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Which one to choose between two 80K$ tube amps?

There are two interesting 80K$ tube amps on sale at Audiogon.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9jhj0-david-berning-co-211-845-otl-tube

The first one is David Berning OTL design with output of 60 Watts.

it looks beautiful. But I had never used OTL amp yet.

I am curious how it sounds with high efficiency speaker.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa27ii-jadis-ja800-flagship-tube-amplifier-six-chassis-best-ever-made-nos-new-old-stock-tube

The second one is Jadis JA800 with 6 pieces and 400watts.

I had used JA500  (only 4 pieces with 350 Watts) from 2000 to 2002 to drive B&W Notilus 801 with utmost authority and unbelievable slam.

It was kind of lifetime experience to own this beautiful and overbearing monster.

But I could not use it during summer time in modest size room.

Thus I let it go and got Silbatone 300B SET amp to drive efficient full range speaker.

350 Watt to 8 Watt

If you have money or hit the Jackpot, which one will you go for?




128x128shkong78

Showing 7 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,879 posts
 
There seem to be a lot of line magnetic units on the used market these days and rumors of counterfeiting right on the vendor’s website so be careful there.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,879 posts
 
5K for a half century old high mileage used tube?
No thanks. Does not matter how good it was originally.  But I guess all one needs is a single buyer. 
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,879 posts
 
The other thing I notice about Skyfi is they offer no warranty on the used stuff they sell once you receive it on good working order. 

Also they say they have a tech that checks everything before sale to make sure in good working order but do not seem to provide any repairs once sold.
That would be a big no go for me especially for those big ticket items.


Compare to a local shop near me that is similar but not nearly as upscale. Their specialty is service and repair.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,879 posts
 
The Jadis setup on the Skyfi video certainly scores in regards to bling which is part of what you pay for with luxury items like that.


One must be very daring to buy gear like that without listening first. Probably a bit foolish.

I will go out on a limb and predict those two amps sound very different. 
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,879 posts
 
Looking at the Skyfi site and prices listed for some items I am familiar with, I think there is room to haggle price on most of their items perhaps up to as much as 30% or so, maybe more depending on how badly they want to sell.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,879 posts
 
I’ve heard <10k Berning MicroZotl amps at shows and gotta wonder how much better a 60w version for $80k could even sound?

Too rich for my blood.


Never heard Jadis but from what I read that is a totally different but tasty to some flavor of sound.


mapman's avatar
mapman
21,879 posts
 
There are a pair of very handsome Audio Research ref amps on that vendors site for 1/3 the cost and they look very nice as well.   
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