shaman Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Can anyone give me recommendations for a low powered set valve amp. I have tried LadyDay 300b's which I liked a lot. Then tried a Shanling sp80c (40 watts p/p) which was ok but nowhere near as involving as the 300b. Maybe a 2a3 or 45 amp is the way to go. Please can you help me decide from your own personal experiences. I will not have the chance to audition either type of amp, so will have to take the plunge. Many thanks for your opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I found the Wright 2A3 SET monoblocks to be very pleasing with Khorns. Another option I really enjoyed was the Transcendent Sound SE OTLs. They were surprisingly good at a mighty 1.5 wpc and completely effortless and airy bridged at 4wpc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieboy Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Just kidding! I agree I love the Wright audio 2a3's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenc319 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 hi, I'm using Wright Mono 3.5s with Sophia Electric 2.5 volt 300b tubes and nos RCA dual plate 2A3s with my Cornwalls. Both are very involving and musical combinations. The 300b tube is a bit warmer, the 2A3 tube a bit more detailed. With Khorns it can only get better. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Anything tube rectified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS Button Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Anything tube rectified. "He said, "Rectified tube"mmmm, mmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Wright 3.5 SETs on my LaScalas - I love'em. George makes a 300B Mono 8 (8 watts) and a 2A3 based push-pull Mono 10 (10 watts) that are highly regarded as well. http://www.wright-sound.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 For me, there's not much that beats the sound of the 2A3 triode. I own Welborne Labs 2A3 Moondogs, a hard comodity to find these days, but they do appear on Audiogon once in a while. The Fi 2A3 Monoblocks by Don Garber are also wonderful and can be ordered from him. Both are considered by some to be a small step above the Wrights, though I have absolutely nothing negative to say about the Wright 2A3 Monoblocks which I have heard on many occassions. If it's another 300B you seek, though my preference is tube rectification, there's currently a killer price on a pair of Welborne Labs DRD 300B monoblocks with SS rectification on Audiogon. http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstube&1140574175 Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I sure do miss my play money. Man, what a sweet deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I don't know whether there is a BEST type low powered tube amp for the Klipschorn. But out of some I have heard, an Audio Note monobloc 300b SET amp sounded okay - but I didn't hear these with Klipschorns. I don't know about 2a3 tube amps. Aren't the tubes expensive to replace? And isn't there an issue with very high voltages? I reckon you're taking a risk by buying sight (and sound) unseen. You should listen first. While you are listening, maybe you could consider other options. What about a nice S/S monobloc combined with a tube preamp? One suggestion is the recently discontinued Classe CAM-200 monoblocs. You could pick a pair up for small money. What about a pair of VRD monoblocs with a Peach preamp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I really love my Assemblage SET300B amplifiers..I have this one (which I have since swapped in Mullard GZ37 rectifiers) as my stereo amp, 8 watts a channel, feeding the KHorns, and another, wired for mono (16 watts a channel) feeding a center Belle. Although I have never heard the Wrights (and I'd certainly love to!), I am really satisfied with these amps. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 The Wavelength Gemini PF with cobalt transformers were among the best amps I've ever listened to (although I was using them with Altec 604's). Since you're in the UK, I can recommend you to look for a vintage Radford STA-15 or STA-25. Both sounded great with my Klipschorns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Actually another option could be the Audio Note Soro SE integrated amp. This is a single ended pentode design using 5881 tubes. Some come with phono capability. Output is claimed as around 18 watts but the reality is closer to 10 or 12. I have heard this amplifier with La Scalas and the result was quite impressive. One thing I noticed with this amplifer was the extended bass response - unlike some 300b SET designs. This would be a nice match with Klipschorns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 shaman, I am very happy with 2A3s (Sovtek or RCA) driving RF-7s. did you try the 300B amp(s) set for 4 Ohm output? If not, give it a try. In fact, I recommend that with any tube amp. Also, I prefer parallel feed output ("parafeed") to the more conventional, but they're not that easy to find. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Leo, are you suggesting that the Klipschorn or La Scala dips to 4 ohms? I've never tried the 4 ohm taps - only the 8 ohm. I assumed these speakers were primarily 8 ohm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I sure do miss my play money. Man, what a sweet deal. Dean, If I had some extra dollars stashed, that DRD amp would already be on it's way to my house. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 With Klipschorns and the stock filters -- it would be interesting to listen using 16 ohm taps. It would definitely be fun to give those a spin. I finally have enough dynamics and openess at low levels to where something like that might work pretty good now. VRDs first though, and I'll probably end up running them in Triode with KT-66's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I don't know whether there is a BEST type low powered tube amp for the Klipschorn. But out of some I have heard, an Audio Note monobloc 300b SET amp sounded okay - but I didn't hear these with Klipschorns. I don't know about 2a3 tube amps. Aren't the tubes expensive to replace? And isn't there an issue with very high voltages? I reckon you're taking a risk by buying sight (and sound) unseen. You should listen first. While you are listening, maybe you could consider other options. What about a nice S/S monobloc combined with a tube preamp? One suggestion is the recently discontinued Classe CAM-200 monoblocs. You could pick a pair up for small money. What about a pair of VRD monoblocs with a Peach preamp? edwinr, I believe the question was......give me recommendations for a low powered set valve amp. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Leo, are you suggesting that the Klipschorn or La Scala dips to 4 ohms? I've never tried the 4 ohm taps - only the 8 ohm. I assumed these speakers were primarily 8 ohm. To my ears, I prefer the sound of my Khorns on 4ohm taps. Run them there all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Dee, do you have anything with 16 ohm taps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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