2. amps-preamps
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Ok....Audiogoners: need some tube amp ideas

Any suggestion/comment is appreciated. Just off the top of my head, below is a list of initial parameters.

- budget: $4k ish (somewhat flexible)
- tubes/valves amp(s)
- preowned or new
- mono or stereo configuration
- min wattage: 70 and higher (this rating would afford me more speaker options down the road e.g. 4/8 ohm and >88db efficiency)
- brand(s): leaning toward more esoteric manufacturers or models (e.g. Dodd 120, VAC PHI, Audio Valves); would prefer staying away from manufactueres that do magazine advertisement.

Current thought: I might push the budget a bit to consider a pair of preowned Lamm ML1.

Thanks much. (currently listening to Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 by NY Philharmonic/Berstein)

Ken
kyyuan

Showing 2 responses by sbank

sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Right at the low end of your power range is the Berning ZH270. One is for listed sale ~$4k(I don't know the seller). A very high performing quasi-OTL design that runs cool, weighs only 10 lbs. and has output tube life of ~10 years! Worth reading about if you aren't familiar with it. This amp is being discontinued later this year, to be replaced in about 2 years with a model that will have 100w/ch, but sell in the $10k neighborhood.
Most of the other better tube amps IMHO aren't high enough power for you, or are over budget.
If you want push/pull, a used Air Tight ATM2 would be good. OF the ones you mention, the VACs are nice, too.
At $5k/pr, their are Wolcott P220s. Great w/Electrostatics.
Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
The Ait Tight and Atma-Sphere are in a completely different league than the Music Reference IMHO. Never heard of Dodd. Both these companies have long-standing high quality reputations. Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere is almost legendary in this regard.
If you do go OTL, you will need to have an appropriate speaker in mind. They don't mate well with everything. But when they do, they are amazing.
I would discount R_f_sales disparaging remark to "check out a real OTL design", which is code for "the Berning isn't a real OTL design". This topic has been discussed at great lengths elsewhere in the archives. The point is that they are both great amps, and if you get a chance to hear the Bernings you will likely hear things that few amps can accomplish. The similarity quality in sound of the Bernings, Atma-Spheres, Joule Electras and other OTLs is something that is rare overall, and difficult to do justice in words. Cheers,
Spencer
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