m00n Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Sorry to start another thread. I wanted to keep this in my help m00n thread... But... As you know, I just purchased a set of belles. When it comes to the best way to power these, I am about as illerate as one can get. So, I am hoping I can describe to you what I am looking for and you and or others can help me choose the best route. When it comes to these belles, I have to admit, I am kinda looking for some hand holding. What I am hoping to get out of these belles is a nice warm sound, crisp but not harsh. I have hoping to smoothen out some of the tightness of the belles that I have heard about. I am not looking for something like what a RSW-15 would put out, but something that can help to let the bass be heard and sustain that sound just a tad. I am not looking to blow the roof off my house with volume, I would rather have a cleaner more refined sound over volume. I would love to have something that looks like the images at the bottom of this page. The old ventage looks is just incredible looking http://oregon-triode.org/powerr.htm So, I guess I really would like suggestions on what would give me the best bang for the buck. That buck being around $1000.00. Do you recommend sepparates, or do you recommend everything being in one unit. Better said, do you know of a receiver and tube amp combo that best describes what I am looking for, or do you know of a all in once unit that best describes what I am looking for. I hope that I am not being to vague or nieave.... Thanks for anyones input. m00n. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 10, 2003 Author Share Posted March 10, 2003 Is this a good amp the McIntosh MC30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invidiosulus Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 It looks to me like the mc30 is a mono amp which means you would need two to be able to run both of the belles. I don't have any personal experience with the McIntosh amps but a number of people on the forum have said good things about them. Peace, Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 m00n, All Mac's are known to be good amps and they usually have a price tag to go with them collector Items you know. If this is the kind of thing your really looking at then I suggest you scrape some more money together. There are many really great looking vintage power amps from Dynaco, Scott , Heathkit , EICO , Harmon Kardon and on and on but you have to remember they will also require a preamp and this part you just can not cut corners on the amp can be the greatest thing since slided bread but if the preamp puts garbage in your going to get a great reproduction of garbage !! $1000 is just not enough for seperates of the caliber your pointing to. You could get a ST-70 and have it updated and maybe a descent preamp for that money but most of the best Mono blocks are going to be over your budget alone. If a $1000 is your max then I suggest you buy a Integrated now for $200 to $300 and have it gone thru so its reliable and sounding its best and save up for the seperates route at a later date. There are many integrated amps that will sound awesome with your Bells and give you 90% of the sound of the best systems of the members here spending thousands not bad for $500 bucks after rebuilt. Heck I have a descent integrated I'd sell you for $175 that would sound great its just not the most beatifull thing to look at. I also have a EICO HF-81 stuffed full of Mullards and rebuilt to the max I might let go !! Then there are the Scott amps that are always on Ebay that we can rebuild for you among others. The options are endless !! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 11, 2003 Author Share Posted March 11, 2003 One thing I guess I should have mentioned... I need the ability to listen to FM radio as well as hook my DVD player into it. Are these possibilites on the budget i want to stick to? Actually, I don't have a fondness for old audio equipment other than I think some of the tube amps I have seen look really sweet. Other than that, I am not on a mission to have stuff that is 20+ years old. Hell, if it's brand new and complements the belles good, then I am happy. The only reason I want tubes is because I have been told they complement the heritage speakers well. But if I can get something SS that sounds just as good... I am happy with that too. Why does 2 channel seem so difficult. I just don't remember having to think so hard about 5.1 and my home theater gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I started with a $1000 budget too. I'm trying different things. I bought a Scott 299A off ebay ($250), had Craig rebuild it and mod it. I built an S5 stereo tube amp for $180. Have it hooked up now to my Khorns and am really impressed with the sound of 8 watts through them! I'm also awaiting the arrival of my Bottlehead Foreplay preamp kit ($149). I just bought an HK 630 twin powered SS tuner today ($52) and can't wait to compare the 299 to it. It's pretty awesome to be able to hear what everyone has talked so much about on this forum (as far as the budget setups go). It sounds like you don't really want to go vintage so I'd suggest the Jolida line of amps. I haven't owned one yet but, I hear good things about them. Best of all they're well within your budget of a $1k. Check 'em out at www.jolida.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 11, 2003 Author Share Posted March 11, 2003 So I checked out this out... It has the old ventage appeal, it looks to be within a decent price range. And if I undertand correctly, 60 watts per channel is more than enough to power the belles right? Jolida JD202a I was on ebay just now looking at Jolida and seen this page. But what I am curious about is, what are those spikes for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Should be plenty of power for those old Belles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I was looking at going the Jolida route, but I also want to get into vinyl. So I went vintage. Spikes are usually for isolation; minimizing vibrations. Used mostly on CD players and TT. Don't know of a reasonable use on an amp besides looks. They sell from anywhere from $20-100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyKubicki Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Johnny, so you got the 630! I had a bid on it last night, but did not get home in time to follow up. I'm glad it was someone here! Definately let us know how it compares to your 299! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I'm pretty excited to hear how it sounds. I'll definately keep everyone posted on my findings. Might be able to get Dean over here with some STP and rock out both amps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 M00n, don't worry about watts. That kind of spec is now meaningless with the Belles that you will have. In fact, abandon all specs as are published; only trust your ears. I think that NOS440 will be able to set you up pretty good; in your price range rebuilt vintage is the way to go. Craig, my usual cut can be delivered via a brown paper bag in the dead of night at the town square. I'd think long and hard about your front end. A DVD player is a p*ss-poor digital front end. It will sound as abrasive as all get out, no matter what you do. Try to squirrel away enough money (~$400) for a Rega Planet CD player. That's a very good start into digital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopar dave Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 moon, i'm also looking at getting into tubes. the jolida seems to be the best bang for the buck, with good looks to go with it. i'v been looking at the jd502b myself. check out audioreview.com on these amps. i did last night, they get great reviews. they generaly go for $500-$750 on ebay. later dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Okay here is my take. If your a person that likes New things then something like the Jolida is probably your best bet. But something like a Scott , EICO , Fisher and on and on from the vintage ranks will sound much sweeter then the Jolida and cost less money to boot. Its all up to you ! Craig Randy, do we meet at the same place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 If I was going to buy a Joilda I think I would opt for Model JD 302B or Model JD 502B. I just have a thing about self biasing designs. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 m00n, You definitely would never need a 60 watt amp, considering you'll have some of the most efficient speakers ever made and since you don't want to listen all that loud anyway. 10 watts would be more than enough. You might very well seldom go over 1 watt. The more advice you get, the more different opinions you're going to get. And the fact that there is such a wide variety of choices shows that there is no ultimate right answer. It's similar to cars. Everybody has their own personal likes and dislikes. I think you should decide on whether you want tubes or solid state, and whether you want vintage or new. Since FM is important to you, I personally think you should get yourself a vintage tube receiver and have Craig go through it for you. If you don't want tubes, get a recommended vintage solid state receiver. The Harmon Kardon 430 for instance is getting a lot of praise in threads here (I had one as a kid) and if you got one of them, you'd have more than $900 left over to spend on other stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Check this thread out: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 ---------------- I'd think long and hard about your front end. A DVD player is a p*ss-poor digital front end. It will sound as abrasive as all get out, no matter what you do. ---------------- I second this comment. I found my $180 Toshiba DVD player to be unpleasant when turned up over 80db...it probably sounds the same at lower volume but the sound really makes me reach for the volume knob at 80db. I then played the same song on Dave Mallett's audio server and didn't reach for the volume knob. I added a $99 M-audio Revolution to my old PII/400 PC last night and will be testing it against Dave's server. This weekend we will be testing it against the Rega Planet. I would think one of these solutions would be important for you. I found that adding a tube amp to my solid state receiver was not much of a change. I hope that getting my tube pre-amp will be notable. CRAIG, What about getting an ST-70 and PAS3 and doing the CURCIO mods to both? I know the newer PRE's are preferred but the PAS3 is about $150 and Curcio brags about his mod kits. It seems you could have a CURCIO Dynaco ST-70, PAS3 mod solution for $1k. The other option is $700 pre-amp plus modified ST-70 (~$500?). I would think getting the Rega Planet plus a modified Scott would be better than just $1k in amp/pre with the DVD player. I've got $500 into a restored ST-70 and PAS3. I bought them for $350 and put $120 into the ST-70 and only about $30 into the PAS3. I'm not doing much to the PAS3 and I'm not sure if I will like it bone stock but I got it and I'll try it. Like Moon...I'd rather have a DVD player, TT and receiver but if tubes sound better then tubes it is... The PC jukebox feature is appealing...I've used it for MP3's on the PC but never on HiFi until today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted March 11, 2003 Author Share Posted March 11, 2003 ---------------- On 3/11/2003 10:55:53 AM edster00 wrote: Check this thread out: ---------------- I know... I already appologized for creating a new thread Are there specifications about a this type of equipment that I can read over which would give me some kind of idea what kind of sound they would produce? Also is it safe to say that a tube amp would sound best with a tube receiver? Or is that not the case? Oh and thank you guys very much for all the great info. It's really helping kjohnsonhp is this the ST70 your talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 m00n, A receiver is an amp and tuner combined, so if you get a receiver, you won't need an amp. Would you be using your DVD player for CD playback too? I would imagine there is plenty of variability between sound quality of different DVD players, especially if you compare older DVD models to newer ones. I personally wouldn't hesitate to use a good new DVD player for CD playback, especially an SACD/DVD combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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