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In Reply to: RE: Sony TA-A1ES Class A Integrated vs Rogue Cronus Magnum KT120 Integrated - pics posted by Disbeliever on July 27, 2014 at 02:59:18
One person's accurate is another persons compromised sound. Although I've heard outstanding performance from both SS and tubes, I have found that the gear that seems to mostly get closer to the illusion of a musical event has been with tubes.
In fact, some of the best sound from electronics has been with custom DIY tube amps. This preamp/amp combination sounds (subjectively) quite a bit better than the vast majority of commercial amps. The parts costs alone is substantial, but not compared with today's exorbitant high end prices.
The preamp is a Thomas Meyer design, with lots of choke filtering and output coupling transformers. The power amps are 1625 tubes in pentode with 110 watts. The 1625 tube is rugged as hell, sounds like a 6L6 on steroids, and is a better buy than today's Russian/Chinese offerings.
"What this country needs is a good 5 watt amplifier!" (Paul Klipsch)
Follow Ups:
Very nice! I thought those 1625 were 807 tubes at first, but I guess they're almost the same, 7-pin vs 5-pin and 12v vs 6v filament. I ran 807 tubes as a kid in my ham radio CW transmitter.
Who made those power amps?
You are correct, Abe. The 1625 is a 12 volt 807 with a 7 pin socket. A good friend of mine who is local made these for me. I have restored old tube amps in the past, but he does great work, it's worth it to pay him to do the work. He has made a LOT of gear over the years for folks across the country. I got most of the parts myself, and sent them to him to build the amps. All the iron was made by Heyboer, who makes excellent chokes and transformers.
Thomas Meyers design for the preamp is outstanding. Due to cost, went with Heyboer iron and for ease of construction, went with a Zhozmo steeped attenuator with upgraded REX resistors. It has 6db of gain, which is fine for a line level based system. It is DEAD quiet, as the music comes from a very black background.
For the power amps, went with 12SN7 input tubes, and employed a MOS-FET to regulate the input tube. It uses fixed bias, with separate screen power supplies from the power transformer. All PRP 1 watt resistors, and Mundorf Silver/Gold coupling caps.
The performance from this combination is several steps above the commercial tube gear I've owned over the years. DIY is a great option if on wants top quality tubed gear without paying exorbitant prices.
"What this country needs is a good 5 watt amplifier!" (Paul Klipsch)
Here is the preamp:
"What this country needs is a good 5 watt amplifier!" (Paul Klipsch)
And the underside...
"What this country needs is a good 5 watt amplifier!" (Paul Klipsch)
Very nice and uncluttered.
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