Antique Sound Labs


A recent post on Chinese tube amps jogged my memory of this brand.  I'm a SS guy, so all I know about them is that they created a minor sensation 20+? years ago with an 8 watt tube monoblock amp for $99.  They seemed pretty prolific, with an array of amps using a variety of tubes.

Did they survive their brush with tube world fame (hah!) and the resulting demand for product?  Are they still around in a meaningful way?  Any opinions out there on their gear and place in the market?

petaluman

Showing 1 response by jheppe815

My very good friend has a pair of these Wave 8 Antique Sound Labs mono amps. I borrowed them for 10+ years or so to use in my office. I used these with an Adcom 555 Mk II preamp with a Sumo Delilah crossover into a pair of Kef C10 cabinets (with a small sub). A modest system that I used to playback signals from various PC’s and a ProJect turntable in a very small office environment.

The build quality was decent considering the price point.  Each amp chassis was quite compact with a power switch on the front of the amp. 1 RCA input with the power socket on the rear. More power than you’d expect. While warm sounding and reasonably neutral, I didn’t think they were overly accurate or revealing, though the mid-fi stuff I was using them with wasn’t exactly top shelf components either.

It was fun to have them around, I was thankful to be allowed to use them and I believe my good friend still has them (sitting on a shelf unused). I would not seek out my own pair based on my listening experience.

Hope this is helpful.