Best EL34 amps

morricab

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Modwright Ambrose A30 Tube Mono Block Amplifiers

These ones tick a lot of boxes (on paper)
-not an integrated amp
-not pp
-no feedback
-32 wpc
Not wired in triode ...all things being equal I prefer the triode over pentode sound...there is still some unnatural edge in pentode sound to my ears (my Mastersound included). I had a Puresound A30, which was a very good Class A tube amp for PP. It sound considerably better in triode even though power fell to 18 watts .
 

Exlibris

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Not wired in triode ...all things being equal I prefer the triode over pentode sound...there is still some unnatural edge in pentode sound to my ears (my Mastersound included). I had a Puresound A30, which was a very good Class A tube amp for PP. It sound considerably better in triode even though power fell to 18 watts .
Agreed. I said a lot of boxes, not every box. :)
It's wired in ultralinear rather than pentode or triode. The same is true for the Unison S6.
 

morricab

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Agreed. I said a lot of boxes, not every box. :)
It's wired in ultralinear rather than pentode or triode. The same is true for the Unison S6.
The Bigger Mastersound (Dueventi) can be either pentode or triode...
 

Exlibris

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The Bigger Mastersound (Dueventi) can be either pentode or triode...
Yes, that's an excellent feature and I wish more companies offered that. I had that option in my Manley 250 Monoblocks and I always chose triode. Having said that, there were obvious benefits to the pentode mode and I often wished that I could have the best of both worlds.
Ultralinear mode, it seems to me, is a compromise that gives you a bit of both worlds -- both the good and the bad from each.
 

morricab

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And those 10W in triode won't drive Odeon 33s.
True, but they do drive my 98db Odeon La Bohemes :)...not as well as my AC Genus but not too bad either.
 

Exlibris

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I think the 32 watts that I'm getting from the Unison amp definitely help to bring my speakers to life but I know it isn't the watts alone because I've driven these speakers with even higher-wattage SS amps and they never sounded as lively and 'propulsive' as this. I imagine it's more the character of the EL34s themselves that I'm enjoying. Do any of the high-power SET tubes have the midrange qualities of the EL34? I've never liked any 845 or 211 amp that I've tried with my speakers and have never heard any of the other high-powered SET tube varieties.
 

morricab

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Is there anything that the Dueventi does (in triode) that gives it more appeal than the AC Genus?
Not having heard one I cannot say for certain but that Dueventi would have to be amazing to beat the best sounding SET I have owned. I think for the money it is quite good, Although there is competition even at that price. If the little Dueundici is indicative of the Dueventi then the Genus is simply much better in every way....as it should be from the design and price to execute that design.
 

Exlibris

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Not having heard one I cannot say for certain but that Dueventi would have to be amazing to beat the best sounding SET I have owned. I think for the money it is quite good, Although there is competition even at that price. If the little Dueundici is indicative of the Dueventi then the Genus is simply much better in every way....as it should be from the design and price to execute that design.
Thank you. For some reason I thought you had one and were running it in triode.
I'll decide on an amp when I decide on a speaker. I know that I won't be keeping the ANs. I don't know if I'll go Anima, Odeon 33, or Cube Nenuphar. If the last two, then the AC Genus will be on the short list. If the Anima, I'll hope my 45 does the trick.
 
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christoph

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Dueventi would have to be amazing to beat the best sounding SET I have owned. I think for the money it is quite good, Although there is competition even at that price. If the little Dueundici is indicative of the Dueventi then the Genus is simply much better in every way....
What would you recommend way below the Price Point of the Genus?
 

morricab

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What would you recommend way below the Price Point of the Genus?
Used SETs from KR, Wall Audio (those M50 monos I had were quite nice), the Crossfire was good too. New, all three are around 12K, which is not far from the 15K for the Genus. Used all three can be found for 5-6K or less. You won't find a used Genus anywhere...
 
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morricab

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Used NAT as well but beware older ones for reliability issues. Ayon Spark is another one that I heard which sounds good for reasonable new money. I would have said the Almarro 6C33C based amp but they seem to be out of business now. Line Magnetic of course for Chinese amps offer good sound. Not sure about the MasterSound 300B amps...my very old memory says they are too soft sounding. My JJ, which I think can still be bought new is a very good value at 6K Euro...but really seems to want an easy speaker. The Allnic T1500 could really be nice for aroun 6K but I haven't heard it.
 
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morricab

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Thank you. For some reason I thought you had one and were running it in triode.
I'll decide on an amp when I decide on a speaker. I know that I won't be keeping the ANs. I don't know if I'll go Anima, Odeon 33, or Cube Nenuphar. If the last two, then the AC Genus will be on the short list. If the Anima, I'll hope my 45 does the trick.
When will you get to hear Animas? They are like 109 db so your 45 amp would definitely work with them. After hearing the Cube a second time in Munich I am not as convinced as the reviewer world on this speaker. To me, it sounds like the usual single driver speaker with some bass. That's not bad just not as nice in the highs as I need it to be. It is not that I don't like single driver for some things as I have a pair for pleasant late night listening (as long as you don't crank them they sound pretty darn good). The Supravox Bahia speaker to me sounds just about as good and costs about 5x less money as the Cube.

That said, I will getting another pair of single driver speakers, the Supravox Alizeè, which uses a whizzerless driver (215-2000 Alnico driver) in a TQWT (same as Cube uses to get some bass) but I will be making it an active two-way with an 18 sound XT1464 horn and Beyma CP755Ti compression driver. This will be a 99db two-way system (until I add some woofers :) ). I was going to make my HDTs two-way with a small horn and Beyma CP350Ti (I will try this with the Alizeè as well to see what sounds better) but a good offer on the Supravoxs came up.

Between the Cube and Odeon, I would choose the Odeon. The Anima is another animal with a strong character. You should also consider the hoRNs Universum if you are looking at the Anima...looks great and sounds very good too.
 

bonzo75

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That Alizee project sounds interesting.
 
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morricab

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That Alizee project sounds interesting.
Yeah, I want to eventually make my own TQWT cabinet where I will add a couple more woofers in a double TQWT (like Horning does) to give more bass punch but then 215-2000 should make and awesome midbass up to around 800Hz and then hand off to a very high quality compression driver with constant directivity horn. I will then decide if a super tweeter is necessary (like a Fostex model) or not. The Alizeè will tell me though how well the midbass/horn blend is going to work and will be more than adequate in my upstairs "late night" room for the time being. It will use MiniDSP digital crossover but only digital out so I will use two DACs (Monarchy Audio M24 and just got a Metrum Mini NOS "Octave" dac) and two small amps (MasterSound Dueundici and Tbd.). This way I have control over the DA conversion and amps for each driver. My big Odeon speakers will be my benchmark (love these things) and their Beyma CP350Ti is one sweet CD.
 

Exlibris

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When will you get to hear Animas? They are like 109 db so your 45 amp would definitely work with them. After hearing the Cube a second time in Munich I am not as convinced as the reviewer world on this speaker. To me, it sounds like the usual single driver speaker with some bass. That's not bad just not as nice in the highs as I need it to be. It is not that I don't like single driver for some things as I have a pair for pleasant late night listening (as long as you don't crank them they sound pretty darn good). The Supravox Bahia speaker to me sounds just about as good and costs about 5x less money as the Cube.

That said, I will getting another pair of single driver speakers, the Supravox Alizeè, which uses a whizzerless driver (215-2000 Alnico driver) in a TQWT (same as Cube uses to get some bass) but I will be making it an active two-way with an 18 sound XT1464 horn and Beyma CP755Ti compression driver. This will be a 99db two-way system (until I add some woofers :) ). I was going to make my HDTs two-way with a small horn and Beyma CP350Ti (I will try this with the Alizeè as well to see what sounds better) but a good offer on the Supravoxs came up.

Between the Cube and Odeon, I would choose the Odeon. The Anima is another animal with a strong character. You should also consider the hoRNs Universum if you are looking at the Anima...looks great and sounds very good too.
I don't have a set date to hear the Animas as I would have to make travel arrangements to do so. It will happen in time -- im not in a huge rush. My new Thomas Mayer linestage and phono will be shipped next week so I'll enjoy that change for a bit.
The Cubes are a distant third down the list -- I like the Odeon 28s better but they do some incredible things with space and detail in space that I find addictive. I keep thinking 'maybe with the right amp...'. This is why they are still on the list.
The Universum won't fit in my space so they aren't a possibility.
On paper, the 45 should work on the Anima and yet some folks enjoy them with much more power and even SS. I find this curious.
 

morricab

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I don't have a set date to hear the Animas as I would have to make travel arrangements to do so. It will happen in time -- im not in a huge rush. My new Thomas Mayer linestage and phono will be shipped next week so I'll enjoy that change for a bit.
The Cubes are a distant third down the list -- I like the Odeon 28s better but they do some incredible things with space and detail in space that I find addictive. I keep thinking 'maybe with the right amp...'. This is why they are still on the list.
The Universum won't fit in my space so they aren't a possibility.
On paper, the 45 should work on the Anima and yet some folks enjoy them with much more power and even SS. I find this curious.
I heard the Animas with Modwright SS and didn't find that to be so good. They were much better with SETs. The 28s or 33s will work well but with more than 45 power.
 

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