2. amps-preamps
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which el 84 amp or integrated

i am running klipsch chorus 1s and 2s and am looking for a great musical el 84 amp.i have had a glow one a loved the sound but not enough power for me.....i am on the fence wondering which to purchase next........sophia baby,jolida 501,fx10,mesa tigress,music reference rm10 mk 2,manley stingray,mahi's,vtl tiny triodes,etc. also interested in 2a3's,300b'set,wellborn vrds.........i know this is a big list but if anyone has been down this road and can save me some time and money it would be very much appeciated......i will be listening nearfield so i do not need a whole lot of power,at least 10 watts.i have a md fi pre ss pre which is soon to be replace with a tube pre.thankyou for any input..........
neptunebchdawg

Showing 7 responses by pubul57

pubul57
3,712 posts
 
For sound quality, reliability, ergonomics and tube life, and can't think of one better than the Music Reference RM10MKII (which I will always regret having sold).
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
The George Wright 15 watt proto-type currently up for sale looks real interesting if I were looking for an EL84 integrated and 15 watts were sufficient (91-92db/ 8ohm speakers) I would think it would a real good amp to try.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
This thread got me thinking about EL84 again, and inspired me to buy the Music Reference RM10 MKII, again. Certainly a contender for best low watt- if you consider 35 watts low - (non SET) amp in the world.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
With standard tubes I would say is neutral. With tube rolling that might be altered, or with a warm preamp (I use a Joule LA150 MKII SE which warmish). As the 6moons review says, it is not honey colored.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
I now use the RM10 with the Lightspeed Attenuator for volume control, the amp is clearly in the neutral side of things, would not describe it as warm - very fast, resolved and articulate. Fairly powerful for two tubes per side (35 watts). The combo, which is <$2,500 at MSRP is as good as $20,000 combos (CAT, ARC, Joule, LAMM) I have tried with my Merlin VSMs, the only thing I like better is the Atma-sphere/Atma-sphere combo; but I'm not making the mistake of selling my RM10s again:)
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
I stick with Roger's Ei Pre-war 12ax7 and think the Genalex Reissue EL84s are outstanding, better than Roger's Ei El84s or Sovtek EL84Ms IMHO.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
I wonder why the Mahi's would be much different that the Stingray, maybe simply being mono and likely to be used with an active preamp whereas the Stingray has a passive attenuator built-in. Either way, Manley does good work with EL84s, but I would personally go the Music Reference route and in mono configuration you could get 70 watts which is a heck of alot of EL84 watts.....
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