Good Suggestions for Tube Amps under 6k

@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.

@pindac The R8 with Tube Upgrades (If desired) and Pass KB1 Pre-Amp’ (If of Interest) should not drift to far over...

What about the design of the Wilsenton R8 amplifier would require someone to consider adding a Korg B1 preamp layer on top of it, and why?

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R8: Noticed folks in Australia on the stereonet forum adding Rothwell RCA inline passive attenuators for source inputs -and- AK members discussing adding thermistors used to reduce inrush current on the R8. Why? Due to design issues -or- fixed in later versions of the R8? Definitely worth researching more before jumping in, imo.