Spider Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 Hi all, In addition to the thrill of hearing and enjoying my 1978 era LS, I just brought home a Sofia integrated amp which sounds to my old ears as a whole new sonic world. However I don't know the first thing about this subject and would appreciate a few recomendations. I prefer to buy new from a manufacturer who has a history of good support and reliability. The Sofia is on loan from a local high end retailer. I just couldn't believe what was coming out of those La Scalas when I played even my early 1980 CDs. Your comments will be appreciated. TIA. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 Spider, That LaScala sound driven by tubes is indeed sweet. My personal experience with integrated tube amps has all been with vintage/rebuilt amps, so I don't have any recommendations for new. However, there are some good choices out there and a number of folks on the forum with experience with such as these. Could be worth a search to read some old posts regarding these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spider Posted July 15, 2004 Author Share Posted July 15, 2004 Thanks for the above--I was afraid about the quality. I am not a techie but this will be (when and if I do it) a long or one time purchase. At my age and wearing hearing aids, I don't need top of the line but certainly reliability is primary! Would like to hear more suggestions--what a bout Cary 300SEI? Again many thanks for ur interest. I do so love the sound! Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 I heard a pair of new La Scalas and I have to say that I was impressed. I heard them on a reasonable quality 6-channel SS amp. I would venture a guess and say that they would sound good with even a "bad" tube amp or a "good" SS amp. I say "bad" tube amp because I feel that what I would call a "bad" tube amp would still be reasonably smooth due to the inherent signal "rounding" tendency of a poorly executed tube design compared to a "bad" SS amp which could be quite "harsh" and "tinny" sounding in some of the cheaper models. The La Scala's won't hide anything... DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 These would work extremely well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 Spider, It would help in offering amplifier recommendations if you would tell us what size your listening area is, what type of music you listen to, and how loud you play your music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 Wow I can't believe the Sophia's are built like that and I almost bought a sophia integrated off of audiogon months ago. I wish I had a high-end audio shop I where live that would let me carry gear home to try out. What other gear do they have that you could take home? If I had the opportunity you do I would definately take advantage of it but at least I have audiogon. Goodluck.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandi Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 And Mr. NOSvalves,,,,,,, How much would those uh,,,,,,,,COST? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spider Posted July 15, 2004 Author Share Posted July 15, 2004 Sorry, I do know better. Room is about 16X 19 X 8=2432 cu ft.I enjoy and listen to practically everything except rock but classical and country/folk make up at least 75% of my collection. We love sound, the cleaner the better. Thanks Spider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAPTORMAN Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 ***************************************************************************** The product is very low cost, and it is not hard to understand how this low cost is achieved. You get what you pay for. As they say, "beauty is only skin deep." None of the above relates to how anyone may preceive the sound quality. I just wanted to point out that IMO, it doesn't meet typical, average or even low build standards for good HiFi gear. ******************************************************************************* This being said, can anyone suggest how to spot a poorly made amp?? Can anybody suggest any brand names to stay away from. Would those chinese made amps you see in EBAY fall in this "poorly made amps" category?? They really look good from the outside. ("BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP"?????????) Raptorman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Mhhhhhhh, I suppose unless one can have a look inside, it's difficult to tell about built quality (apart from the obvious outside blemishes). From experience I can say that my former Cayin integrated not only sounded good, but was also well built and reliable. Another option should be ASL amps. I had a chance to listen to a pair of Hurricans (unfortunately not with Klipsch speakers) and they sounded quite interesting. I have been told that the model they offer with one KT88 per channel is a very nice unit and the gear seems to be reliable, too. So not everything coming form China is necessarily of poor quality. I guess folks there have learnt quite a bit over the years. Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Another valid point here is that you can have the absolute best circuit, best build quality, best tubes ect........ But if the Output transformers are low quality its all compromised in the end. This is the case with every over the pond amp I have seen to date and even well known amps built right in the USA today. You can not physically see the quality of a transformer. I think many can't even hear it Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 And Mr. NOSvalves,,,,,,, How much would those uh,,,,,,,,COST?Send Craig and email and he will tell you what he is charging. They are not cheap, but quality never is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmlowz Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Hello, I am considering a Jolida Amp for a new pair of La Scala's. Does anybody have a Jolida Amp and La Scala's. Thanks in advance for your reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch RF7 Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Those are sweet amps Craig, I just sent mine off to NOSValves to have Craig do his magic on my Dynaco Mark III's, cant wait to get them back!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Spider, Do you have the Sophia Baby integrated? If so this amp is built to a cost, but has received some great reviews vis a vis sound quality. There is little or no point to point wiring with the Baby - based primarily on a PCB in construction, so maybe reliability would be okay. Can't say much about the output transfomers though. As NOSvalves rightly points out, you can't see what's inside, and high quality output transfomers are essential for the tubes to perform at their best. rmlowz, I own a Jolida 202A integrated tube with EL34 tubes. Nice amp and good though not outstanding build quality. I have heard my Jolida with the La Scala's. They sound okay as a combo but as the Jolida is not that punchy down low, you may not be 100% pleased with the sound - but this would be very room dependant of course. Jolida midrange is great though and soundstage is fantastic. A better match with the lower cost Jolida's would be the Klipschorn because of that speakers extra bottom end. I would carefully consider the recommendations of the other forum members who own La Scala's before finalising your decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 ---------------- On 7/15/2004 11:43:37 AM NOSValves wrote: These would work extremely well. ---------------- I can vouch for that first hand. They do rock pretty well on La Scala's. Cornwall's too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 ---------------- On 7/16/2004 6:54:55 PM Klipsch RF7 wrote: Those are sweet amps Craig, I just sent mine off to NOSValves to have Craig do his magic on my Dynaco Mark III's, cant wait to get them back!! ---------------- Didn't care for the stock sound Erfan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 If you don't listen at particularly loud levels, you might consider a triode no-feedback design. I find them excellent for chamber and solo classical reproduction. For me they're also fine for jazz, rock, and large classical ensembles because I just don't listen at levels that it seems many people do. I find the no-feedback designs excel in reproducing ambience and lower level upper harmonics and non-harmonic sounds such as bow sounds and vocal sibilances. There are push-pull and single-ended no-feedback triode designs. wright-sound.com has examples of both, and reports of their quality are good. welbornelabs.com has a few single ended designs as does bottlehead.com and caryaudio.com. audioelectronicsupply.com makes a "Superamp" (no-feedback pp)that is very much like the pp design I use, and like very much. All of these designs offer options. Talk to the people at these companies, review your listening habits and see what they suggest. I would recommend PIO (paper in oil) interstage caps if they are offered, for example. I tend to listen at levels with my RF-7s and Chorus-IIs that draw power peaks of less than a Watt. The 3.5 Watt 2A3-based SET has plenty of headroom for most listening. My pp and pwm amps go to about 8 Watts, which is similar to the power one would get from a 300B based SET. Your LaScalas produce a little more amplitude for a given power tnan do my speakers. My listening room is 15' x 30' x 7.5' good luck. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 I agree with Leo. I can also very strongly recommend the Transcendent Sound SE OTL. It's a low watt amplifier (watt is the key word, here!)to be sure, but it is an extraordinarily fine and natural sounding amp for certain kinds of music. I am currently ironically operating in push-pull over two single-ended designs -- the Cobalt Horus, or the above mentioned stereo amplifier (that can also be bridged for 4 watts if one were to get two of them)from Transcendent Sound -- the latter of which does use a certain amount of feedback (IMO opinion to a very good result). Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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