Vintage tube sound from a modern amp

Quicksilver amps are wired point to point, but they aren't as pretty as Toolbox. Aric Audio amps are wired point to point. Aric will customize to the specs desired also.

Not to dump on anyones product in particular but please beware tube amplifiers which have the tube sockets soldered directly to a circuit board. It is not a reliable construction over the long term especially for those who enjoy tube rolling. Heat and the mechanical action of pulling and pushing on tubes as you change them can crack solder joints and circuit board traces.

There are some very high cost amps with this construction and I am always surprised they choose this method. I would always prefer a product with tube sockets mounted to the chassis and then flying leads to a circuit board or even better true point to point wiring.

My Toolshed replaced a pair of Quicksilver Mid Monos.... the best value in audio at $2200 a pair !!! Huge value proposition with these amps. Yeah they are ugly, but they are all about bang for the buck.

I had them seven years, they were / are awesome for a 40 watt amp.... super reliable. Sound exceptional.  Still on the fence whether to keep or sell. They are built like tanks, I’m sure I would get a lot of milage out of them in a second system.

I think ampsandsound should go on your list. The pictures on their website show nice layouts, point to point wiring, turret boards, etc., and I’ve read they favor that older, classic sound. I’ve been looking at some of the combo headphone and speaker amps. The speaker amps are out of my budget. Not sure how it would compare to my PrimaLuna. I’ve been getting into headphones, but not enough to be willing to compromise my speaker system. I don’t really like selling any gear anyway.

DarTzeel. The tube sound from a SS amp.