I used to think my ARC D70MK2 was just right. Beat all competitors under $5 in my system but then I heard the Joule Stargates. 25W of SET beauty. Almost a Lamm knock-off, Joule was trying to get OTL sound from SET and they were very successful at it. Unfortunately the amp was too expensive to produce and didn't sell well so they discontinued it to focus exclusively on their OTLs. They come up used on Audiogon occasionally.
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Dhcod, I've read many similar comments about the ARC D70 Mk2, including from a member who happens to be an authorized ARC repair tech. I wonder if ARC can recondition old D70 units and bring them up to original spec?? I ask because the D70 might make a nice gift for my son. His current amp is a reconditioned Crown DC 300-A. The preamp is an ARC SP-9 Mk I, which I recall was just an "ok" pre. Anyone have any thoughts about whether the ARC D70 is a better sounding amp than a reconditioned Crown DC 300-A?? Sorry if that's a dumb Q. |
Lloydelee21, you can read about Dragon_vibe's experience with the Claytons on this thread: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1385752123. He ended up returning them... |
These are one of the best amps you can buy if your lucky in getting a good working one with no noise issue, honestly speaking I lost allot of money sending them back and forth just to get certain problems ironed out. Quality control is not up there at that price range. They are good amplifiers but mines came back noisy all the time. The noise is not your typical hiss. Anyways if you can visit Wilsen directly and have them tested out at his place and check all noise level I see no reason to buy them. Maybe im just unlucky with them who knows. I am now looking at other mono blocks setup for my theatre room. My two channel is sorted as I am running the Atma MA2 on them. The bedroom system runs Bob Carver 305. |
I do like the ASR Battery Powered version. They are smooth and easy to listen too. At the end of the day forget about all the audio jewellery its a big waste of money and time. Find a nice smooth amplifier which is transparent to the source but has a slight warmth to it. This will save the headache pills and keep you in the listening room all day. Everyone on here is going to say his amplifier is the best this and that. it all comes down to how long you can listen to music with absolute musicality. I always found smooth sounding components slightly more warmer and emotional. These are just my own opinions. I am also into pro audio speakers and have a set of Danley SH50 and still looking to purchase the Quested LT20s. I'm into music, home theatre and PC Gaming on the big screens. I spend hours in the theatre room so for me its important. That's one reason why I went with the claytons. I do miss them allot but could not hack the loss off funds anymore. |
I have a Musical Reference RM 10 that is so unique in that it extract such good drive from the little el84 tube. No other amp I know of gets 35w from 2 of these little guys. Plus this little guy is easy to bias and tube rolling is fun. I think the el84 is my all time favorite power tube especially since I can get 35w and drive just about any reasonable speaker. This amp and my Logitech Navigator are pretty much off the market permanently. And that is a rare statement for me if you look at my transaction activity on A'gon |
I still like my Audionote Kageki amps, although these days, I use a modern version of a Western Electric 133 pushpull amp (uses Western Electric transformers, vintage caps and resistors, and Western Electric 348 and 349 tubes). This amp has 600 ohm input transformers which work well with my linestage which has 600 ohm output transformers. I recently heard a one of a kind OTL amp that was simply amazing--very dynamic and fast, but still quite smooth and free from brittleness. This is one of the best amps I've heard, but, it takes up WAY too much room and WAY too much $$$. |
It was made some time in the 1970's by a Greek audiophile who made several variants of these amps. Two of these amps where brought to the US by a Greek diplomat. One set is a four chassis monster and the other is a two-chassis monster. I believe both put out about 30 watts but they sound much more powerful. The amps are based on a Futterman circuit. Each monobloc has a massive toroidal power transform and essentially two smaller amp modules (smaller toroidal power transformer and set of tubes) that are either bridged or in parallel. I forgot what kind of tubes are in the output; they are some kind of television sweep tube. The tubes are run very conservatively so they last a long time. The previous owner left the amp on essentially all the time for the past 10 years and the tubes still test as good. The dealer which who recently got the amps in trade for some speakers wanted $50k for the pair of amps. |
I am a newbie here. I have a Musical Fidelity M6PRX amp and was incredibly happy. Absolutely love this amp played through Monitor Audio Gold GX300 speakers. I did just purchase a Decware Torii 3 used here on Agon and I just want to through my SS amp out of the window. Not to take anything away from the M6 but this 25 watt tube amp is incredible sounding. Maybe this is what I've been missing with tubes but I now know what I've heard others say about the speakers disappearing in the room. You never know what you're going to get buying without an audition but I'm feeling pretty good. |
It would be very interesting to ask the members who responded to this thread in the very beginning in 2004, if they still have the amps they recommended then today! As for me, I've always bought equipment I liked and just held onto it, not because I thought it was the best but because I liked it. I still have my first amp and speakers, a Yamaha CA-600 and Pioneer HPM-40's, and have enough equipment for four systems lol. So for me, I guess the answer is I will have all of them for life! |
Geez. Amps are a very personal statement - to me, they are the master moderators between source and speaker, so their effect is profound, and finding a happy long term partnerships with an amplifier or a pair of speakers is a rare blessing - like in other areas in life. i have had an Accuphase E-306v IA i worship - it is extremely detailed ("there - a mouse just farted in the left rear corner of the studio"), which can be a problem because it can distract the listener into getting hung up on irrelevant individual details, ignoring the overall performance. The Accuphase always saves this by also managing to instill enough warmth and musicality. i recently moved and needed to downsize, so the E-306v is in storage until I figure out what to do. For now, its duties were taken over by a Benchmark DAC2-HGC acting as preamp (and DAC obviosuly), and a rare Creek Destiny power amp I scored on Ebay for very little, new in a box. This partnership sends sublime sound into the KEF LS50. This was all supposed to be a temporary solution... I think sometime this year I'll match up the E-306v against the Creek Destiny for a final mano a mano. But it basically means these are my favorite combos. |
An Atma Sphere MP-1 OTL will do you right. Ralph Karsten is the man with the circlotron patent, and very helpful as well. His pre and power amps are a cut above all else.5692 Red Bases are the tube to use.Two out of three of these tubes that you might find used sound bad. At $150. to $300. per tube,the price of admission is high. I bought two Mp-1's and use one for a bass circuit control amp.Now that's clean bass! |
If you are over 60 or 65 years old maybe. Otherwise no. I had a Threshold T250? That I bought when I first started working. Best thing an the market at the time. I sold it 10 years ago for a Pass 350... Hugh improvement. If you can get twenty years you are doing well, after 10 yrs there is significant improvement. It is monumental by twenty. |
+1for the carver cherry 180's! What I like so much about these is the ability to adjust the amps to different speakers and room conditions. Having the option to alter the bias and feed back on the fly gives the ability to have a lot of tube flavor or to near SS sounds based your listening preferences. |
Wisnon, I was one step ahead of you & have already read about this Swiss made amp (Job 225) right after your original post and apparently it has rewritten how conventional amps in this price range should be designed as per review. 6 Moons loved it and its sound quality is on par with $15,000 to $16,000 dollar amps. People that have purchased this amp have given it sterling reviews. Amazon.com is completely out of stock. Now I want to purchase if I could find one for sale. |
My recently received (two months ago) Art Audio Carissa Signature is absolutely a keeper for life. Incredible performance and hand crafted and backed by one of the very best audio companies in the world. Joe Fratus is an amazing guy, and his products reflect it. Not to mention one of the truly great people in audio, or anywhere. I'm proud to own and audition this amplifier for visitors who always walk away impressed. Not to mention, it doesn't hurt that it's easily one of the most beautiful pieces of audio equipment ever made. |
