DizRotus Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 If you have experience with OTL amps in general, or the one designed and described by Bruce Rozenblit[1] in particular, please share your thoughts. Im considering such a project.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> [1] Glass Audio, Vol. 2, No.2, 1990 and A Beginners Guide To Tube Audio Design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemihorn Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 The only experience I had was low wattage New York Audio Labs Futterman OTL on a pair of modified Khorns. I will never forget the sound it was mesmerizing. Now I have heard a lot of different amps on Heritage speakers solid state and tube and I wont forget the sound of the OTL. Now to describe the sound the OTL puts amazing amount of air around the instruments it is like you feel the air blow by you it is transparent, it has amazing bloom, it is natural sounding with out a bit of harshness. Now it did not have the punch of some other amps I heard but it was satisfying. Also they are very temperamental to impendence these amps. Dont like impedance below 6 ohms and I heard this one shut down a few time because of it. I will tell you this it is an amp I wont forget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Try contacting Erik Mandaville on this forum via email, he has built a couple of Bruce's units and lives in Houston. He should be able to give you some information from his experience. Erik has also built the preamps that Bruce offers for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 My OTL monoblocs are nothing less than extraordinarily clear and transparent. Not real high on bass impact, unlike, say, some transformer-based amps which have a satisfyingly beefy bass, and they have a low-level noise problem that is not completely curable. Some have a large number of output tubes to achieve a higher wattage, and that can produce a lot of heat. Tho' I know zip about output tubes, I suppose I can suggest you look at the 6B33C, which apparently has a low output impedance that requires fewer of them to match up with speaker impedance. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 I presume (fear) you mean you're going to build one yourself? DaddyDee had two, one of which was evidently built by Eric (I do not know which one). I now have both of them and one is listed on audiogon for sale http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstube&1146933535 They sound about as sweet as sweet can sound. Everything written above is accurate. For me & my stupid ways, I simply like more oomph than they have (perhaps you refer to the bigger models?). The fact that I bought the McIntosh amps at Christmas time AND have recently bought another (yet received) amp and preamp, I knew the wife was going to skin me alive unless I thinned the heard a bit. If these had more power, I'd been done looking. (I gotta be clear that I like classic rock/roll and want it to SHAKE the walls) These aren't cut out for that IMHO, they're more for sitting in between with a nice glass of fine wine & your favorite lady with you. If you're referring to the SE-OTL's, then DaddyDee and Eric can attest to their sound and the units of which I speak I should clarify that I have a single unit. Someone has already spoken for one of them and it's already boxed. I preferred them bridged over stereo. Someone offered to swap me these for the T8's and I decided agasint it. Iffen you're looking for a built SE-OTL unit, then this IS a nice inexpensive way to get one who's lineage is known. The pics on A-gon are of the specific unit. I don't know WHY, but one of the transformers has a phillips head screw holding it on instead of a bolt like on the other transformer. (perhaps it's the other way around and one has a bolt instead of a screw?) [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 I think the sound of the SE OTL is fabulous. Bridged at 4wpc they make better monoblocks than two channel amps, IMO. I listened to one of these for a year as a stereo amp, and was amazed at how good the 1.5wpc sounded on Khorns. As good as that is, it is effortless when bridged. I also have had the T16, which in some ways I preferred to the SE OTLs. It has better bass dynamics, IMO, being more powerful. The SE OTL, probably is my favorite over the T16. It is almost indescribably detailed and transparent. Hard to put into words. It is not a tubey sound, but doesn't really sound like SS either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 The above statements are pretty much what I am hearing when Bruce's amps (SE OTL and GG) are running - pure music and no more thoughts about gear. I am quite certain that had those been my first amps, I wouldn't have felt the need for any additional purchase (apart from curiosity). I should add that because of my sub bass is no issue.....otherwise I might gave considered the T16 as well.....though at the time Bruce suggested I should go with the SE OTL......and I am more than glad I did. Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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