keep remote features in mind, AND exterior bias adjusters and external bias Meter
I'm going to buy my first tube amp. I need honest blunt opinions
Recommendations please. I am thinking of dipping my toes in the tube amp water. For the longest time I have been tempted to buy a modest tube amp to run my Monitor Gold 300’s at 90db.
I’ve been toying around, researching the different characteristics of SET, class A, class AB, B Ultralinear tube amps for months. It’s a bit much. As far as the reviewers go, they are too vague. They are afraid to be upfront honest.
Sources are a Parasound JC 3+, a Innous ZENith Mk3, and a Oppo going to a Benchmark DAC, then all go to a Benchmark LA 4 preamp that will feed the new amp.
My room is 16 x16. The speakers have a 12-foot spread. I sit 14 feet back, so it’s not that big of a room.
I have narrowed it down to four candidates.
A used Canary Audio M90 300B Tube Amp at 24RMS,300B push-pull stereo triode Class A $4,000
A used Jadis Orchestra Black, 40 RMS, Class B $4,000
A 16-year-old, Used Cary Audio Six Pac Monoblock’s, 50 triode watts A/AB $2,000
A new Dynaco by WILL VINCENT 35RMS Ultralinear $2,300
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I have to agree woth some of the folks that recommend swapping the Benchmark preamp for a good quality tube preamp… I would say first. Then later upgrade to a tubed amp, in both cases I would consider Audio Research, CJ, and VAC for both. You will add synergy between the amp and preamp as well that way. |
+1 @decooney Your speakers needs a good SS amplifier. Some may not agree, but when your impedance drops below 4 ohms, it is a problem for tube amps to drive it. Even though specified sensitivity is 90dB, looks like actual sensitivity is close to 87dB. Your speakers have sensitivity and impedance characteristics similar to Thiel speakers except for the phase angle.
You should try Audio Research 100.2 amp. There are several used ones available in ebay, Audiogon, TRM, etc. This amp will give tube flavor you are looking for, except this is a SS amp. Very musical and highly recommended. And there are many other options as well. |
"I suggest staying away from the Cary amps because getting tubes for these babies requires big $$$, plus they run hot, plus 50W I feel is not sufficient for your purposes and speakers." Not sure where bojack is coming from regarding his comments on the Cary Six Pacs. I own a pair of these mono blocks and can assure you they do not run hot. Highest temp i've measured on the transformers was around 145 deg F. Yes you need 12 output tubes but the EL34 tubes are among the easiest to find and least expensive output tubes you can buy. Also, 50W of push pull triode power is more than enough to power most speakers unless you want to fill a large room at head banging levels. |
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