Tube Integrated Amp with PX25's?

[bhazen]

Is there such a beast, for not too much money?

I've heard that PX25's are the last word in golden warmth, ease of listening & imaging; what other tubes (and tube-based integrateds) might provide a similar listening quality?

[TONEPUB]

they are really nice, but I think they only put out about a watt. (not sure though) The 2A3 amps are cool too, put out about 3 watts a channel. 2A3's are really warm too...

Even the 300B amps are very warm and they put out about 9 watts per channel.

What kind of speakers do you have? That's a big deciding factor

[bhazen]

What kind of speakers do you have? That's a big deciding factor

J.M. Reynaud Twin Signatures - not super-efficient, maybe 90 dB?

[TONEPUB]

Well, forget about the low powered amps, unless you listen very quietly, you just won't have the dynamic range to hear what a 300 B amp can do, and the lower powered amps wont even work above a whisper.

If you want a low powered tube amp, start thinking about speakers with 95-102 db efficiency. The 2nd Rethm is great, the Klipschorn might be something you dig, the Zu Druids are quite good.

You need a high efficiency speaker if you want that magic! Otherwise get a nice EL-34 amplifier with NOS tubes, that's still pretty darn warm and romantic. An older Conrad johnson MV-50 can be had for about 600 bucks....

[vinyl anachronist]

With my 90 dB sensitive Spendor SP100s, I was able to get nice results with a 300B amplifier that had about 10 wpc. You're not going to rattle the windows and piss off your neighbors with that kind of combo, but you will have a nice, pleasing sound, especially if you prefer more intimate types of music.

I'd look, however, for a nice EL34 amp first. I think the Manley Stingray would be great, and they pop up on e-Bay all the time and go for between $1200 and $1500. I also hear nothing but good things about the Primalunas, too.

[Steve G]

the Stingray is beautiful

someday I will buy one

although the last thing I really NEED is another tube amp...

[TONEPUB]

the manley mahis are cool too. They use EL-84's but still groovy!

[vinyl anachronist]

the manley mahis are cool too. They use EL-84's but still groovy!

I almost bought the Mahi Mahi/Shrimp combo about a year ago. I was set on the Stingray, then heard these guys, and they were a little bit more of everything. I wound up going with something completely different, however...

[morinix]

Is there such a beast, for not too much money?

I've heard that PX25's are the last word in golden warmth, ease of listening & imaging; what other tubes (and tube-based integrateds) might provide a similar listening quality?No single type of tube is the last word for anything. They all have +'s and -'s.

This tube was supposedly resurrected by KR. But is it the same tube if the design max for plate HT+ calls for 80v less than the original British made units?

This is a tube "discovered" by some one who was willing to post the results on the WWW. There are many other obscure tubes out there that have unrealized merits.

An example is the 7af7. This tube will smoke 99% of the 6sn7's out there.

Regards
Robert

[vinyl anachronist]

Personally, I think that the 45 is the perfect tube... :love: :love: :love:

[Rolf Erickson]

As long as we are discussing EL34's here....


I am running monoblock Quicksilver Mini-Mites with push-pull EL34's doing 25 watts each amp. Decent power for most listening sessions. A pair, new, is only $998.00 .. It's a bargan for the sound quality, and pleasure in listening for the dollar. .. I am using the pair without a preamp for now, running a CD player with variable output levels directly into the power amps.. totally clean and simple, great sound.

If you want control of inputs and levels, obtain or build a passive line level unit... The Quicksilvers have sufficient gain or, "leftover volume" to work this way.. Rolf.

[Brian Clark]

Personally, I think that the 45 is the perfect tube... :love: :love: :love:

It is almostperfect but I now use 801As :)

Brian

[vinyl anachronist]

It is almostperfect but I now use 801As :)

Brian

And then again, there's always 205Ds!

[TONEPUB]

HA! You all want to get crazy, listen to Nelson Pass' new F3 amplifier!
It is 11 watts per channel, solid state, but Single ended class A with power
J-fets!

It is an amazing little amp. Doesn't sound particularly solid state or tubey.
Just very clean and grain free. AND super quiet. Those of you with 100 db+ speakers will be really impressed.

Keep in mind, Im a guy that LOVES tubes, but this is an interesting little box, if you can get a chance to listen, you might enjoy....

[jt1stcav]

If you're interested in a high quality EL34-based integrated tube amp that's about $620 shipped, check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/J-SOUND-LAB-EL34-Push-Pull-Tube-Valve-Stereo-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ200023061766QQihZ010Q QcategoryZ39783QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem

[jt1stcav]

With my 90 dB sensitive Spendor SP100s, I was able to get nice results with a 300B amplifier that had about 10 wpc. You're not going to rattle the windows and piss off your neighbors with that kind of combo, but you will have a nice, pleasing sound, especially if you prefer more intimate types of music.

I'd look, however, for a nice EL34 amp first. I think the Manley Stingray would be great, and they pop up on e-Bay all the time and go for between $1200 and $1500. I also hear nothing but good things about the Primalunas, too.

I'm driving my 91dB sensitive Triangle Zephyr 2-way towers with my 8 watt 300B SET power amp (with 2 Dayton active subs; 25Hz @ 100 watts each), and I'm very impressed with the results of this combo at over 90dB with no clipping. I'm eventually going to try a pair of 97dB rated Klipsch RB-75 monitors with my amp, but I'm not convinced yet whether they'll outshine the detail and clarity of my Zephyrs (and I'm an old Klipsch fan with a pair of Cornwalls my bro's now using). And my system does rattle the occasional window pane or two!;)

[TONEPUB]

but you might really like the dynamic range you get with a 97 db speaker. I used to use my Wavac with a pair of 90db speakers and while it was really nice, going to a pair of 101db speakers opened up a whole new world.

The Vinyl Anachronist has a pair of the Zu Druids, and those really are kick *** with a 9 watt amplifier. It's a whole different ballpark. You have to hear it to believe it!! You might really dig the Klipsch for that reason alone.

[Metralla]

J.M. Reynaud Twin Signatures - not super-efficient, maybe 90 dB?
Hey, I've got the older Twin II Mark 3s in the bedroom system. I read a few posts that reckon the Sigs are really very nice. How are you liking them?

[bhazen]

Metralla,

I like 'em a lot - they seem a good fit with my Naim stuff; not unlike Spendor or maybe Harbeth-type voicing. A forgiving speaker, not super-detailed, but musically alive and accomodating; easily my fave sub-$1,000 speakers, and possibly a "final" purchase. I've heard they're even more fabbo with tubes, hence my tentative enquiries about same. They've bested my Naim Intro 1 floorstanders, and even my old Epos M12.2's (which are fantastic as well).

Perhaps because of the unfortunate trends in CD mastering (bright, harsh, etc., SH Forum members may be familiar with this subject;)) I'm tending towards speakers that are a bit Yin in voicing as opposed to Yang. Triangle speakers (like jt1stcav's), for example (which are wonderful): with Naim electronics you (might) be driven from the house with bleeding ears! But driven by tube warmth, Triangles are fantastic.

[Steve Hoffman]

I wish I had currently had a speaker in the house that I could use with my WAVAC 300B amp. I must fix that situation quickly.

[Metralla]

Well I have speakers in my house that would sound FABULOUS with that WAVAC. I mean, if it's just sitting there doing nothing and you think it should get to work, let me know. ;)

[TONEPUB]

grasshopper, you need zu druids!!

[TONEPUB]

single driver speaker + wavac = magic!

[dnewma04]

grasshopper, you need zu druids!!

Sorry to bring up an old post, but in doing a search for the 7AF7, I found this thread. Looking forward to using the 7AF7 or 7N7 in a project, but will have to disagree vehemently with any advice to get someone to buy Zu Druids. More than any other speaker I have ever encountered, you MUST listen to some before giving a second of thought to spending money on them. They are the single most polarizing speaker I have ever encountered. I kept going back to listen thinking that I must be missing something, but sadly I wasn't. Peaky, shrill, phasey sounding speakers without any semblance of deep bass and an over-abundance of midbass. They Zu guys turned off their subwoofer which helped the boom factor some degree. That said, about 15-20% of the people who listened genuinely seemed to enjoy them and 5% seemed to think they were one of the best at the show.

[PeaceableKingdom]

I use a 2 1/2 watt Roger Modjeski designed Music Reference 6EM7 tube amp. I had him do some custom work to it including a passive volume control built into the Walnut chassis.

I use it to drive a two-way speaker design from the early '90's that has an efficiency rating of 89 db..

In a room that is approximatley 22' x 23' with a mildly live acoustic, this amp plays plenty loud and sounds great!