2. amps-preamps
  3. 131478-7805

Member's recommendations for tube amplification

Your thoughts on options to consider:

- I'd prefer SET (open to DHT but not a requirement).

- I'm not looking for overtly warm, romantic or lush options.

- Minimum power in the teens to twenties, 10W being the floor.

- Open to higher power push-pull amps, but let's limit ceiling to around 60W.

- Single ended is fine though having XLR inputs would be nice (doesn't have to be true balanced)

- I'm cool with single chassis or monos.

- I have preferences for tube types, but leaving it open ended to get broad recommendations.

- I'm currently running an all solid state system, though have had tube based systems built around ARC, BAT, Ayon, Melody, Pathos, etc.

- Preamp will be a Pass XP-20 or the Metrum Adagio DAC direct to the amp.

- I'd like to stay around 3K used but can push the budget to 6K new/used.

- Speaker sensitivity is 94dB and higher.

THANKS!
Ag insider logo xs@2xdavid_ten
martykl
3,563 posts
 
A pair of used Cary 805s would, I think, tic every box you've specified.
lancelock
625 posts
 
+1 on Linear Tube Audio. You can't go wrong and a ZOTL10 is all you would need but I would use a MZ2 with it.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
david_ten OP
2,509 posts
 
@atmasphere   Ralph, Thank you very much for your thoughts and advice and direction.

I'm taking notes. : )  

Agreed on the higher powered push-pull solutions, but am also getting feedback to stick to SET from members who I respect and who have also tried different combinations with the speakers I currently have. Obviously, this comes down to personal preference which is why I have reached out for other options. I've had good experiences with push-pull amps in the past.

Your S-30 and M-60 are on my radar.


almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
8,673 posts
 
David, we’ll see what Ralph has to say, but I would be skeptical about the suitability of the S-30 for use with a 4 ohm speaker, albeit one that apparently has a particularly flat impedance curve, given the amp’s 7 ohm output impedance and also its 50% greater power capability into 16 ohms compared to 8 ohms (with no rating specified for 4 ohms). It seems to me that you would almost certainly have to use a pair of Zero autoformers connected in a 4:1 configuration, to make the speaker appear to the amp as a nominally 16 ohm load, but even then my guess would be that neither the amp nor the speaker would be performing at its best.

On paper, at least, the M-60 seems to me to be a much safer bet.

Best regards,
-- Al

Ag insider logo xs@2x
david_ten OP
2,509 posts
 
@almarg   Thank you for pointing that out. I'd rather play it safe with matching the amp to the speaker appropriately. 

Appreciate the link to the M-60s on offer by Duke / AudioKinesis. And for the information on your VAC Renaissance amp. 
More to discover