Good Suggestions for Tube Amps under 6k

@iopscrl ...Cary CAD 805 (there have been several versions of this classic design over the years). For some this is a benchmark Class A SET amp. Others believe it is not accurate to some degree. Listen and decide for yourself.

@iopscrl Speaking of 805s, Did you by chance listen to or review the newer 805RS version, and compare to anything?

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After my Cary SLI-80 and Cary V12R (both heavily upgraded), I was not in a position to buy the 805RS (or the room) and landed on Quicksilver Mono 120s, now with upgrades, same caps and others as my former Cary amps had. Sound very nice now, plenty of drive with KT120s or KT150s. PP purpose built for KT150s. Big quality transformers, power caps, 600v plate voltage. Driving the tubes "in the window" as I know it now. And, tried a few DH custom Inspire amps between. Not enough drive for my larger custom speakers. Maybe going back to full triode though, with a little more power/drive, maybe. Thought you might know this looking at the collection of amps you’ve commented on here so far.

Since I still have and enjoy using my later my Cary SLP-98 preamp w/6SN7s, still kind of thinking about parting with the M120s down the road to help fund it some (deciding later this yer, not sure I will - can’t get them any more) yet possibly ordering the 805RS monos. 845s or 211s, not sure which. Damn things are 24" deep though. i.e. not referring to the older version 805s, just the new model, if you happen to know more. These -or- I may commission a good designer-builder to custom build some with some other (more available) opts, not 211s or 845s. Thx.

@decooney I didn’t see @jchiappinelli ’s comment. thanks for answering for me. Yes, there are a lot of circuit bords inside this amp and in my opinion, it doesn’t sound like a cleanly wired simple point to point. A lot of that is probably the push/pull design. Yes, PL claims the important parts are point to point. My amp is all point to point.

I have a friend who has taken a couple of simple PC based amps and rewired them to point to point with good success. PL would be pretty complicated for that. it has a lot of features that would be hard to integrate into a PTP. So when you want all those features, you may have to compromise. I first looked at PL when I was looking for an amp with an HT bypass and PL is one of the few tube amps with this feature. I figured out how to make it happen.

Primaluna and Kevin Deal have a large fan club and my negative opinion is not going to change anyone’s mind. I’m glad so many people like them. I’ll fight to the death for the right to their opinion (all those folks who disagree with me). Finally, I’ll quote Henry Ford, "whenever 2 people always agree, one of them is unnecessary."

I don’t think my opinions are valued enough that I’m influencing people.

Jerry

@iopscrl 

Nice post!

You mentioned the Triode Labs (Japan) 845 SET. That’s a wonderful recommendation. I’ve heard their 845 PSET mono blocks several times. I was duly impressed with its excellent sound quality and built. Very high quality unit.

Charles

Ayon tube amps are amazing. Great sound, extremely reliable and they look badass!

I do not see in any Posts where the Willsenton R8 is a suggestion, this is a model that might just meet the OP's needs, and leave quite a large proportion of the Budget intact.

The Willsenton R8 has proved to be an Amp' that has got many customers left quite impressed. A member of the Local HiFi Group has demonstrated their one as a Base Model and with a Tube Upgrade. The system it has been demonstrated is a very familiar system to all Group Members where EAR Power Amplification > Quad 2912's are the resident devices.

The R8 has impressed and eventually thoroughly impressed the attendees at the demo'.

There has been the suggestion that by adding a Pass KB1 Pre-Amp', even more of a positive impression might follow.

The R8 with Tube Upgrades (If desired) and Pass KB1 Pre-Amp' (If of Interest) should not drift to far over $2000 as a combined purchase.