Which one to choose between two 80K$ tube amps?


There are two interesting 80K$ tube amps on sale at Audiogon.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9jhj0-david-berning-co-211-845-otl-tube

The first one is David Berning OTL design with output of 60 Watts.

it looks beautiful. But I had never used OTL amp yet.

I am curious how it sounds with high efficiency speaker.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa27ii-jadis-ja800-flagship-tube-amplifier-six-chassis-best-ever-made-nos-new-old-stock-tube

The second one is Jadis JA800 with 6 pieces and 400watts.

I had used JA500  (only 4 pieces with 350 Watts) from 2000 to 2002 to drive B&W Notilus 801 with utmost authority and unbelievable slam.

It was kind of lifetime experience to own this beautiful and overbearing monster.

But I could not use it during summer time in modest size room.

Thus I let it go and got Silbatone 300B SET amp to drive efficient full range speaker.

350 Watt to 8 Watt

If you have money or hit the Jackpot, which one will you go for?




shkong78
There seem to be a lot of line magnetic units on the used market these days and rumors of counterfeiting right on the vendor’s website so be careful there.
It also has better control of bass than 100 Watts Rogue Cronus Magnum II fitted with KT120 tubes.

I also own a LM805ia and agree that it’s bass control is really impressive. And this is even on the minimal NFB (negative feeback) setting. As mentioned, with a bit of tube rolling it is really hard to find anything wrong with the sound. Just glorious.
@nquery



I agree with you that LM 805 or 508 sounds glorious after tube rollinng.

It is kind of hidden gem.

But the choice of any audio components will depend on synergy with amp and personal taste.

Thus it is best to audition it at your home before decision of purchase.

Sorry to be so late to this thread, but I have owned several SET amps (and love them), and was smitten by the Robert Harley review of the Berning 211/845 monoblocks that I bought a pair.  Dang if they didn't just smoke my previous favorite amp (SET), not to mention the 4 other amplifiers in house.  I play them through a pair of Avantgarde Duo XD speakers, and the Berning monos have all the things I've come to love about SETs:  Crazy good dynamics, the timbre that says the artists are in the room, just right warmth, majesty when needed (Mahler) and intimacy when needed (piano trios).  They simply sound live.  Well, the Berning was the first amp to give me that plus have more power and an effortless-ness missed by the SETs in big passages, and WAY better than any solid state amp I've used, despite their power.  Anyway, there is a used pair out there for sale, FYI.

The sound of amplifiers is FAR more than the topology employed, the tubes running in the amp, the parts chosen, etc.  The designer voices their gear for a particular sound, and then there is the matter of how the gear plays with the rest of the system.  I have not heard this very upscale Berning amp, but I've heard many other amps of theirs.  I appreciate what they do very well--clarity, great dynamics, vivid sound, but for my personal taste, his gear sounds a bit too lean.  It is certainly NOT in the same camp as original Western Electric if that is what you are trying to achieve. 

Some of the highly sought after Western Electric amps, such as their 300B SET amp, their pushpull 300B amp have crossed the $100k boundary for a pair.  Their 252 amp has probably crossed $300k for a pair (these sound fantastic).  But, one can still find their 350B amps, like the model 124, or their 349 tube amp (model 133) for less than $100k.  Clones of the 124 amp using genuine Western Electric parts can achieve truly great sound.

A very interesting practice that is more common in Japan is using booster amps between the linestage and the power amp.  These booster amps typically have a 600 ohm output transformer.  The gain of the downstream amp has to be modified to work well with the booster, but, when this is done correctly, the sound is amazing--very vivid, the soundstage becomes very big, particularly front to back (the sound is enveloping), and dynamics is much improved.  When placed in the right system and done correctly, a booster amp does more than anything else I know of to improve the sound.  In particular, they seem to give a lot of kick to otherwise somewhat polite 300B amps.  I have heard BIG improvements with boosters as low priced as $6,000, but the best boosters I've heard were clones of Western Electric 133 amps that utilize genuine Western Electric 618 input transformers and 171C output transformers (pricey combination).  Use of booster amps was also a common practice of Western Electric and some of their best amplifiers had booster stages built into the amp itself (like the model 59 that runs the 252 tube).