Anyone else constantly curious about amps?

@irjones 

‘’Oh no, don’t start politics in this stream’’

Interesting off subject comments….patents and all that history swept under the carpet….selective memory to suit political dogma.

l can only add that China in the 21st Century has been doing the same thing to the World. With your claims to copyright ownerships, the USA was arguably not a great role model for ignoring ‘patents’ in the 20th Century’

Answering the unending ‘sickness’ condition of constant upgradeitus (not a real word but quite apt) from the OP @displayname  l can only say if you are still getting too near the ‘ledge’ make sure you land in a ‘’treated’’ padded cell treatment room’’

Oh…..and l do agree with you and another poster on here….. if anyone suffers from the mentioned ‘upgradeitus’  it is advisable to buy second hand, but be forewarned if you do…. think of why the previous owner wanted to sell it.

Oops, in my previous post, I meant to say Dyna ST35 reissue instead of EL84 Dyna mkII as my second favorite amp when I attended that audio show many years back.  That is a great sounding amp.

A pet project of mine is the restoration of a Nobles NS-130 amp. I've had two of these in the past (in much better shape). This one is going to get a complete rebuild after I take it completely apart to refinish the chassis.

Of all the EL84-based amps from the 1950s/60s, this one is arguably the best.

This is the best image I could find online in a quick search. The socket on the left is for the 5AR4 rectifier tube. Each channel is housed in its own removable module.

If you can't afford it but still feel that urge maybe it is time to consider what exactly you are wanting or missing out of your system. Perhaps a component you have can be modified or upgraded, or maybe sell some things you no longer use to fund something that better suits your needs and tastes. 

@displayname 

I was constantly curious about amplifiers until I found the right one.  They all sounded so different.  I heard what I liked in amp “A” but wanted more power.  A more powerful model of the same make was not the answer and it sent me down the rabbit hole until success at last.  

The idea of setting qualifications up front made it more difficult to find the right one but  easier to know when you crossed the finish line.