2. amps-preamps
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Tube Amp Suggestions

I have had the audio affliction for about 10 years. I am finally ready to venture into the world of tube amps and would appreciate any ideas my fellow audiophiles might have. My current set up is theta basic II with a camelot uther IV going directly into a pass labs aleph 5 and audio physic virgo II speakers. All wiring is tara labs air 1. Budget is $2,000 to 3,000 new or used.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
sgunther

Showing 3 responses by c123666

c123666
871 posts
 
In the 2 to 3k used price range you have your pick of all but the best tube amplifiers and even some quality single ended triode moderate powered amps suitable for your speakers (like the Cary 805b).

Cary 805B monoblocks are close to 3k used and give you 50 single ended class A watts..very good amplifiers..

McIntosh MC240 (40 watts), mc275...work well with a 4 ohm load due to the McTransformers..nice sounding amps that will retain their value if you do not overpay. 1000 to 2500 used

Bruce Moore Dual 70 tube amp...I only remember this guy makes really good stuff is the reputation.

Air Tight ATM2..very good amps

Canary CA300 monoblocks..think this is a push/pull class A 300b amp that makes good power...

BAT VK60 about 2000 very good amp

Audio Research VT60, VS55

Melos Audio MAT180

Lots of choices; there were more. There are examples of all of these for sale as of this writing. A quality 845 single ended amp would make about 22 to 25 watts depending on design; that would be sufficient for your speakers as long as they do not present a low resistance that varies a lot.
c123666
871 posts
 
Perhaps one should consult the great Prof Lirpa in addition to Mr Linkwitz. The Great Men of high end audio must be heard.
c123666
871 posts
 
Specifications are important; agreed. But, which specifications and at what point is the chase for numbers inefficient? Amp companies were chasing high power and vanishing distortion in the 1980s. Is there really any difference between .5% THD and .1%? I don't think so in the real world. Same thing with things rated past 20k; who can hear past 20K? Yes, I understand about harmonics and that is one reason I think analogue recordings sound better than 44.1 (or 48khz) recordings. I have done parallel live recordings with very good microphones and used a Nakamichi ZX9 and a professional DAT recorder. Guess what; when we listened to the tapes later EVERYBODY much preferred the cassette recording! It sounded nicer. Period. The digital has specs all over the cassette; the cassete sounded better.

There are quality tube amps with excellent performance and bandwidth; check out the Wavac amplifiers for one example.
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