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Tube Amp $2,000.00 or under


rmlowz

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Hello,

I am playing around with the Heritage Line. My speakers are Khorns and I ordered a pair of La Scalas. I have a Parasound Halo C2 -A51 combo. I am thinking about getting a tube amp. The khorns sound great with the Halo, I am always trying to find better. Maybe I am waisting time and money trying to find a tube amp within my price range that would sound better than the gear I have now. I would like to buy new. What do my forum friends think?

Thanks,

rmlowz

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If you are going to go with tubes get a SET amp ( single ended triode ) in the 1 to 3 watt range, less is better for K-Horns. I recently built a SET amp using Telefunken EC8020 drivers and Eimac 75TL outputs and at normal listening levels I'm running my K-horns at about 1/10 of a watt and it absolutely smokes anything else I have ever heard. Paul Klipsch said it himself "What the world needs is a good 5 watt amp". More power and or SS amps makes the K-Horns sound like crap IMHO.

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Paul Klipsch said it himself "What the
world needs is a good 5 watt amp".

More power and or SS amps makes the
K-Horns sound like crap IMHO.

[^o)]

Correct me if I am wrong, but to my knowledge, PWK never used a 1-3 W SET amp.

Gosh, that quote has been taken out of context so many times...

ANY well designed audio amplifier operated within it's linear range should be fine.

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would shop audiogon.com as I am sure you could get a killer integrated tube ampp for that price

I've always wanted to try this Cary SLI80 which seems to get great reviews http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1177906264.


This is the amp that we got to listen to the new klipschorn cornwalls la scala and heresy in Hope, AR in the klipsch demo room and it was very suprising a wonderful tube amplifier Cayin A88T http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1177718697

If you would like to try low watt tube amplifiers the klipschorns are perfect for that. If your curious about how many watts you need try this spl calculator http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html .

Good Luck Have Fun

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rmlowz

$2000 is plenty money to get a decent tube amp.

I just sold a pair of Cary 50 watt class A mono blocks for 600 bucks.  

I also just sold 2 AMC 30 watt class A stereo amps for 300 bucks each.

But if you want a low risk option on checking out the sound of tubes, take a look at the partsexpress web site, they have 2 models of tube amps for sale, price about 800 bucks, best thing is their flexible return policy.

As far as how much money it would take to find a better sound than you have now, it depends on the character of the equipment you have.  For example, I just sold a 30 year old 30 watt SS amp that operates in pure class A from end to end for 850 bucks. The list price of this amp in 1976 was $600.  The amp was stock with no mods.  It was a hands down winner as the best sounding amp I ever heard.   Better than my $4000 HT reciever, and better than the 2 tube amps I currently own (MC-2000 $15000 list, MC-2102 $6700 list).

Tubes sound different than SS gear does, but not always better.  My general take is that an amp running in pure end to end Class A mode can give tubes a run for the money.

Before making a final decision, if the outfit you are buying from does not have an attractive return policy, I would recommend you check audiogon and ebay for past sales transactions to see what the used market value is of the amp so you won't loose your shirt if you decide to sell it.   Also be careful of amps made by independents.  These amps are quite good, but have a very limited niche resulting in low name recognition which makes it difficult to re-sell.  








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For example, I just sold a 30 year old 30 watt SS amp that operates in pure class A from end to end for 850 bucks. The list price of this amp in 1976 was $600. The amp was stock with no mods. It was a hands down winner as the best sounding amp I ever heard. Better than my $4000 HT reciever, and better than the 2 tube amps I currently own (MC-2000 $15000 list, MC-2102 $6700 list).

Then why did you sell it? Don't tell me, it was the blue meters -- you just had to have the blue meters.:)

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You may even consider a vintage tube intergrated amp, loke the Scotts, Fischer, etc. In that price range there are alot of amps to choose from. Do some research on the various forums to get a feel for what's out there. I started with a Scott 299 that I still have in my vintage system, then move into a SET intergrated amp. After that I moved deeper into the water and picked up a SET 300B which is still around. I have demoed quite a few amps since.

Jay

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I've got a pair of tube amps right now that'll heat the whole upstairs if I close the vents.

For low level listening it's tough to beat the Super-T, and Hypex will definitely give tubes and any solid state a good run for a fraction of the price.

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would shop audiogon.com as I am sure you could get a killer integrated tube ampp for that price

I've always wanted to try this Cary SLI80 which seems to get great reviews http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1177906264.

This is the amp that we got to listen to the new klipschorn cornwalls la scala and heresy in Hope, AR in the klipsch demo room and it was very suprising a wonderful tube amplifier Cayin A88T http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1177718697

If you would like to try low watt tube amplifiers the klipschorns are perfect for that. If your curious about how many watts you need try this spl calculator http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html .

Good Luck Have Fun

They did sound very nice , and they have a remote !.............................. But don't listen to me I don't know squat about tubes, but I know what sounds good !

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"Then why did you sell it? Don't tell me, it was the blue meters -- you just had to have the blue meters.:)"


Gee, I wish I could keep all my toys, but realized I have so many intrest items that only I understand, that if the stuff had to be liquidated by others, it probally would be at a loss. So I decided to unload items that I have enjoyed, and replace with other intrest items, shrinking the pool of toys as I go.










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I have and have owned a lot of amps. I have some modfied Khorns and I just ordered the Welborne Star Chief Monoblock 45 amps. I ordered a kit, but I believe that you can get these amps for about $2K. I have their previous 45 design the DRD45. It is the best amp I heard so far.

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