Valvet E1R Mono Amps


Just picked up a pair of these this morning from jimndre. Great transaction and he is a true gentlemen! Very easy to work with. It took a while to get everything set up but I've been listening to them now for about 2 hours. They haven't been played in a while so I suspect it will take a couple days before they fully open up. First impressions frankly have me floored. They are so smooth & uncolored, or in reviewer speak... organic. When I say smooth I'm not saying the top end is rolled off either, its not. So far they sound "right". For those not familiar with this product, these are single ended 10 watt solid state mono amps. They are also little space heaters :-), although I doubt they run much hotter than the tube amps I've run in the system prior to this. I'm not going to compare the sound of the prior tube amps to these yet, but will after I get more familiar with them. BTW they are driving Lowther speakers. The pre & phono amps are tube powered.   
boxer12
Skiroe,
The amps are developing nicely. Still improving. My biggest concern for them was stage width & depth which was less than the tube amps I've had in the system before these. That concern is now out, these amps go wall to wall with a nice detailed stage. One of the things I like about Lowthers are there ability to reproduce lifelike vocals. These amps are certainly helping them in that area as well. Very 3d with nuance detailing. Beautiful. I did buy them used for $900. They are worth every dime of that for sure. I believe they sold new for around $2800 with the WBT rca's. My preamp is a Melos 222 & the phono amp is a Sonic Frontiers SFP-1 signature. The amps are mating well with them & the Lowthers. These are 10 watts single ended class A mono blocks. I was in the market for either this brand or First Watt. These came up first in my price range. Not sure how they compare with First Watt but am very pleased with their performance so far.  
Glad they're working for you. $900 seems like quite a bargain. Years ago I had a pair of Blue Circle BC-2s which are also class A single ended solid-state. They sounded glorious, very organic, wonderful on vocals. Not a lot of punch, though. They could raise the temperature in my room 15° easy, you wouldn't dare touch them.
Sounds like you got a good deal on these esp being mono's makes it that much better.    The prices on their amps have continued to rise it would appear and not sure they carry these anymore ..   re/your phono stage---  SF built quality  equipment.   Im on my 2nd  Line 1 preamp and sent it in to Parts Connection  for an upgrade awhile back..  Nothing too expensive..  The upgrade to the volume control chips .    At one point years ago I was reading everything I could find on Melos and there was someone that was part of the company I think that was doing service and/or upgrade on them to further enhance their sound reproducing.    I have gotten a bit too dependent on remote controlled pre's these days so probably won't venture into that realm but can appreciate the simplicity of a remote free setup. 
Valvet replaced this model (mono blocks) with a one piece stereo amp. I am really digging these amps. I second SF's build quility. The Phono amp has to be one of the most reliable pieces of high end gear I've had to date. I've owned it for years & it operates flawlessly. Melos is also very good sounding equipment. There is absolutely zero support for that gear anymore however. To my knowledge the schematics never made it out of the failed factory either. Bummer.