Valve amplifier choice

Look into the Cayin line, great sound, great value.

Icon Audio has some reviews and support in the UK magazines. The reviews are pretty good and they seem to have an amp for various needs.

I am not sure about what is available in Australia, that may be a big deciding factor. But maybe some of the tube gear from Japan or a reputable Chinese manufacturer? A lot of the Japanese gear that I am aware of seems to be fairly low powered, SET amps (Shindo & Yamamoto for example). For Chinese made gear, check out Line Magnetic (LM) and Primaluna.

Thanks Guys

The Icon Audio model i auditioned was the
"Stereo 40 MK III 6AS7"

Specifications and Features
• Comprehensive manual supplied
• Full instructions for valve change included and bias meter
• All hand wired point to point
• No printed circuit or tag board to ‘colour’ sound
• Blue ALPS volume pot (Japan)
• Class A, all Triode front end
• Output circuit all pure Triode
• 4x 6SA7 precisely matched for best performance
• 1x 6SL7 first stage valve, 2x 6SN7 phase inverter
• 274B valve rectifier for smooth sound
• No global feedback used (integrated operation)
• Standby switch to save valve life and power
• 35 Watts per channel, 33+33W both channels driven
• Signal to noise level -95dB
• Freq response (L) 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 0dB 15W
• Freq response (H) 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 1dB 15W
• Min bass frequency for full power 15Hz
• THD 0.56% (L) 1.3% (H) both @ 15 W
• Suitable for 3 to 16ohm speakers (8 & 4 Ω taps)
• Damping Factor 5.00
• Supplied with attractive safety guard.
• Audiophile quality metal film resistors (Taiwan)
• Rubicon/Nichichron power caps.
• Purple LED mains indicator
• Choke regulated power supply
• Audiophile SCR/Solen Polypropylene audio caps.
• Optional Jensen Copper foil paper in oil upgrade
• Silver PTFE audio cable
• 99.9999% pure transformer copper
• High grade long grain transformer iron (Japan)
• Custom hand wound Tertiary output transformers
• Ceramic valve holders for minimum noise/leakage
• Gold plated Input & speaker terminals
• Four line inputs – CD, Tape, Tuner, Aux
• Tape monitor circuit with ‘Record Out’
• 280mv input sensitivity (H) Integrated
• 680mv input sensitivity (l) power amplifier
• 230/240volts 180w Min, 250watts max signal.
• 2A AS rear fuse
• CE, ROHSS and WEEE where applicable.
• 390mmW, 390D, 230H, 20kg

It was not expensive , i think comeing in at around $2500
Australian which i thought was reasonable for a quality valve amp.

I kind of like Macintosh for you. Living in a rural Tasmania, I’m going to suggest that equipment maintenance and reliability with a company that has a solid track record should be a priority in your decision.

Hi Phaelon

Yes the Macintosh is very tempting as the backup seems second
to none and the reputation gives real confidence , at this stage i have a few pieces collected over the years in the hobby , at this time now i want just one nice system , i have moved on from experimenting and have found i have 3 of each component , The problem with living in Tasmania is that all the distributors are located in Melbourne or Sydney , any suggestions on Mac models up to say $7000 Australian. I also have a Wadia 302 cdp in storage but find the Rega Dac wonderful despite its budget price its "outstanding". I use Transparent Audio Reference speaker cable and Kimber Ks 1011 interconnect from dac to amp , i have come to realise a smoother sound i enjoy rather than high detail in your face which i find in most systems i have heard at retailers. I like Dire Straits , Neil Young , Gordon Lightfoot , Eric Clapton , not much into hard rock .

Check out Melody's offerings locally if possible. My understanding is they're based in Australia but assembled in China. Great gear at fair prices. I love their stuff.

Thanks for the advise so far , i think i will investigate the McIntosh models and see what they will set me back , i want to get an amp to keep for a long time as i have had enough of chopping and changing , the reason i heard the Icon Audio amp
was that one of only two Hifi retailers in the state had one in store , it was hooked up to a Cambridge Audio cd player and Dynaudio small floor standing speakers , Icon appear to be very nicely made and i believe being a smaller company they can save the consumer a little due to small advertising budgets. Cheers.