Your journey with lower-watt tube amps -- Can a kit be good enough?
Looking for stories about your low-watt amp journeys.
Here's the situation: I have new speakers, 97 db. Trying them with lower watt tube amps (45/211, 300b, etc) seems generally wise. I am attempting to borrow some from audiophiles in the area.
The horizon beyond trying these things involves actually buying some. I'm looking at a budget limit of about $5k.
Curious as to folks' experience with lower-watt amp kits vs. those of good makers (e.g. Dennis Had, etc.).
If you have any thoughts about the following, I'd be interested:
Did you start out with a kit and then get dissatisfied? Why?
Did you compare kits vs. pre-made and find big differences?
Did you find you could get the equivalent level of quality in a kit for much less than the same pre-made version? How about kit vs. used?
Also: did you find there was a difference between "point to point wiring" vs. "PCB" in these various permutations?
I realize that there are good kits and bad ones, good pre-made amps and bad ones. I'm hoping you'll be comparing units which seem at comparable levels of quality and price-points.
Thanks.
Thanks for the feedback and glad some like the vacation analogy. I’ve heard from a reputable source that if a Dennis Had amp breaks he is near impossible to get in touch with and does not share schematics that this tech needed to fix it. Only after a long while did they finally hear back. This is not the kind of situation I want to find myself in. @lafish thanks for the https://www.analogethos.com/diytubekit link |
Just my two cents, but having owned multiple ST70s and ST35s, I like the ST35 much better. OTOH, ST70 is much easier to find, and you can get a somewhat updated version from tubes4audio.com. Assembled or kit. They have a EL84 amp do, but it’s more closed related to the Audio Note than to the Dynamic. |
If you like the idea of a kit (or they will build a complete amplifier), I agree with the Dynaco design option. The company Tubes4hifi has kits and fully assembled amplifiers based on some of the most popular Dynaco products: ST-35, ST-70 and ST-120. The ST-70 uses EL34, 6L6, or KT-66 tubes power tubes, and puts out 30ish WPC depending on tubes. Uses 12AU7 driver tubes, and a 5U4G rectifier. Completed amplifiers are about $1,650 with all tubes. I own their VTA ST-120 amplifier, that I've had for 5 years or so, and I can tube roll power tubes (6550, KT-88, KT-120, or KT-150), 12AU7 drivers and 5U4G rectifier. Power varies with power tube choices, but I think the 6550s are around 45 WPC and up to 80ish WPC with KT-150s. Completed amps with all tubes are $2,050 with 6550 or KT-88, and more with KT-120s and KT-150s I also have Aric Audio and CODA amps, but will not get rid of the KT-120....not sure if it is what you are looking for, but they are really good amps |
Thanks for the Dynaco ST-70 et al. suggestions. Since I am already running a Quicksilver Mono 60 with KT-77 tubes, I'm not sure this amp is really going to sound all that different. If I stick with the vacation analogy, I want to emphasize that I want to go somewhere really different and not have a "staycation."
|
