One thing missing from this long and delightful discussion is a mention of another kit building option that offers tube like sound with solid state gear. I’m talking about the DIY audio store where many designs by Nelson Pass and others are available along with an associated forum of DIY minded people. I began my kit building journey with Nelson Passes Amp Camp Amp at this store and have gone on to build a Firstwatt F6. and a Waynes 2018 preamp. I can’t say enough good things about the people on the forums, the build guides, and the end products which I find compare very nicely with my tube amps for sound and listening pleasure. All kit builders or would-be kit builders should be aware of this resource.
Your journey with lower-watt tube amps -- Can a kit be good enough?
Looking for stories about your low-watt amp journeys.
Here's the situation: I have new speakers, 97 db. Trying them with lower watt tube amps (45/211, 300b, etc) seems generally wise. I am attempting to borrow some from audiophiles in the area.
The horizon beyond trying these things involves actually buying some. I'm looking at a budget limit of about $5k.
Curious as to folks' experience with lower-watt amp kits vs. those of good makers (e.g. Dennis Had, etc.).
If you have any thoughts about the following, I'd be interested:
Did you start out with a kit and then get dissatisfied? Why?
Did you compare kits vs. pre-made and find big differences?
Did you find you could get the equivalent level of quality in a kit for much less than the same pre-made version? How about kit vs. used?
Also: did you find there was a difference between "point to point wiring" vs. "PCB" in these various permutations?
I realize that there are good kits and bad ones, good pre-made amps and bad ones. I'm hoping you'll be comparing units which seem at comparable levels of quality and price-points.
Thanks.
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@sns The Merlins are not a good match for any SET unless you are using them in a small room. They are 88 or 89dB 1 Watt/1 meter and 6 Ohms (so the 4 Ohm tap should have been used). You need a good 50-60 Watts for them in my experience. The VTA ST70 is something different from the ST70; it didn't measure as well as the original FWIW.
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@atmasphere Found a video related to your comment. Just adding in in case it’s of interest. TITLE: Dynaco ST-70 Original vs. VTA Bench & Listening Test Comparisons - Stereo 70 Tube Amp |
Hi @atmasphere , In parallel to the McIntosh MC30 I had Marantz 8b. I used these amplifiers with Spendor 2/3 and Altec 604E with original n1500 crossovers. This Marantz was burned by one of the previous owners. So output transformers were fixed, and power transformer and choke was replaced by a local transformer store built. On another hand, I and one of my technician friends replaced resistors to RikenOhm, capacitors to Black Gate and signal capacitors to Audio Note tin and copper foil. The technician adjusted the feedback of the Marantz. So this Marantz 8B had pluses and minus versus the original Marantz 8B. I also used the original Mullard EL34 on this Marantz. Yes this Marantz 8B sounded more clear then McIntosh MC30. But despite Marantz bass wasn’t bad, MC30 bass was on the other league. It was also a big difference in complex music reproduction. 8B was good on very simple music but the sound became muddy and congested with bigger number of instruments and voices. On the other hand, the complex music wasn’t an issue for MC30. The Plinius 8200 Mk1 integrated that I had then also had a problem with playing complex music, but it did it a little bit better than Marantz. |
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