Best Tube Amp Today? Cost maybe an object

[fierce_freak]

Argh, so many options ;o Of course, that's sort of what I expected

I was interested in the past about the Almarro, hence my interest in making a SEP amp. I could make a clone of the Almarro or the Dared VP-20 for starters, as I don't think either would cost more than $500 to make (guestimating...tube costs are ridiculous in some cases).

All the Earmax love has me wanting to hear a Morgan Jones again. And I want to hear some higher end SP's (need to make it to a bigger meet again). Anyone have an opinion on the dsavitsk amp I mentioned earlier? How about the balanced aikido that JB posted about a couple weeks ago? I'm planning on purchasing another 24v aikido board and just putting it together with the one I already have to make a balanced amp, but the amp JB describes in his article is a bit more elegant than putting to single-ended amps in series.

Some of the other stuff in this thread is pretty interesting, like the 1626 tubes mentioned by Earl or the Cooter amp. luvdunhill, I've looked at the TubelabSE amp before, but I remember thinking at the time that it would be a pain in the ass to source the tubes he suggests for headphones. That's part of the problem, I guess...I'm pretty worried about putting together an amp using obscure, hard-to-get tubes (like the 6gm8's I used in the 24v aikido...sources are starting to dry up). I'd prefer stuff that is abundant or current-production, but of course the best stuff is all NOS and mostly picked over.

[Guest sacd lover]

I bought some 12sl7gt and 1626's today @ Radio Electric Supply. They had TS black glass vt-289's, some nice Sylvania 12sl7gt round plates, Ken Rad 12sl7gt/ VT-289 black glass and some rare 12sl7gt National Union black glass, all the premium stuff for $5 per tube.

I picked up two Tung Sol, two Hytron, four Ken Rad and two Sylvania 1626 military tubes packed in their original military boxes .... for $9 each.

I will let you know how the amp sounds once I spend some time with the amp. But, for premium 1940's nos tubes you can get them any cheaper and they arent hard to source at all.

Argh, so many options ;o Of course, that's sort of what I expected

I was interested in the past about the Almarro, hence my interest in making a SEP amp. I could make a clone of the Almarro or the Dared VP-20 for starters, as I don't think either would cost more than $500 to make (guestimating...tube costs are ridiculous in some cases).

All the Earmax love has me wanting to hear a Morgan Jones again. And I want to hear some higher end SP's (need to make it to a bigger meet again). Anyone have an opinion on the dsavitsk amp I mentioned earlier? How about the balanced aikido that JB posted about a couple weeks ago? I'm planning on purchasing another 24v aikido board and just putting it together with the one I already have to make a balanced amp, but the amp JB describes in his article is a bit more elegant than putting to single-ended amps in series.

Some of the other stuff in this thread is pretty interesting, like the 1626 tubes mentioned by Earl or the Cooter amp. luvdunhill, I've looked at the TubelabSE amp before, but I remember thinking at the time that it would be a pain in the ass to source the tubes he suggests for headphones. That's part of the problem, I guess...I'm pretty worried about putting together an amp using obscure, hard-to-get tubes (like the 6gm8's I used in the 24v aikido...sources are starting to dry up). I'd prefer stuff that is abundant or current-production, but of course the best stuff is all NOS and mostly picked over.

[909]

I've heard the L3000's with the EarMax Pro, and I thought they had excellent synergy -- they actually were one of the few amps that fooled me into not hearing the slight midrange suckout at first. (Hirsch's, anyway, not sure which version he has.)

i listened under meet conditions briefly albeit intently. comparing amps without the reimyo really isn't fair and puts the amp at a substantial disadvantage, but still i heard amps at the same meet without the reimyo i favored over the earmax with the l3000s.

[fierce_freak]

Earl, which Darling design are you having built?

[Guest sacd lover]

Earl, which Darling design are you having built?

The basic Darling one output per side. But, mine will use a single dual triode 12sl7gt for gain duty. The amp is done and will ship in a day or two. Zach is making me a senn cable terminated with spades so I can drive the headphone directly off the speaker outputs.

[JimP]

Hey Jim, how is the headphone output of the Almarro?

The implementation sucks. The Almarro is primarily for my K1000 (which is great!!), hence my fanboy thumbs-up. There is an after-thought 1/8" headphone-out in the back. I've tried a P-to-S Etymotic adaptor, then an 1/8" to 1/4" adaptor, to my HD650 (kind of ghetto). The sound is very promising, but there's a low level hum. Several people have PM'ed me as to how to mod this. Not a priority now, but I hope to in the future, tweak the Almarro so I can use it beyond the K1000.

[JimP]

This is turning into the recommend the tube amp you own thread

To DEEPAK, As oppposed to what? Recommend amps I've never heard?

OK, then I also recommend the SDS or Dragon (never owned it, seen it, touched it, caressed it, licked it)

To SLWISER, please do not misunderstand me, I think HA-02 is great, but in my portfolio of equipment, it does nothing extra for me. Cheers.

[deepak]

To DEEPAK, As oppposed to what? Recommend amps I've never heard?

OK, then I also recommend the SDS or Dragon (never owned it, seen it, touched it, caressed it, licked it)

To SLWISER, please do not misunderstand me, I think HA-02 is great, but in my portfolio of equipment, it does nothing extra for me. Cheers.

He's looking for the best tube amp, I doubt an amp under (non-DIY) $1000 qualifies

This is nothing but Headfi all over again if you're going to ignore the original poster's request. I could have recommended my SHA-1 (only tube amp I've owned), but it is far from one of the best tube (even better) tube amps available.

If you have no plane of reference for the real high end why bother?

[JimP]

If you have no plane of reference for the real high end why bother?

Point taken, no beef with you, deepak

[deepak]

Point taken, no beef with you, deepak

And my original post was tongue in cheek hence the

Anyway, sorry about the

[fierce_freak]

deepak, I've read through your options for a sweet single ended amp thread many times in the past and recently. There's some good info in there (along with the reason I probably think all SP amps were VanWaarde's...I'm now guessing I'm wrong on that, can anyone confirm?). I love the look of the amp aerius posted at the end, but it might be a bit over my skill level (DHT's...maybe if I used some 6w6's instead).

Also should mention the 'phones I plan to use with said amp: I currently only own completely defoamed HD650's, but I plan to buy a pair of RS-1 again in the near future.

[luvdunhill]

deepak, I've read through your options for a sweet single ended amp thread many times in the past and recently. There's some good info in there (along with the reason I probably think all SP amps were VanWaarde's...I'm now guessing I'm wrong on that, can anyone confirm?). I love the look of the amp aerius posted at the end, but it might be a bit over my skill level (DHT's...maybe if I used some 6w6's instead).

Also should mention the 'phones I plan to use with said amp: I currently only own completely defoamed HD650's, but I plan to buy a pair of RS-1 again in the near future.

I've you're referring to this schematic:

http://www.headwize.com/projects/waarde1_prj.htm

doesn't look like my MPX3 SE. I can verify once I open it to add the new caps though.

[kevin gilmore]

the mpx3 is a WCF. similar to this

http://headwize.com/projects/showfile.php?file=cmoy5_prj.htm

[luvdunhill]

the mpx3 is a WCF. similar to this

http://headwize.com/projects/showfile.php?file=cmoy5_prj.htm

yup, that looks more like it. WCF? I'm assuming something-cathode-follower?

[cclragnarok]

yup, that looks more like it. WCF? I'm assuming something-cathode-follower?

I think that means "white cathode follower," but I don't know much about amp design, so I have no idea how that is different from a regular cathode follower.

[fierce_freak]

Pretty sure it's a white cathode follower. There's lots of stuff on them at tubecad.com.

I think I read in a thread here that the supra was somewhat like an aikido, though I'd bet that's generalizing it a bit. As far as the SDS goes, I've never been clear on whether the SDS-XLR was two supra's together or a different topology or what.

[fierce_freak]

Oops, can't edit. I mispoke...is it the Maestro that becomes the sds-xlr, or is the sds a whole 'nother circuit?

[Dusty Chalk]

I think the SDS-XLR is essentially two SDS's. The Maestro is something different, although you can also get that in -XLR configuration.

Don't ask me what the difference is, though.

This might help, though. Then again, it may just overload your circuits.

[fierce_freak]

Thanks, Dusty Chalk. I'd be interested in what the entire line's topologies are as a mental exercise (nothing specific or any parts values or the like, not trying to rip anything off, though it'd be cool to make something like the SDS as it's so well regarded). Earl, KG?

[kevin gilmore]

mikhail has 2 different tube dynamic amp circuits.

1) white cathode follower, which is a cathode follower with a boost to the

bottom tube from the plate of the top tube. This is everything mikhail makes both

unbalanced and balanced, with the exception of...

2) the extreme. which is a standard cathode follower, with really large output tubes

into a resistive current sink.

craig's zana deux is an upside down extreme.

Then you get into multiple filament voltages, multiple plate voltages, capacitors the

size of 2 quart juice cans, various different chassis, gold plating, step attenuators,

remote controlled attenuators, different tube adapters, and even a piece of the

moon extracted from the dark side. plus an infinite selection of expensive coupling,

cathode and output capacitors.

All of the electrostatic amps are the same amp circuit. (stax srx)

Once again, many different kind of gain and output tubes, at least 3 different kinds

of power supply (normal, silly, and ludicrous speed), different chassis and even a piece

of the moon extraced from the light side. Highly dangerous (if you drop one) mercury

rectifiers, neon gas tubes, glass time delay relays. plus a selection of expensive

coupling caps.

The solid state things are basically abortions.

All of ray's tube things are SRPP.

We will see what his electrostatic thing is soon

[fierce_freak]

Great, thanks for the info! It's interesting to see what constitutes a higher model number from some manufacturers.

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, but that dark side of the moon/light side of the spoon doesn't do anything about the sound.

The gold-plating, however, makes it go faster.

[fierce_freak]

I think gold is horrifically ugly, especially on amps.

[Dusty Chalk]

Faster.

[fierce_freak]

craig's zana deux is an upside down extreme.

When you say upside down extreme, do you mean that the plates and cathodes are flipped, or that the output is taken from the plate? I don't see how he could get a low output impedance the second way (but I'm a relative noob at this stuff).