solid state amplifier alternatives. I’m very partial to 300b and other DHT tubes (Just so beautiful sounding with my beloved jazz in particular 😊). But of course personal taste varies greatly amongst us all. I have no doubt that you’ll get things sorted out one way or the other. BTW what tube type were used in your 40 watt Cary amplifier? Are you considering 75-100 watt power range? Best of luck, Charles |
- 51 posts total