Best Tube Amplifiers under $10k?

[NewAudio]

what speakers do you have? was curious to impedance.

you really are looking at PSET at 40 watts, but the old Bel Canto i40 is supposed to be very good. I recommend Melody 845 amps in your price range- but they MUST be retubed.

KR Audio's Kronzilla would also work- I believe there is one used on the 'gon inside your budget. KR doesn't sound like a traditional SET, so depends on what you want. KR's biggest issue are tubes (only source for them)

The Funk speakers are 4 ohms nominal. I expect needed with the tube amp is a 4 ohm tap?! Any pros or cons to consider?

thanks very much, Brian

 

[KeithR]

The Funk speakers are 4 ohms nominal. I expect needed with the tube amp is a 4 ohm tap?! Any pros or cons to consider?

thanks very much, Brian

4 ohms is a much different animal usually with SET as distortion will be higher (and therefore, I would want higher power SET). you should talk to the speaker company to confirm any selection- they should know what types of amps work well.

fwiw, I have 100db Zu Definitions with active woofers and feel that 25 watts is needed. I've run 10 watt FirstWatts and they run out of steam around 90dbs- which means dynamics are compressed in my room. I've always wanted to try the Lamms, but worried about 18 watts. The ML1.1s are probably the best value as I've seen them for 7-8k/pair- although they aren't a highly sought after amplifier like the SETs and hybrids

 

[NewAudio]

Welcome to WBF.

With 96 db speakers, these should be on your list:

http://www.decware.com/newsite/MYSTERY.html

http://www.decware.com/newsite/TORII.htm

Jap,

Thanks very much. The Zen tube amps look very good - the new 60 wpc Zen Torii monoblocks especially are interesting. I see there is a line up to but their amps in fact, 12 weeks waiting right now...

 

[flez007]

Thanks very much. I looked at deHavilland web site, also suggested by JackD, and found the latest deHavilland Aries GM70. Now here is one review,
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/dehavilland_gm70.htm where reviewed compared to ML1.1 and said ML1.1 was better, though costing 3 times as much. But used ML1.1 versus new deHavilland looks like used ML1.1 might get the nod... Also the deHavilland Audio KE-50A of course, with KT88s closer to my Chinese Yaqin MC-100 B amp - would be interesting to see how a blind test between the Yaqin and other 30 wpc ish amps fare...

Brian

I had the Aries, and it is a fine, fleshed-out and nuanced piece.

 

[NewAudio]

Folks,

I appreciated all your input. I had an opportunity to purchase a used Lamm ML1.1 set of monoblocks at a good price ($8k) and so went with that choice. I will post some self-review notes and such when I get the bits put together. As I mentioned, most input is direct now however I am considering a turntable and also a CD player, possibly Audio Aero Prestige. If I start down that road I expect complementing the Lamm amps with the Lamm pre-amp is logical.

p.s. If I didn't get my bid on the Lamm I was strongly considering the Zen Torii monoblocks (60 wpc) - great reviews, and also with a 12 week waiting time they must be good (or is this part of the sales strategy? Like line ups outside night clubs!). Pricing was unclear to me though - it says "use one per channel " (duh?) and price is $5500. I guess that really means $11,000 for stereo...

Brian

 

[Atmasphere]

If you have speakers that are 96 db, you are not going to be using a lot of power most of the time. The cleaner the amp though, the more power you will actually use as cleaner amps have less in the way of loudness cues' - distortions that make them seem louder than they actually are.

A nice thing to look for is a distortion character that linearly decreases to zero as power is decreased. This is why you might want to use an SET (or one of our OTLs- they do that too).

 

[NewAudio]

Thanks very much. I have actually modified my thinking - I am going to keep with bookshelf speakers in my living room and look at doing something bigger in media room upstairs, which is empty now! So the Lamm's are 90 wpc and so a range of speakers can be powered. The living room will have a high-end subwoofer that will be well integrated, so bookshelf (though top "bookshelf" speakers will perform really badly on a bookshelf I know!) and the sub should work fine. Possibly the Lamms will go upstairs and I use something else (the other tube amp, 30 wpc) in the living room. Or buy more amps which will likely happen. A slippery slope it is.

 

[Gregadd]

My vote is for the Moscode. Take the free trial and never look back.

 

[NewAudio]

My vote is for the Moscode. Take the free trial and never look back.

Greg - do you own a Moscode? I am curious on performance, musicality, you name it on the new Moscode or other Hybrids versus pure tube amps. The 200 wpc is a big plus - also curious on performance of the hybrids vrs something like a Krell amp.

thanks, Brian

 

[Odysseus]

Check out Bob Carver's new tube amps, now for less than $9,000 and with more power and longer warranty!

Http://BobCarverCorp.com

 

[Brucemck2]

While they don't get a lot of play on this forum, the Balanced Audio Technology tube amps, particularly when wired for monoblock configuration, are very nice.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

If there isn't such a thread already there should be one about products of distinction that do not get recognized by audiophiles despite superlative performance and/or reviews. I would name one pair of amp which are under 10 K and would challenge or surpass the over 100K amps with their refinement power and overall perofomance. I have had the opportunity to listen to these quite often and they're as good as it gets.If I were ever going back to tube I would get them :

ASL Hurricane DT MKIII
200 w/Ch monoblocks about $7000