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Never a perfect tube amplifier until now!


Idontknow

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At least for me. After having acquired a new tube amplifier to compare against all my others,  I can honestly say I have finally found the holy grail tube amplifier or any amplifier for that matter to match with my room and my Forte I's. More on that later. Many people say tubes sound warm. I disagree, in fact if anything sounds warm, it's solid state amplifiers. Why? Because the vast majority of SS amps sound rolled off and muffled to my ears. There's just no spatial separation to speak of and unless you have a dampened room and you are extremely familiar with songs, you won't realize this. To me, that's what warm sounds like. After having worked with the First Watt SIT3, I really like this amp, but I like the First Watt F3 even more. First Watt SS amps are the only solid state amps I've heard that genuinely have a tube sound, meaning they sound holographic. No other solid state I've ever compared or tested to date has produced this effect. 

 

I never bothered with reviews. There's too many factors and just too many conflicting opinions, too many differences of music types, listening levels and the list goes on. And then we have these nut cases who think they can judge a product purely by how it measures. That's a joke and I'm not ashamed to say it. So, how did I do this? I purchased lots of different amps and borrowed many amps. It's the only way to truly be sure what you will learn to like in your own room with your own ears. What I or someone else likes, doesn't mean everyone else will like it. There's just too many factors, so I don't even bother. So, this is about what I like. 

 

My listening buddy Mirko says you can just EQ a solid state amp to make it sound like tubes. We tried this with a Parasound A23 Halo and it actually didn't sound too shabby but still, I prefer the First Watt SS amps more. He also brought the EVO400 integrated back after a couple of years of break in. I have to admit, it blew me away on the Forte's. It no longer sounded bright, brittle and harsh as compared to when we first got it. We recently compared the Decware Zen SE84UFO to the SIT3 and EVO400 too. I mainly play jazz and classical but mostly jazz. You can read my comparison here if interested but I'll explain something here I didn't in the review. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/decware-se84ufo-zen-vs-first-watt-sit3/post?postid=2395882#2395882

 

Imagine a string hanging down and you pour water down the string. Water will fall into each texture of every strand with ease. This is what a Decware Zen is like with Heritage speakers. It is without question one of the most amazing sounding amps you will ever hear with jazz. Even Andrew Robinson can't put it away in fact it is only recently that popular YouTubers started testing these Zen's, which is pathetic to say the least. It amazes me all the nonsense these guys review, but leave out these custom made amps to order. There are several others they miss as well. They're all too caught up in all the marketed crap as far as I'm concerned and I want no part of it. It amazes me that reviewers of their caliber have never heard these things until recently. Almost as bad as these measurement heads. 

 

The SIT3 reminded me of honey being poured down the string, not water. It seemed like instruments had a thicker sound to them. It had a slightly bigger sound and broader soundstage than the Decware Zen at higher volumes. BTW, in case you didn't know this, Decware strives to emulate the sound of the Zen in all their amps. It's the standard by which all their amps are made but they have to make them more powerful to handle more volume. The Zen just had a sweeter, prettier sound like silk. The SIT3 was still absolutely wonderful too but just tended to have a thicker meatier sound to it. Steve Guttenberg, the Audiopheliac likes the SIT3 because he says it has a meaty kind of sound to it with bass. For jazz, it just doesn't quite have the finesse as the tiny Zen.

 

So what's my problem with the Zen? There are sometimes certain types of jazz where you just want to turn it up some and it sort of starts clipping. The SIT3 OTOH just keeps on going without fatigue. Then, when I heard the EVO400 again, it was like a Decware Zen on steroids. The bass is tighter and cleaner than any solid sate amp I've ever heard. It had everything going for it except it's very heavy, runs extremely hot and you're gonna need a well ventilated area to place this beast. It's LOUD!, LOUD as F...............! without any distortion using the Heritage line. Ultra tight, ultra clean. It's actually way overkill for my needs. To me, it's more about how nicely a component sounds at low volume with jazz, not how loud the volume is. But still! it's nice to have that extra power and volume on tap when called upon. It's human nature to think something sounds better whenever it's played louder. It's throwing more at you, but for me, a product has to sound sweet, warm and pretty at low volume to be great IMHO.

 

Incredibly the Evo had a pretty sweet sound and balls to it! It sounded like water trickling down every texture of the string. What was the issue with the EVO? Unless we ran it with the Aretha tube preamp, the soundstage shrunk by about 20% in my guesstimation. Even Mirko agreed. He started asking me questions about the Aretha. So now you'd have to pay an additional $1900 at least to add that effect into the Evo400. We did this with the Zen as well. Finally I got my brand new Dynakit ST35. Mirko thinks I'm just hearing things and he'll be roasting me again soon I'm sure. Normally I have to sit and listen to things a while to really take them in but I was very familiar with these songs I was playing and how they sounded and the ST35 just sucked me in. That night, I never went to bed. I played jazz all night till the next day, refusing to sleep because this little ST35 just wouldn't quit!

 

Mirko has a completely different sounding room. If you clap your hand, it will have an echo in the room. My room is far more sound deadened. If I clap my hand, there's pretty much no echo. Personally, I think it's harder to judge sound in a room that isn't treated and I think this is why Mirko thinks most amps sound alike. There's no way Mirko can come into this forum and say his room is treated, it's not. He doesn't believe all these differences I talk about, but I disagree. When you're by yourself, playing jazz at moderate listening levels and not blasting the sound, you really do tell differences between components. All the subtitles, whatever they may be become evident. I wish the Zen had the power of an Evo400 but I wish the Evo400 was smaller, lighter and took up less space since it sounded so close to the Zen with jazz. The Zen just doesn't have the might of that Evo400 nor would we expect it to at just a few watts per channel. 

 

I think the problem with audio reviews is most people fail to put matters into proper context. For example, they don't consider enough about how rooms, listening levels, tastes in music can affect ones opinions. IMO, you just have to be in your own room yourself and YOU (the listener) ultimately have to decide. So! despite many other amps I have tried but not mentioned, it doesn't matter. This tiny Dynakit ST35 I finally received is absolutely the sweetest thing I've ever heard to date. I can hear Mirko already... You're just bias because you just got it.

 

But really! This little thing sounds warmer than the Zen, equally as sweet, but man, it has balls! It's got weight and meat on the bone and it's only 17.5 watts per channel but still way more power than the Zen. It's been said that it's the best of all the Dynaco amps ever and I absolutely would have to agree, it most definitely is! It's the most perfect amp I've ever heard to date. After going online, researching videos, I dropped my jaw in disbelief at how few if any reviews there are on this amazing tube amplifier. None of these big YouTubers have even reviewed it, what a shame!  These guys spend WAY too much time with marketing gear, they really do! I can't say this little ST35 is the best thing for you guys, but for me, nothing sounds nicer to me, nothing! It has all the qualities of the best amps all in one for me. Every time I test amps, there's just always something that bugs me. Not this little ST35 though! Thank you for making me the most awesome amp Kenny! It's time to sell the rest.

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The 4x EL84 plus 2x preamp tubes architecture is more common than you think. Luxman, Leben Hifi, and the Japanese Elekit have them in their line up. They all come with 12 to 18 watt output power. 

For me, the secret lies in the EL84 tubes, which, if combined with good components and thoughtful architecture, will give an amazing, small footprint, amp. Combined with highly efficient speakers, the likes of Klipsch, they offer great value for money for 2 channel listening. 

They are less useful if you have less efficient speakers, or if you want a subwoofer added. 

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7 hours ago, Idontknow said:

At least for me. After having acquired a new tube amplifier to compare against all my others,  I can honestly say I have finally found the holy grail tube amplifier or any amplifier for that matter to match with my room and my Forte I's. More on that later. Many people say tubes sound warm. I disagree, in fact if anything sounds warm, it's solid state amplifiers. Why? Because the vast majority of SS amps sound rolled off and muffled to my ears. There's just no spatial separation to speak of and unless you have a dampened room and you are extremely familiar with songs, you won't realize this. To me, that's what warm sounds like. After having worked with the First Watt SIT3, I really like this amp, but I like the First Watt F3 even more. First Watt SS amps are the only solid state amps I've heard that genuinely have a tube sound, meaning they sound holographic. No other solid state I've ever compared or tested to date has produced this effect. 

 

I never bothered with reviews. There's too many factors and just too many conflicting opinions, too many differences of music types, listening levels and the list goes on. And then we have these nut cases who think they can judge a product purely by how it measures. That's a joke and I'm not ashamed to say it. So, how did I do this? I purchased lots of different amps and borrowed many amps. It's the only way to truly be sure what you will learn to like in your own room with your own ears. What I or someone else likes, doesn't mean everyone else will like it. There's just too many factors, so I don't even bother. So, this is about what I like. 

 

My listening buddy Mirko says you can just EQ a solid state amp to make it sound like tubes. We tried this with a Parasound A23 Halo and it actually didn't sound too shabby but still, I prefer the First Watt SS amps more. He also brought the EVO400 integrated back after a couple of years of break in. I have to admit, it blew me away on the Forte's. It no longer sounded bright, brittle and harsh as compared to when we first got it. We recently compared the Decware Zen SE84UFO to the SIT3 and EVO400 too. I mainly play jazz and classical but mostly jazz. You can read my comparison here if interested but I'll explain something here I didn't in the review. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/decware-se84ufo-zen-vs-first-watt-sit3/post?postid=2395882#2395882

 

Imagine a string hanging down and you pour water down the string. Water will fall into each texture of every strand with ease. This is what a Decware Zen is like with Heritage speakers. It is without question one of the most amazing sounding amps you will ever hear with jazz. Even Andrew Robinson can't put it away in fact it is only recently that popular YouTubers started testing these Zen's, which is pathetic to say the least. It amazes me all the nonsense these guys review, but leave out these custom made amps to order. There are several others they miss as well. They're all too caught up in all the marketed crap as far as I'm concerned and I want no part of it. It amazes me that reviewers of their caliber have never heard these things until recently. Almost as bad as these measurement heads. 

 

The SIT3 reminded me of honey being poured down the string, not water. It seemed like instruments had a thicker sound to them. It had a slightly bigger sound and broader soundstage than the Decware Zen at higher volumes. BTW, in case you didn't know this, Decware strives to emulate the sound of the Zen in all their amps. It's the standard by which all their amps are made but they have to make them more powerful to handle more volume. The Zen just had a sweeter, prettier sound like silk. The SIT3 was still absolutely wonderful too but just tended to have a thicker meatier sound to it. Steve Guttenberg, the Audiopheliac likes the SIT3 because he says it has a meaty kind of sound to it with bass. For jazz, it just doesn't quite have the finesse as the tiny Zen.

 

So what's my problem with the Zen? There are sometimes certain types of jazz where you just want to turn it up some and it sort of starts clipping. The SIT3 OTOH just keeps on going without fatigue. Then, when I heard the EVO400 again, it was like a Decware Zen on steroids. The bass is tighter and cleaner than any solid sate amp I've ever heard. It had everything going for it except it's very heavy, runs extremely hot and you're gonna need a well ventilated area to place this beast. It's LOUD!, LOUD as F...............! without any distortion using the Heritage line. Ultra tight, ultra clean. It's actually way overkill for my needs. To me, it's more about how nicely a component sounds at low volume with jazz, not how loud the volume is. But still! it's nice to have that extra power and volume on tap when called upon. It's human nature to think something sounds better whenever it's played louder. It's throwing more at you, but for me, a product has to sound sweet, warm and pretty at low volume to be great IMHO.

 

Incredibly the Evo had a pretty sweet sound and balls to it! It sounded like water trickling down every texture of the string. What was the issue with the EVO? Unless we ran it with the Aretha tube preamp, the soundstage shrunk by about 20% in my guesstimation. Even Mirko agreed. He started asking me questions about the Aretha. So now you'd have to pay an additional $1900 at least to add that effect into the Evo400. We did this with the Zen as well. Finally I got my brand new Dynakit ST35. Mirko thinks I'm just hearing things and he'll be roasting me again soon I'm sure. Normally I have to sit and listen to things a while to really take them in but I was very familiar with these songs I was playing and how they sounded and the ST35 just sucked me in. That night, I never went to bed. I played jazz all night till the next day, refusing to sleep because this little ST35 just wouldn't quit!

 

Mirko has a completely different sounding room. If you clap your hand, it will have an echo in the room. My room is far more sound deadened. If I clap my hand, there's pretty much no echo. Personally, I think it's harder to judge sound in a room that isn't treated and I think this is why Mirko thinks most amps sound alike. There's no way Mirko can come into this forum and say his room is treated, it's not. He doesn't believe all these differences I talk about, but I disagree. When you're by yourself, playing jazz at moderate listening levels and not blasting the sound, you really do tell differences between components. All the subtitles, whatever they may be become evident. I wish the Zen had the power of an Evo400 but I wish the Evo400 was smaller, lighter and took up less space since it sounded so close to the Zen with jazz. The Zen just doesn't have the might of that Evo400 nor would we expect it to at just a few watts per channel. 

 

I think the problem with audio reviews is most people fail to put matters into proper context. For example, they don't consider enough about how rooms, listening levels, tastes in music can affect ones opinions. IMO, you just have to be in your own room yourself and YOU (the listener) ultimately have to decide. So! despite many other amps I have tried but not mentioned, it doesn't matter. This tiny Dynakit ST35 I finally received is absolutely the sweetest thing I've ever heard to date. I can hear Mirko already... You're just bias because you just got it.

 

But really! This little thing sounds warmer than the Zen, equally as sweet, but man, it has balls! It's got weight and meat on the bone and it's only 17.5 watts per channel but still way more power than the Zen. It's been said that it's the best of all the Dynaco amps ever and I absolutely would have to agree, it most definitely is! It's the most perfect amp I've ever heard to date. After going online, researching videos, I dropped my jaw in disbelief at how few if any reviews there are on this amazing tube amplifier. None of these big YouTubers have even reviewed it, what a shame!  These guys spend WAY too much time with marketing gear, they really do! I can't say this little ST35 is the best thing for you guys, but for me, nothing sounds nicer to me, nothing! It has all the qualities of the best amps all in one for me. Every time I test amps, there's just always something that bugs me. Not this little ST35 though! Thank you for making me the most awesome amp Kenny! It's time to sell the rest.

No surprise here. David Hafler and his team engineered with intelligence and produced gear with excellent specs. Simple designs that performed well at a reasonable price. My first real amp was a Hafler 500 I built in '84.

I still have it along with a 220 and my ST-70. All of these designs can still compete with and often outperform many high priced modern amps. Refreshing them with updated caps etc is a must and well worth the effort. Your ST-35 is true to the original circuit with modern quality transformers that are spec'd to be just like the originals. The amp is a testament of the enduring design that Hafler and team created over 60 years ago. Congrats on experiencing one of the best values in tube amps available today.

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The Firstwatt J2 is a more powerful, very popular, power J-fet amplifier like the F3. Never heard the J2 but did have a F3 a few years ago. The Nelson Pass Zen Variations 9 for diyer's is a F3. The F3 schematic is published as well for diyer's. I like the EL84 tube as well. I also have a Decware Zen amplifer I built and it is a very nice sounding little amplifier but I do have other tube amplifiers I like better. I am sure the ST-35 amplifier sounds really good. The Dynaco products Hafler designed are all still extremely popular. 

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8 hours ago, Racer X said:

Wait, a Dynakit ST35 is the perfect tube amp ?  Whodathunk...?  Glad it works well for you.

 

Racer X, I've been meaning to tell you that your avatar is my favorite. When I was a kid, I idolized Racer-X He was very special. 

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3 hours ago, MeloManiac said:

The 4x EL84 plus 2x preamp tubes architecture is more common than you think. Luxman, Leben Hifi, and the Japanese Elekit have them in their line up. They all come with 12 to 18 watt output power. 

For me, the secret lies in the EL84 tubes, which, if combined with good components and thoughtful architecture, will give an amazing, small footprint, amp. Combined with highly efficient speakers, the likes of Klipsch, they offer great value for money for 2 channel listening. 

They are less useful if you have less efficient speakers, or if you want a subwoofer added. 

 

Yes, I'm glad you mentioned this, you are right. My close friend John Hawk who is a video and sound engineer who also plays electric guitars and built electric guitars for a living said the same thing. I called him up telling him how extra special I thought the ST35 was and that it used the EL84's. He said the same thing you did and that the EL84 is one of the most popular tubes. It's easy to understand why. It has such a warm sound signature compared to anything else I've ever heard. When others say tubes sound warm, this amp really does sound warm.

 

Todays tube amps, particularly those imported from China all sound too bright and overly detailed for my tastes. To me, that's not the best match for the Heritage line and since I love the Heritage lines, this EL84 is a godsend in fact I contacted Kenny Russell at Fantastic Vintronics who built this amp for me and told him I wanted the best EL84 tubes and 7247 tubes he had. I will have them next week. What I can't understand is how did the industry miss this little gem of an amp? It's beyond me. I just can't get over the sound, it's like nothing I've ever had. 

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3 hours ago, TubesGlo said:

No surprise here. David Hafler and his team engineered with intelligence and produced gear with excellent specs. Simple designs that performed well at a reasonable price. My first real amp was a Hafler 500 I built in '84.

I still have it along with a 220 and my ST-70. All of these designs can still compete with and often outperform many high priced modern amps. Refreshing them with updated caps etc is a must and well worth the effort. Your ST-35 is true to the original circuit with modern quality transformers that are spec'd to be just like the originals. The amp is a testament of the enduring design that Hafler and team created over 60 years ago. Congrats on experiencing one of the best values in tube amps available today.

 

Thanks for the kind words. Yea, I've always been fascinated with Dynaco's and then this little ST35 came along and it's really special. I'm getting another one for my Heresy's. This will tame the top end some. It's certainly an amazing match with my Aretha preamp and my Dynakit PAS-M preamp. The PAS-M is slightly warmer than my Aretha. Both are world class preamps for me and match nicely with this ST35. 

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3 hours ago, jjptkd said:

Great review, thanks! Never hear much about the 35 seems they're kind of rare from what I can tell glad you found your "Zen" amplifier even if it isn't the Zen. 

 

That's what's so ironic. There's hardly and reviews on these ST35's. 

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