WTB 2a3/45 amp

[pauln]

I like the picture of the UFO... all the stock photos are blurry, shakey, way tooo small, and grainy. And why are they always at some crazy angle? After years of monitoring our transmissions (and now the internet), I'm sure when an alien makes contact he will say, "Take me to your Klipsch dealer" and request an audition using SETs (they are more advanced, you know...)

[WopOnTour]

A local yokel recently ordered this push-pull DIY 2A3/45 amp kit (with various options)

http://www.diyhifisupply.com/diyhs_joplin.htm

When it arrives I will be completing the assembly and initial setup for him

Seems like it's very cost effective with various available upgrade paths

Havnt heard one of these yet (maybe someone here has) but will let you know how it goes

HTH
WopOnTour

[J M O N]

This isn't to continue the worn-out topic, but I really, really enjoyed the Wright 2A3 amp when it was here. It was in very bad shape, but when some things got put back in place, I liked it more than our Moondogs. George Wright is a great guy, too. I have to say in this case, there is no denying that the MQ iron was wonderful. Then there's the 1.5 watt Transcendent SE OTL that doesn't have any output iron at all -- great sound there, too!

I had a chance at one point to 'obtain' the same pair of Wrights I worked on, very fairly offered by Tigerwoods, and I just wish I went for them. Those things were very nearly dead-silent, and jumped to life with Klipschorns.

Erik

I've got a pair of those Wrights and am very happy with them. I've been selling some pieces of equipment, and I've auditioned them to several of the folks that have stopped by and each have been impressed.

[EL34]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Antique Sound Lab Tulip. It sounds great and is dead quiet. I was never really keen on recommending them to people as a couple of other guys here have "hinted ;-)" that they all run out of steam before you can really crank up anything other than a small acoustic ensemble. You would be OK with a big set of Klipsch and the Tulip though. Another problem with any tube amp on high efficiency speakers is noise but these amps are designed to be very quiet and are some of the most quiet that I have heard. They have interstage transformers that may be the reason they are so quiet when not amplifying signal.

Since you seem to like the Rogue Audio gear, you might also consider their Atlas or Cronus if you change your mind about 3 watts being "all that". I havene't tried these on Klipsch speakers yet although I should as I have a couple of sets here. These produce 55 watts and are exceptionally well made. Neither of these suggestions are terribly expensive either. Not cheap, but they shouldn't put you in the poor house either.

-Bill

[shload]

Any thoughts on this amp, Claims 5-6 years old....no manual.....missing 2a3 tubes. Sent email to Divergent to see if manual available.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=008&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=180071457476&rd=1&rd=1

Thanks Joe

[EL34]

Any thoughts on this amp, Claims 5-6 years old....no manual.....missing 2a3 tubes. Sent email to Divergent to see if manual available.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=008&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=180071457476&rd=1&rd=1

Thanks Joe

[EL34]

Hi Joe,

That's the one that I was refering to. Not that particular amp, I can't vouch for it of course, but the new ones that I have sold are very sweet. It is strange that there are no power tubes with that one. That begs the questions "How did he test it?" and "What will he do if you put output tubes in it and it smokes?" Just would sort of make me look elsewhere. Of course it should make a lot of others look elsewhere too so if it is a good working amp, it should go cheap enough. You can also use 45's in that amp. The meter on the front is a digital bias meter. You can switch it off when you are using the amp and is a nice built-in feature. Mine didn't seem to run too hot so they might be easy on tubes also. If you like a low power amp, those are nice.

-Bill

[shload]

Bill,

Thanks for the info. I checked with divertech and they don't have a PDF of the manual for that serial number, so they are looking for a paper copy. I fired off some more questions to the seller about tubes and return policy. If it scares me off from the unit I will give you a call. BTW- I was down at your shop a little over a month ago when I was in town on business....it was really nice to be able to listen to 5 different TT setup in working systems!!!!

Joe

[EL34]

Hi Joe,

Just in case you might want an integrated rather than a power amp, the same exact amp was available in an integrated unit called the Orchid. They have discontinued that but they do have a low power KT88 amp that operates in triode called the MD SI 15 DT. That's a silly model number but you may find it to be more functional. It has 5w triode and 15w pentode, switchable operation and includes a remote control for about the same price as the Tulip.

http://www.divertech.com/aslmgsi15dt.html

-Bill

[markgod]

try this if you are interested at all in 45 SET amps. http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=33437.10 SORRY FOR DOUBLE POST

Thanks for the link. But again the closest thing to an explanation of this 4 W instead of 2 W is the following paragraph.

Roger has also redesigned the circuity so that the 45 tube generates 4 watts!!!!!!!!!!!!

not 2 watts which every other 45 amp produces... Roger designs his SET amps to produce

twice the power of anyone else's SET amps by redesigning the circuits... adjusting plate

voltages and other values... he went back to the earliest SET designs from the late 1920's

and early 1930's and found that the earliest designers did not develop the circuits

to it's full potential... almost every current SET designer uses the "values" of those earliest

designs to base their own designs on... which Roger feels are fundamentally flawed

in terms of their understanding of how to "safely" utilize a given tubes performance potential...

let me mention that Roger is very concerned with maximizing tube life and designs all

of his amps so the tubes are never stressed and play in their optimal ranges for the

longest life

That is quite Raelian in essence. The guy who wrote this is basically spouting what he was told, not knowing if it's pure fiction or not.

To be fair I hate 45 SET amps with a passion. They're closely associated with the "deeeeeetails first" crowd. The kind of guys that will be only aiming to hear Patricia Barber scratching her left ear on the second verse of track 9 on Café Blue. To me they sound like inserting a compressor in the signal chain.

You might get away with a really small room (and I mean reall small) but I would doubt someone can enjoy Rust Never Sleep with these.

I spoke to him in person ,he said he made a new application on the tube, has slightly higher voltage [25] ,lower current [current affects the cathode coating, and different impedence. It is how good a vacumn that a tube has that limits the voltage you can run. He is an electrical engineer ,and said that most people get boxed in with the standard application and don't have the knowledge to do anything different to a tube. I know you said you don't really care for a 45, but he does the same thing with allot of different tube amps . If you are interested you can call him ,# is on web page, I did.

[Painful Reality]

I spoke to him in person ,he said he made a new application on the tube, has slightly higher voltage [25] ,lower current [current affects the cathode coating, and different impedence. It is how good a vacumn that a tube has that limits the voltage you can run. He is an electrical engineer ,and said that most people get boxed in with the standard application and don't have the knowledge to do anything different to a tube. I know you said you don't really care for a 45, but he does the same thing with allot of different tube amps . If you are interested you can call him ,# is on web page, I did.

Playing with the plate current and the plate voltage is something any designer and DIYer will do. You won't double the power output by playing with these.

"Different impedence" is the keyword. My guess is that he's running his amp with an output transformer with a lower primary impedance than what is recommended (typically 5K). He's probably running it with a 2.5K or so. This will increase the power (not double it) but will also increase the distortion. He surely didn't invent this.

He is an electrical engineer ,and said that most people get boxed in with the standard application and don't have the knowledge to do anything different to a tube.

Sounds like a typical statement of an audio guru doing poor marketing. "I am the keeper of a mysterious knowledge that people aren't ready to learn yet".

[markgod]

Off topic ; visited web page love the looks of the wood esp. on that Pantheon cobalt. Did not know anything about you ,so i decided to check out your system profile. Nice looking amps , the pantheon ones.

One more link to some info on Roger Modgeski amps [reviewed by 6 moons] http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/musicreference/rm10_2.html

[Cut-Throat]

Ok, I'd like to tiptoe into trying out one of these amps. I'm looking for something that needs no work as I'm in no way a DIY'er!!! Looking to see if anyone has something for sale or recommendations on some amps. Thanks for the time.

Joe

I still am waiting on my new DRD45 kit from Welborne. I am waiting on a special wood chassis. I posted this last summer and will probably have them for sale in a few months.

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/thread/760677.aspx

[Painful Reality]

Off topic ; visited web page love the looks of the wood esp. on that Pantheon cobalt. Did not know anything about you ,so i decided to check out your system profile. Nice looking amps , the pantheon ones.

Thanks,

The wood of the cobalt amp was birdeye maple. I recycled the chassis with my new YASA amp (Yet Another SET Amp). That belong to a past life though as I rarely heat the solder iron now. It was a fun period but having a cottage business while having a day job makes for being inneficient at both places while missing too many "opportunity windows" with the missie.

[Erik Mandaville]

Kevin:

I'm looking forward to what you think about your new Welborne amps when you get them. I understand why you like the 45 triode after having a pair of 45 DRDs here for a little while.

Erik

[Erik Mandaville]

Kevin:

What Altec horns are you using again? I think you're actually running them with a type 'A', including a vertically mounted tweeter. Is that correct? When you have time, would you mind posting a picture of that again? Also, how are the horns mounted on the bass bin? Are they just sitting, or are they actually secured somehow?

I'm interested!

Erik