Mallette Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 the yaqin line is what I am drawn toward Yes, interesting looking as well as some other Chinese stuff. OTOH, Mabank is a lot handier to "trust but verify" plus the cost performance looks even better. I get the feeling this guy will build to use spec very reasonably. In my case, I'd want a bypass for the tone controls and a processor loop for DBX. We'll see... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeker Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Thanks Beeker. I thank you. I have been reading this forum since i began using tube amplifiers and 1 thing i have noticed is that the people who own gear from your likes solid state and tube have not switched their gear in the years up to now and do not see that to change. That means a lot. Its nice to get to the point where your no longer looking for upgrades and you have did this for more than any other i have seen. That does make you the keeper of the sound. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 3 things to know 1. buy a new one or 2. buy one that has been restored by a creditable service provider and 3. do not buy one that does not meet 1 or 2 ablove, unless you want to learn to do a lot of technical things you currently do not do with SS gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tblake10 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Here's a recommendation that I have a lot of confidence in. Actually, I think it is the deal of the year in tube amplifiers. And it will have reliably good performance. This is $1285 and although more expensive than some import amps, I think you'd find it to be worth the few extra bucks. There are preamps offered there too. VTA120 Interesting. How would this amp stack up against vrd's? Not to hijack thread but this info hopefully is relevant to original poster as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 The M-125 monoblocks would be a fairer comparison at $2795.00 (with tubes). However, these have a cool feature, you can run with 2 tubes per monoblock or 4, and if you run with 4 tubes, you get 65 watts of triode. Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franticsled Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 I use a Yaqin VK 2100 in my 2 channel system. This is a hybird tube integrated amp with 80 watts. I have driven the RF 7's with this amp and tested against a Yamaha M 80/ 250 watt SS amp. The both drove the 7's to ear bleeding levels without a problem. I like this amp because it is stronger than the lower watt tube amps and can be use with less sensitve speakers. SQ and build quality is excellent. They can be found on Ebay but, buy one from a Canadian dealer for warranty support. I see these on the net, would be a fairly cheap way to play with one, but I love the looks of the open design where the tubes will glow, and it would be one heck of a conversation piece for sure around here. Most of my friends just have a beater garage sale setup, I am the only one in my group of friends that is into this stuff and I am hoping to change that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchist Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Since everyone is throwing choices about, I have to give the nod to the Consonance. Great reviews, great build quality, and beautiful amp. http://opera-consonance.com/products/m100plus.htm It sounds great with anything from Jewel to Metallica. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franticsled Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 The M-125 monoblocks would be a fairer comparison at $2795.00 (with tubes). However, these have a cool feature, you can run with 2 tubes per monoblock or 4, and if you run with 4 tubes, you get 65 watts of triode. Wow. Dean, your thread about the little amp you tested is the reason I am hell bent on tring one of these tube amps....The thing is I want to buy ONE and not have to go through 3 or 4 before I find one that suits me. I have just "upgraded" to parasound amps on the whole system and noticed a HUGE gain in low frequencies but at the same time has the high end a little on the grainy sounding side compared to my yamaha receiver....not as smooth. So, in a nutshell, I am after the perfect amp that I can have the best of everything and be able to tailor it to my taste!! But that sounds too easy!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmpDoctor Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Tubes are good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 The M-125 monoblocks would be a fairer comparison at $2795.00 (with tubes). Yeah, I want to hear those power houses. I believe Johnny 5 Has a pair of Newly build MKIII, for $1000+ shipping if you are interested in Dynaco's. They have KT-90's and the DIY Poseidon driver boards. Fantastic sound, and look like were built yesterday. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 The thing is I want to buy ONE and not have to go through 3 or 4 before I find one that suits me. I've been through more than that and I still haven't really found The One that would end all desires. I found out I really dig single ended amp's quirky charms, and will probably always have one on hand, but could never live with just that sort of thing exclusively. PP amps have come and gone. I like the raw clean power of ss amps if it needs to be loud. You really should get ears on different types before you jump in, as others suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 A bit of a rhetorical question since I don't suppose anyone can give a clear answer.... Why is it that there doesn't seem to be any (specific) consensus that this amp or that amp sound best with horns and those amps suck and always suck? Seems to me in the world of say, engines.... all Ford people can agree that the 427 is a killer engine? All Chevy people can agree that the 396 is a killer engine and all can agree that the Vega sucked? I know that folks say "horns love tubes" but... the next sentence seems to be "try several & find one you like" rather than "this amp is agreed by 99% of horn folks to be among the best amps you can use..." I've always wondered about the rhetoric to try several things & see what you like. It's like telling each individual to recreate their own wheel from scratch when there are already 'proven' recipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) The M-125 monoblocks would be a fairer comparison at $2795.00 (with tubes). However, these have a cool feature, you can run with 2 tubes per monoblock or 4, and if you run with 4 tubes, you get 65 watts of triode. Wow. Dean, your thread about the little amp you tested is the reason I am hell bent on tring one of these tube amps....The thing is I want to buy ONE and not have to go through 3 or 4 before I find one that suits me. I have just "upgraded" to parasound amps on the whole system and noticed a HUGE gain in low frequencies but at the same time has the high end a little on the grainy sounding side compared to my yamaha receiver....not as smooth. So, in a nutshell, I am after the perfect amp that I can have the best of everything and be able to tailor it to my taste!! But that sounds too easy!! I wish you luck with finding the 1 amp that fits your needs and never upgrade, Of course you are already well on your way with the upgrade bug, "just upgraded to parasound" and now looking into tube amps. I started the exact same way and i will say this My priority in buying any gear was resale value in other words if i bought it and did not like it i had to be able to sell it and get most of my $$$ back, I am an hourly wage guy and only had the $$$ for one system. It is pretty easy to find out which gear holds its value, and you will recoup your investment. I personally never bought a piece of Chinese gear and could not tell you if it holds value, There's lots of american gear that allows you to try and then resell if you find its not for you for instance the dynaco mono blocks mentioned here, you could use those for a couple years and if you kept them clean and in good shape you would recoup likely 90% of your investment The amp that dean reviewed is by Jweber here on the forum, he makes more than 1 amp. Justin is also one of the finest people i have ever dealt with (I am waiting on my se84 to deliver from fedex tomorrow. link to Justins web site http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://ampsandsound.com/ Edited February 22, 2014 by joessportster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) I know that folks say "horns love tubes" but... the next sentence seems to be "try several & find one you like" Tube amps play differently with each speaker due to their high output impedance, compounding the basic fact that all speakers sound different. Also, they vary on the amount and type of distortion they produce. Mix that with different listener's tastes and listening habits, the peculiarities of their listening rooms, etc, and you see how it's near impossible to make blanket statements. Plus, reading a description is one thing, but hearing first hand is the only way to know for sure if it's something you want to dive into further. But that being said, horns and tubes go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Edited February 22, 2014 by Ski Bum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Really though, with tube amps, the wire you choose can completely make or break the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Really though, with tube amps, the wire you choose can completely make or break the sound. STIR THAT POT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Why is it that there doesn't seem to be any (specific) consensus that this amp or that amp sound best with horns and those amps suck and always suck? There's no consensus on issues of taste. -wine -cigars -whiskey -paintings -sculptures -architecture -books -food -films and yes, amplifiers. and wemen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 and wemen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinsweber Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 The M-125 monoblocks would be a fairer comparison at $2795.00 (with tubes). However, these have a cool feature, you can run with 2 tubes per monoblock or 4, and if you run with 4 tubes, you get 65 watts of triode. Wow. Dean, your thread about the little amp you tested is the reason I am hell bent on tring one of these tube amps....The thing is I want to buy ONE and not have to go through 3 or 4 before I find one that suits me. I have just "upgraded" to parasound amps on the whole system and noticed a HUGE gain in low frequencies but at the same time has the high end a little on the grainy sounding side compared to my yamaha receiver....not as smooth. So, in a nutshell, I am after the perfect amp that I can have the best of everything and be able to tailor it to my taste!! But that sounds too easy!! I wish you luck with finding the 1 amp that fits your needs and never upgrade, Of course you are already well on your way with the upgrade bug, "just upgraded to parasound" and now looking into tube amps. I started the exact same way and i will say this My priority in buying any gear was resale value in other words if i bought it and did not like it i had to be able to sell it and get most of my $$$ back, I am an hourly wage guy and only had the $$$ for one system. It is pretty easy to find out which gear holds its value, and you will recoup your investment. I personally never bought a piece of Chinese gear and could not tell you if it holds value, There's lots of american gear that allows you to try and then resell if you find its not for you for instance the dynaco mono blocks mentioned here, you could use those for a couple years and if you kept them clean and in good shape you would recoup likely 90% of your investment The amp that dean reviewed is by Jweber here on the forum, he makes more than 1 amp. Justin is also one of the finest people i have ever dealt with (I am waiting on my se84 to deliver from fedex tomorrow. link to Justins web site http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://ampsandsound.com/ Sooo incredibly kind! Hope the amp and speakers rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) Joe and myself went down a similar road - it was expensive, exhausting, and fun! I lost all of my great gear too, but for different reasons. I remember every experience, every sound. I don't buy into the nonsensical idea that auditory memory is short, on the contrary, when you connect on more than one level, it sticks like glue. There is an amplifier or two that is the perfect amp for you. The problem is, you will probably sell them so you can experience other amplifiers. Pay attention, and take note of what you enjoy, you can always go back and buy it again You HAVE to know and trust what you know about how you listen. This will decide how much power you need, and whether you need a preamp or not. Once I adopted the purist approach and quit listening so loud, I felt that preamps, even very good ones, just added a veil, however thin, between me and the sound. I like Justin's EL-84 SEP amp, infinitely more than the 2A3 amps I heard. At any rate, you have to settle the power question first. The Ultralinear designs, especially the KT-88 variety, are very popular - most need, or feel they need the power, so they are pretty much the only game in town. I, and several others here, have either owned, or do own Craig's VRDs. There is switch, and they can be run in triode mode, which is how I ran mine. I actually didn't care much for standard setting. Craig thought (thinks) I was nuts. I owned many Ultralinear type amps, and though they all sounded good, they all shared the same thing in common: a somewhat dry and closed in quality, very much like good solid state, but without the low level grain and sometimes spitty quality. I would trade the higher power for 15 watts of Class A Triode any day of the week. As it is, I may very well find myself with a paltry 3 watts, I don't know if it's Class A or not, but it sure sounds like it. At the end of the day, I want the gear to get out of the way. 99% of the things I've heard over the course of a lifetime wasn't capable of doing that, and the 1% that was, was always the simpler, less complicated circuits - at least the part count was lower. I really believe less is more - it just sounds better. Edited February 22, 2014 by DeanG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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