Octave Audio integrated amplifiers

I have demoed a V40SE in my home - owned a V70SE and just recently upgraded to the V110. A very good friend of mine owns a V80. They are all great integrateds. Soft start extends the tube life and they all have protection against output tube arc over that is second to none IMO. I have had several tubes arc over in the last few years. I do a lot of tube rolling. The only downside there is the input and driver tubes are recessed and hard to swap without removing the cover. Cover removal is easy with the V70/80/110 but difficult on the V40. Don't let the power specs deter you. There is very little difference between all 4. I personally think the V70SE is the best bang for the $$. They all will give a little more control in the sound as you move up the ladder. You can also add the black box or super black box depending on your current speakers. The black box adds 4X the capacitance to the Octave where the super black box adds 10x. So since you have monitors like me the super black box is overkill.

Any specific questions ask away

Thanks for the thoughtful response.

I typically don't listen at very loud levels (75 to 85 db) and so I'm wondering about the V40 SE and V70 SÉ's performance under these conditions.

IME,

the Octave integrated amps are sonic matches for Dynaudio, Thiel & Joseph Audio speakers.

Beatlebum - At those db levels the V40 would be fine. Like I said you get a little more control as you move up the line. My speakers are Dynaudio C1 sig rated at 85db. If your speakers are more efficient that is a plus. The Octave with EL34 tubes have less power and is better with 6550's or KT88's. You can run the KT120 in the V70 but I am not sure about the V40. BTW you will not get any more power out of the KT120 but you will be able to push them harder. The plate voltage of the V70 and V80 is 540 where the V110 is switchable between 540 and 620. Not sure but I would guess the v40 has the same 540 plate voltage.

I highly recommend the black box mainly because it lowers the noise floor and gives a bit more headroom.

Xti16,

Thanks again for the info.

My speakers are rated at 87.5/1W/1M. That said I am interested in the V40 SE and I'd probably end up running it with KT88's.

Do you know of a distributor or vendor that you could recommend?