Duff Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Hey guys, I have been enjoying my new pair of Heresy I's with an old Nikko 7075 for a while now and i think it sounds pretty good, but i have been hearing a lot about how tubes can make a really good pair with Heresy speakers. I was planning on tackling a DIY tube kit, not sure which one yet, something inexpensive just to get my feet wet. I am mostly wondering if there is anyone in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on this forum with a tube amp? i know the odds are low, but i have never heard a tube amp and i wouldn't mind hearing one before set out to make one. Any thoughts or suggestions would be great, thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Welcome Duff: why don`t you pick up a used working amp and get a feel for tubesÉ That way id you want to play with tweaking it you have a reference point to judge your tweaks by. Antique Sound Labs. They have a push pull EL34 PP amp you could pick up used for 5-6 hundred. Have fun and keep comming back. Best regards Moray James (in Calgary). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Research Bottlehead and Decware kits. While there has been some price creep, both offer affordable DIY single ended amps. Of the ones I've heard myself, I would have to say the Bottleheads are a bit more tubey, with slightly more harmonically embellished sound, where the Decware are more on the dry side of the spectrum, good bass extension for tubes, and good if you have solid state sensibilities but want a taste of the tube thing. If you're running your Hereseys sans subs, you should consider a more powerful, push-pull design. Hopefully others will chip in on good DIY kits of this type. Have fun with it! (It's kind of like growing your own veggies, they always taste better when you do it yourself.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Here is an excerpt from a post by one of our forum members on a great little amp which would drop ito your system at a very good price. Dan (set12 knows his tube amps and I very much respect his opinion. Hope this is of interest. Best regards Moray James.We have certainly had a few conversations, a while ago. Speaking for myself I heard a real sleeper of an amplifier, possibly one of the best EL34 amplifiers I have ever heard. Antique Sound AQ1003DHT some these were offered with remote control. The one I had here for repairs was without one. I swapped out 12AU7's for 12BH7's in its driver stages. The thing was an EL34 animal of the likes I have never heard and I have heard a # of EL34 amps and never was a huge fan of EL34's till I heard this thing. The owner ended up being in a state of shock as much as I was. But not after hearing it with the 12BH7's which BTW I'm a big fan of Keggers statement that more often than not IHO the 12BH7 will always sound substantially better then any 12AU7. I will most certainly concur. See my blurb on here in keggers thread http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=73090The amp sold for maybe $1000 new and might be had 5-$600 used. It uses printed circuit boards but the circuitry is very easy to repair I have a schematic for it myself. It has very wide bandwidth surprisingly considering that it only uses the UL taps for some local feedback no global. The sound is anything but light weight when using 12BH7 driver tubes. I would liken its authority and ease to a very good KT88 amplifier. Only the EL34's are half the cost of KT88's. My thought was, who needs KT88's when EL34's can sound this good? SET12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Thanks for the input guys, it has helped me look into some things. I hae been searching and i am very interested in a pair of Antique Sound lab wave 8 monoblocks? Is anyone familiar? i have read a few great reviews. They are simple, inexpensive and seem like they would be a good start into tube amplification. Does anyone know where i could get a pair? I've seen them from $100-400 being sold online but none currently available that can ship to Canada. I will keep looking, but any help you guys can offer would be great. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Hey Duff: I had three sets of Waves my son has the last pair now. good little amp a lot better modifire. The 6BM8 is a special audio tube in fact the 300B in north america is about the euivalent to the 6BM8 in Japan. The iron in the Wave is good but not large especially so the power transformer. I fyou have to pay much more than a few hundred for a pair I really think that your money would be better spent on the PP EL34 ASL amp as you will end up with more than three times the power. Thirty watts will drive a Forte, Chorus Coenwall or the KLF20 to very high levels easily so you have some reserve where as you will be limited from a headroom point of view with the Waves at 8 watts. I set up one pair of Waves into triode operation so only about 3 watts but sounded good. For that kind of power you really need over 100 db efficient speakers. I guess it all depends upon your listening preference but I habe found that once you have soeakers which are efficient and clean you will likely start listening at levels much closer to live so the added power will likely come in handy even if you don`t play loud a lot. Just my 2 cents YMMV as always. Good luck and have fun. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I own a Canadian built tube amp that I have used on both Fortes and La Scala speakers. The maker is a small company called Ideal Innovations (http://www.idealinnovations.biz/) located in Ingersoll, Ontario. The model I have is a basic 20 watt integrated, the Elite 80. It is dead quiet and seems very well built. The shop owner, Syd Beaumont, was very quick to return any emails I sent his way. I have gone the SET route with the La Scalas and I now have it running a pair of AR-11 speakers that my parents bought back in the mid 70s and they have never sounded better. Maybe he gives discounts for fellow Canadians? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crd97086 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 You also may want to check out Musical Paradise. I purchased their 428 v2 for $700, with fairly good tubes. Garry Huang is the owner and a good guy. I learned about them by a fellow I met on Audiogon. The amp is a 300b/2a3 combo. 300b has 7.5 watts, and the 2a3 puts out 2.5 watts. I was quite impressed for this price. It is all point to point wiring, and it looks nice also. Oh yeah, it also sounds fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Ok I'll look into these. Just adding on to what Moray said, i like to listen to my music.....loud.... sometimes haha. Real loud. So maybe only 8 watts per channel on the heresy I's might not enough? right now my Nikko 7075 a solid state rated at 42 wpc, and i basically max it out when im in the zone, however, i am probably only getting maybe 15 or so of those watts as decent power. Hence why i would really like a new amp that can drive a good amount of clean power into these speakers. Also, one other question, if i were to get a tube amp, would i need a tube pre-amp to go with it? would solid state be ok? i listen to all of my music now off the AUX input through my computer, and i soon plan on adding a CD player (tomorrow night), however i don't see a need for a phono input for a little while yet forseeing as it isnt in the budget or a big concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Duff: if you like it loud keep your eyes open for a pair of KLF 20 the dual tens can really kick and they are efficient. The tower cabinet has a small visual footprint and the horns are all positioned at the correct height. Excellent speakers you probably will not need subs unless you are into synth and keyboard stuff that goes really low. A good 30 watt tube aamp on the KLF 20 will play VERY loud. Or if you have the room get a set of La Scalla and buy some subs later then you can have a concert every night. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 I see what you are getting at Moray. Only thing is that for this set up i am going to stay with the Heresies. I just need a good amp that can drive them well and get me a feel into tube amps. This is always remain as a system somewhere in my house i am sure. Next summer when i have some more time (won't be a full time student then) and a few extra dollars, i plan on upgrading my speakers by building a set of cornscalas. I see tons of great reviews, love the looks of them and love the idea of them too. And for about $1500 you can't go wrong it seems . Till then these little boxes will have to do me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 if i were to get a tube amp, would i need a tube pre-amp to go with it? would solid state be ok? Solid state would be fine. Going the other way... a tube preamp into solid state can be a problem if the tube pre has a high output Z and the ss amp has a low input Z (impedance). Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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