Erik Mandaville Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 ooops. That was Kiko. Sorry little fella! The ASUSA: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 The ST-70: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Runner up as probably the single best single-ended amp I've heard, if not one of the very best amps: SE OTL from Transcendent Sound. If you haven't heard one of these, you should. The lack of an output transformer in this case works very well; something neither my Moth nor the outstanding Welborne-Labs and ASUSA and ST-70 could do without. A pair of the SE OTLs paralleled for four watt monoblocks is even better. Unfortunately all I have is an inside shot of one of the four or five I've built for other people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 And for the one based on sonic attributes alone, the least expensive of all of them -- one of the two, three channel digital Teacs you see on top of our Lowthers next to the TV: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 In other words, good question. A tough choice. It would be the Moth. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Someone else owns these now, but I preferred them to the Moondogs by a pretty good margin. Based on JFL's parallel-fed Horus, with modifications. Going from the stock Moondogs to these, for me, was really like opening a window on to the sound. I remember that distinctly with the first piece we listened to with the Klipschorns: a wind concerto by Telemann. Para-feed gets pretty close to OTL, too, IMO. amazingly good single-ended amps. These: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 And I agree on the 45 tube, too. Here's a scratch-built one by the same person who did the Dyna 70 interpretation above. He also just finished a stereo 2a3 built into a Dyna 70 chassis. This is all powder coated stuff and nearly bullet proof. No spray paint. Yellow stereo 45: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 And the very recently done 2A3: Yeah, I like single-ended amps too. Some people enjoy both PP and single-ended, and I include myself among them. 'Night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 You may find the sound of the Dynas hard to beat. With SET, you may miss the overwhelming power of about 35 wts into each of two K-Horns. I don't know. Can you borrow some from a dealer? None of the newer amps I've had sounded better than my pair of Dyna MK IV 40 wt tube amps (each used for one stereo channel), c 1964. McIntosh tube amps a dealer loaned me in the '70s sounded about the same. Sometimes I wish I had either the Dynas or the Macs back. Some of the solid state power amps I've had are good, but don't have that luscious sound people attribute to tubes. I haven't heard the new, elegant, low power tube amps, but I'm addicted to big peaks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markgod Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 And the very recently done 2A3: Yeah, I like single-ended amps too. Some people enjoy both PP and single-ended, and I include myself among them. 'Night! I decided to get the best of both, bought the push pull 2A3 amps ,Sun Audio from Joe and I love them . I had the bottle head Paramount 2A3 in the past and always loved the clarity of the highs and mid range , but had to admit on quite a few recordings I would have liked a little more "punch" . Now with the 2A3 push pull it gives me that extra "punch" with the clarity . I think I will be content for along time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 You don't have to settle for low power SET. http://www.mcalisteraudio.com/ I'm running the McAlister PP-150 amp and just ordered the new design Preamp to match it. Without any doubt it's the best amp I've heard. He also has SET amps over 22 watts per. More than enough power. The price is amazing low. He will build to your hearts content. I've talked to Peter McAlister personally over a dozen times and he's just "one of the guys". More into the sound part of the business than he is into the money end. Worth checking into guys. This isn't just the same old tired tube designs done over and over. He's got some serious gear at prices that will make you think he has lost his mind. You got to hear them to really appreciate the special work he is doing. He has one of the finest phono stages built into his preamps you're gonna find at any price. I've got the gear. I know. Upgrade or not? This is an upgrade for sure. Money well spent. Not just more "well advertised audio". Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musiclover Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 These are definitely some good looking amps and preamps and I will consider. Thanks. David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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