@hilde45 That link doesn't seem to work.
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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@atmasphere I'm sorry but it is impossible to link to photos for me. I've tried it three ways and now I'm giving up to focus on other things. |
This thread is very likely WHY my NEXT amplifiers will come from @atmasphere - thank you for your generous contributions here Ralph. |
I use both the Dynaco ST70 and ST35. The ST35 uses solid state rectification by default, but if a proper solid state rectifier that heats the plates up slower is used with the ST70, there is a very audible improvement to the bass with lower efficient speakers starting around 90db. We noticed this while using the Tannoy Cheviot’s rated at 91db efficiency. I’ve not noticed this effect with my more efficient Klipsch Heritage speakers as much, but with less efficient speakers, there’s a subtle blooming effect with the ST70 in bass. SS rectification with the 70 really improves this nicely. |
@rankaudio The problem with using a solid state rectifier in the ST70 is the plate Voltage tends to run a bit on the high side. If the filter caps and operating points of the power tubes are not addressed on this account, it could lead to trouble. Dyanco really needed to use dual 5AR4s in the ST70; as a result the 5AR4 is the most likely tube to die in the amp. It is possible to run dual rectifiers in it but you need a different power transformer (which is available from Triode Electronics in Chicago) and someone willing to do the surgery. Of course if a different power transformer were to be used it should also be possible to have one that puts out the right Voltage for use with a solid state rectifier... |
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