which el 84 amp or integrated

I've heard the Stingray on several occasions and it always sounds great. Plus you have the option of 20watts triode/40watts UL.

Well I currently own 3 EL84 amps as follows:

Jolida JD102B - easily the most powerful of the group with manual bias it does an honest 18watts per channel across the audio band. Excellent sound with slightly soft bass but needs the optional JD50 passive preamp for remote control. Currently drives a pair of Sequerra MET7 version I speakers and a sherwood(yes sherwood hey it was free) subwoofer in bedroom system. This amp is one of the best values in audio today at it's $500>$600 price tag.

Cayin MT12a - has built-in remote but only 2 inputs. I use it with a Niles AXP-1 input selector box for additional inputs and about 10 watts per channel cathode bias (no manual adjustment). Beautifully made but somewhat cumbersome to use with again excellent audio but it is obviously less powerful than the Jolida. It currently Drives a pair of Epos ELS3's to good effect with an Atlantic Technology subwoofer.

Luxman SQ-N100 - this is the Rolls Royce of EL84 amps in my opinion. Beautiful construction,numerous inputs, Built-in Phono preamp, tone controls (defeatable), A magnificent headphone output jack and that luxurious feel that using a really well made piece of audio gives you. Easily the most expensive of the group by a factor of 4 times it is the best sounding as it has excellent deep bass even though it to is cathode biased and only rated a 10 watts per channel. This a great amp and I have not even rolled any tubes yet.

So to sum all of the above up the Jolida is a bargain and is closer to the Luxman than it has any right to be considering the price differential. But the Luxman is the best overall as it should be at the price. One amp I have not had the opportunity to hear is the Leben CS300 series which is priced about the same as the Luxman. I have found after auditioning the Almaro that single ended EL84 amps do not have the purity of sound advantage over push-pull designs that they seem to with designs using other output tubes. Finally I use the Russian 6P14P-EP (Sovetek EL84M)output tubes pretty much exclusively with Mullard front end tubes in the Jolida and Cayin. The Sovtek's take a while to burn in 2>3weeks of heavy use but are better than anything other than original Mullards and there is not a clear cut difference even there. The EI's that also were excellent sounding are impossible to find now and they lack the reliability of the Soveteks. It really is difficult to find a bad sounding EL84 I have used in addition to the above JJ's,Electro Harmonix, Mullard Re-Issues and various Chinese(now those were not good). Sorry for the long winded response but the EL84 is tube that offers a lot at reasonable cost to the user.

Regards, Jerry

Tom-hankins,do you have a stingray?this is the one i am looking hard at and will probably buy but there are so many for sale on here all the time it makes me think that people do not like them.I have read as many articals as possible on this integrated,it has the power and the right tube compliment and it is built right here in the US .I did read somewhere that it has a narrow sound band(for lack of a better audiofile name)or field ,Is this true?maybe someone who owns one can chime in before i take the plunge.I have no way to hear one before I buy.The decware looks great but then i am down to 5 or 6 watts which is why i sold the glow,not enough power but very close.This was when I first heard an el84 amp ,what a great sound,i found myself listening to music that I would never bother to,what a suprise,I felt like i have been listening to the wrong amps all my life,I am 53 years young.......many thanks to all who have taken the time to help me out..........

Jerry....thakyou ,that pretty much covers all I need to know and it sounds like you have been down this road for awhile,many thanks,I'm done and you have answered what I needed to know,I looked at the price tag on the luxman SQ-N100,ouch! but you get what you pay for,that said I will go with the jolida 102b at the price they sell for new, I will give Walter a call at underwood hifi and order one today.......again thanyou,I do not see where I could go wrong with this unit for the price...............Pat

I really like my current model Jolida 102b with upgraded tubes and power cord driving Totem Model 1 Signatures in a bedroom system at relatively low volume levels. This system sounds particularly fine when driven by a competent tuner.