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Tube Amp for Avalon Ascendants

I have a pair of Sonic Frontier Power 3's that I've had (and loved) for at least 10 years (bought them used through Audiogon so not sure exactly how old they are). They both need work now and so trying to decide whether it makes sense to put the money into repairing them or replace them since i've also recently changed speakers (originally got the Sonic Frontiers when i had Thiel 6's) and now have the Avalon Ascendants. Also recently upgraded the rest of my system to:

Conrad Johnson CT-5 pre-amp
EAR Acute 3 CD Player (replaced the tubes with Siemens 1963 E88CC)
AudioQuest Volcano speaker cables and Sky Reference interconnedt

Looking for advise and comments as to whether people think its worth putting the money into the Sonic Frontiers (not sure what the problem is yet so don't know exactly what it will cost to have them repaired -- on one i keep blowing the fuses and on the other getting an audible hum coming from the amp) there is a better tube amp for my Avalons?

Always gotten wonderful advise from this board over the last decade or more so thought i'd check in again.

Thanks in advance for all comments.
dkonstruction
8 responses Add your response
lostbears's avatar
lostbears
538 posts
 

closer to 20 years old is my guess. The caps probably need to be replaced. I have not heard the Sonic Frontier Power 3's, but if you love them then why not fix them. You might also want to go and hear some modern tube amps. Get a better idea of what is currently available before you make a decision.

I had Avalon Indra speakers for a while and used an Audio Research Ref 110 to drive them. It was a very nice combination.
oregon
820 posts
 
Hi,
Nice speakers!
I had a pair of Ascendents years ago and always felt they were great speakers. I sold them when I sold that system which included a pair of BAT 60 mono amps.
I first sold the amps and replaced them with a VAC 80/80. The VAC seemed to power the Ascendents without any issues. I also found the VAC to be very stable, powerful and maintenance free. Unlike the BATs.
I now use the VAC to power a pair of Avalon Eclipses (and Ushers and Virgos). Great amp.
czarivey
5,946 posts
 

On Sonic Frontiers many would recommend sending it all the way to Canada to Chris(partsconnexion) as he was the owner of Sonic Frontiers. The shipping itself of 2 units to begin with. The total repair-shipping toll may run upto $1500

1. Check if your tubes are still good
2. Check bias voltage
3. Research if you can find local tech to restore your amp. It's not complicated and if you spot someone on Craigslist selling restored vintage tube amps, one might be able to try to fix it.
4. I repair vintage solid state and tube amps, turntables, RR and tape decks in Raleigh NC.

You should try at least for the time being using solid state to drive Avalons having following facts:
1. you've got tube sources and preamp
2. Avalons benefit more from solid states than tube amps.

Other than that I believe AudioResearch models may be a better match vs. SF power3.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,794 posts
 
That speaker was always fairly tube-friendly. We had a good number of customers that used our MA-1s on them.

How much did you spend on the Sonic Frontiers? You've not mentioned what the problem with them seems to be- it could be fairly simple. If you spent a lot on them and they were doing the job for you, it might be a good idea to simply get them fixed.
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
I had Sonic Frontier Power 3 and Line 3 upgraded to SE+ by Chris Johnson @PCX. Long parts list ... Audio Note copper and silver capacitors, rewired with silver wire ... Big improvement over stock plus more power. I was rolling GL KT88s.

It was eventually replaced with VAC and never looked back. No contest! If I can redo, I would sell the stock Sonic Frontiers and just buy VAC.

Since you're using a CJ pre with RCA outputs, I would demo CJ ART stereo or mono amps. I've always run XLR with VAC so cannot comment running RCA. My ARC REF250 amp has only XLR inputs so don't think ARC is a good match with CJ.

Atma-sphere are great amps too so try to demo if possible.
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
I know audio nut who was using BAT VK75 monos and than switched to Jeff Rowland monos and never went back.
Avalons don't benefit from tube amps. Tube preamp with solid state amp is best 'menu' for'em.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,794 posts
 
Actually the owners that speaker told us that our amps were the only game in town if you wanted bass out of the speaker. Different strokes...
melbguy1
1,438 posts
 
Dk, given you already own a CJ CT-5 preamp, I would lean toward a CJ ET250S hybrid amp. A Dealer selling a brand new, sealed in box example right now asking $4,950. Another option is you could look around for a 2nd hand CJ Premier 350SA if you feel you need the extra power, or want a ss power amp & tubed pre.
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