I think there is a lot of helpful advice in this tiny thread. The Carver 275 is a pretty good amp at very decent price. White the advice on a solid state alternative (First Watt F2) may not slake your curiosity over tube alternatives, it probably would deliver quite nice sound (I've heard the First Watt J2 and SIT amps and they are very good; I have not heard the F2). As I've stated before, I like OTL amps and the Atmasphere amps mentioned are very stable and reliable versions of such amps.
You could look into vintage gear, but that takes a bit of help from knowledgeable friends or a good dealer for a novice to get into that game. Old gear has to be inspected and perhaps repaired or reconditioned. Once that is done such gear can be reliable for a very long time.
For newer gear, it would be helpful to know what is the price range you are shopping. Also, if you are handy, you could save some money and get really good gear by building a kit. I heard the Elekit tu-8600 single-ended 300b amp, and it is terrific and the instructions look pretty straightforward and even a novice should be able to tackle that build. I noticed that Elekit also makes a single-ended amp kit utilizing the 6L6 tetrode tube (a personal favorite in type of tube) that looks interesting (I have not heard it). For lower-powered pushpull pentode/tetrode tube amps, I tend to like 6L6, KT66, and EL84, and EL34 tube types the most. |
Yep, electric X-over with mid/tweeter on one amp and Woofer cabinets on another amp. Regular old home made x-over on the mid to tweeter.
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@injr Are you using an electronic crossover? If not the efficiency of your speakers will be a problem with most SETs.
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+1 for the S-30. Super reliable and easy to use. M60s would offer more flexibility if you ever changed speakers, but at a higher price. Sonic character is similar if you happen upon M60 reviews, and are wondering if those comments would apply.
I agree that SET would be more of a transition, IMHO OTL gives you the best of both if paired with compatible speakers. Cheers,
Spencer |
An OTL amp was mentioned. After decades as a die hard SET guy, I am now a dedicated Atma-Sphere guy. The Atmas give the detail of a fine SS amp with the musicality of a great SET. The entry level S-30 would be the amp for you. All Atma amps are equally good. The only difference is power and price. Atma’s Ralph Karsten uses a S-30 in his system. |
Nice idea, I agree, go Push Pull.
Your efficient speakers means you can easily stay in the 25-30-35 wpc power range. That gives you lots of options, lots of competition there.
new, used, vintage.
Having return options is a great means to success.
As mentioned: less power = less weight; less heat; more placement options.
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some things to be aware of while searching:
a. Some new tube amps, like my Cayin offer two modes of operation: i.e. 22 wpc in Triode Mode or 45 wpc in ultra-linear mode. Not needed, just mentioning it. I and all my friends prefer the more common ultra-linear mode. It’s not really the additional power (especially with efficient speakers), the sound is different, some like Triode for certain types of music and Ultra-Linear for other music.
b. You will discover ’tube rolling’. i.e. my amp can use either 6550 power tubes or KT88 tubes. It came with 6550’s, very nice. After a while, I tried KT88’s. I prefer the KT88’s. The bias for KT88’s is different that for 6550’s, that is a good reason to have easy external bias control.
c. Many tube amps offer easy external Bias control, with external adjusters and meters, I wish my amp had that.
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Nelson Pass First Watt F2 class A SS amps are also a good choice. |
An easy recommendation are the Dennis Had (Cary) Inspire Audio SE 6L6, EL34, 6550 and KT88 amps. About $1300. |
Thanks for all the input. Lots to think about. Thumbs up.
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A push-pull amp is an easier transition from a SS amp. Set amps are a different animal. |
It is hard to offer any meaningful generalizations about the differences between pushpull and single-ended triode (SET) amps; there are many good and bad examples of both types. I am personally a fan of lower-powered tube amps and I own both SET and pushpull tube amps.
While SET amps are very simple and minimalist in design, this does NOT mean they can be made at lower cost than a roughly comparable pushpull amp because they demand specialized output transformers that tend to be expensive. Because a SET output transformer must be conducting at full power through the primary windings at all time, the transformer must be pretty large even when the output is modest. I have not heard low-priced examples of SET amps that perform satisfactorily. Most of the better sounding triode tubes deliver quite low power when used in SET amps (e.g., 45, 2a3, 300b) so it is quite a challenge to match them with most speakers. There are more powerful triode tubes, such as the 211, that can be used in SET amps, but, the much higher voltages involved make them considerably more expensive if they are to be made to operate safely and reliably.
I think both SET and pushpull amps can be made to sound very good. Recognizing that this is a rough generalization, I tend to find pushpull amps to be more "punchy" (tighter, more powerful bass), but, that more punchy quality makes the sound just a touch more "mechanical" sounding and less natural and relaxed than the sound of SET amps. That is NOT to say that either kind of amp is lacking in dynamics, that is certainly not the case. At more modest listening levels, I find tube amps to be considerably MORE dynamic, lively, and engaging than solid state amps. Of the two favorite amps that I own (both with output in the 6-8 watt range), I slightly prefer my pushpull 349 amp (custom-made rebuild of a Western Electric 133 amp) over my parallel SET Audio Note Kageki (twin 2a3 tubes per channel).
There is another kind of tube amp you should also consider. This is an output transformerless tube amp. These types of amps are capable of delivering astonishingly dynamic and vibrant sound, again, even when overall volume level is modest. Like any other amp type, the specific design and voicing matters, so one does have to make personal choices on the specific model.
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I'm going to add, there can be a pretty good amount of weight with most well made valve amps.. The exception is a Crimson-275 Carver. It's still pretty hefty. 25-30 lbs. I think.. You said disabled! Weight and issue? 75+ watts per channel 5 year warr on chassis and tubes.. You can't beat that. I think they are under 3k. They are a great sounding unit. It will do the bass and you can add a good class d for the bass later. BUT don't WAIST a lot of $$ on fancy class ds unless you want to use them for Non Biamp mode, too. Best of both worlds. or Save your money and buy a less expensive pro model or something like that.. or a Dayton unit. 1000 watt A/B units, low idle current... Dependable. Carver run cool too. Touch a valve no problem.. I'm not a Carver owner, BUT I have used a buddies a few times.. I repaired it. The kids knocked the valves out while it was on.. BOOM Just replaced the valves it was fine.. Snapped off though.. I was pretty impressed.. A lot of amps that would have been a pretty heafy bill. Just a set of power valves.. There is not a lot of Carver talk.. They are good units for the money and easy to take care of.. A/B amp. Bob Carvers way... https://jimclarkstereo.com/audioquest-bob-carver-elac-stereo-equipment/Bob-Carver-Crimson-275-Stereo...Regards |
Should add that the efficiency of my top end is 94db tweeter and 95 for the midrange. Thx. again.
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