Why Did AES discontinue the Sixpac tube monblocs?

When Dennis Had moved from control of the company the Audio Electronic division was first to go. I don't see many 6 pacs available, but do see the latest Super Amp MkII available, which I own, through various dealers. The SA mkII is a wonderful sounding and involving amp, and best yet is it uses the newer USA transformers as in the current Cary products. At 40 wpc UL and 20 wpc triode they sound spectacular for me and drive my vintage Altec Model 15s perfectly. Another great thing is it achieves full power with only 1 volt input so it is perfect for a passive preamp or variable output from a DAC or cdp with one. I've had mine for 3.5 years and love it. My 2�

Why Did AES discontinue the Sixpac tube monblocs?, posted on February 23, 2013 at 09:08:56

Submariner409

I own a pair of Six Packs, #24138 and #24139, phone ordered through Billy Wright. They are in mint condition with all original packing and manuals as well as a SLEW of various NOS EL-34's and input tubes, all matched on Hickok 539 testers using outboard meters. I can tell you that the SixPack is absolutely glorious on a pair of MartinLogan VISTA from 250Hz up - driven from a Klyne SK-5A or Bryston 12B and Marchand electronic crossover. I alternate between a VAC PA 100/100 (upgraded by VAC) and the SixPacks - and the SixPacks do about 70% of the music duty: They sound that good.

RE: Why Did AES discontinue the Sixpac tube monblocs?, posted on March 26, 2016 at 17:56:21

fsj@iprimus.com.au
Audiophile

Posts: 3
Location: VIC
Joined: January 27, 2015

Dear Friend,
I just got hold of a Pair of THE AES CARY Mono Block AMPS from a E Bay seller in UKRAINE, I am expecting The Delivery around The 8 of APRIL 2016, He stated That The Amps are in Excellent Condidion, And He does not have the BIASING METER or THE Books on it, But The amps Are Finished in SILVER Colour, and cannot fault it.
He states that On The Specs it states That it Can RUN The KT 88 Tubes,
Have you tried to Run any other Tubes On Your Amps If so What is your opinion on Running The KT 88 Tubes, and Will it make a Difference in The IMPEDANCE or will it kill The OUTPUT TRANSFORMERS.
Any idea what output transformers are on The Six Pacs, AND will they handle THE KT 88 Tubes.
Your reply will be greatly Appreciated.
Kind Regards
Francis Jansz
MELBOURNE,
AUSTRALIA
FINANCIAL

RE: Why Did AES discontinue the Sixpac tube monblocs?, posted on March 31, 2012 at 10:49:48

scootrnc

I also spoke with Kevin Deal and he proffered that at the SixPac's price point Cary couldn't make money...these were all hand-wired and assembled at the Apex NC Cary facility. PrimaLuna is comparable in price and sound quality and their build quality is supposedly higher than any tube gear made in the USA. Well, big surprise! I have used SixPacs for about 8 years now and still love 'em. And yes they are becoming hard to find used. I wonder how many units were sold. I know Cary's southern CA and NJ dealers got the bulk of those sales, but no idea what the total population is.

Also, the now CEO BIlly Wright and the investors wanted to move aggressively into multichannel and video equipment, which DAH has little interest in. Sadly, the other side of this story is that DAH apparently did not retire...you can finish the story as you like. And he started Cary at his dining room table in the mid-80s. I think I would have also had a lawyer at that table if I had been in his shoes!

I understand he is offering some items on EBAY under Dennis Had Audio but I've not been able to pull anything up.

cheers!

Kevin Deal of Upscale Audio told me..., posted on July 18, 2011 at 18:31:06
mwhitmore Audiophile Posts: 1720 Location: San Francisco Joined: September 17, 2008	...that they just couldn't make money on them with costs (American labor, point to point wiring) and low price. I also heard that the VAC Renaissance series--some of the sweetest sounding transformer-coupled tube amps ever-- couldn't make a profit at a high price. Kevin sold me the last AES phono stage that he had with upgraded caps, and I ain't selling it.

RE: Kevin Deal of Upscale Audio told me..., posted on July 22, 2011 at 06:31:35
jaynemo Audiophile Posts: 1881 Location: Connecticut Joined: February 7, 2003	What a coincidence, when I bought my AES DJH phono stage with upgraded caps and hexfred diodes from Upscale about 1 1/2 years ago I was told it was the last one he had in stock and it had the special black laquer paint that I had to pay extra for. Great marketing ploy. Great sales gimmick! I since sold it to finance the Fosgate Signature preamp. That DJH was dead quiet, should have kept it.

Kevin's a salesman, all right., posted on July 22, 2011 at 16:21:17
mwhitmore Audiophile Posts: 1720 Location: San Francisco Joined: September 17, 2008	But so up front it's hard to get mad at him. Told him I already had the preamp and Super Amp II, he said 'You should send them back and buy them from me.' LOL, but I'm glad I got the phono stage.

How's that Fosgate ?, posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:44:38
AbeCollins Audiophile Posts: 46280 Location: USA Joined: June 22, 2001 Contributor Since: February 2, 2002	I've had a few phono preamps come through my system over the past few years and I've always been curious about the Fosgate. There was a lot buzz around it at RMAF a couple years back. That is, "buzz" in a good way. ;-)

RE: How's that Fosgate ?, posted on July 22, 2011 at 11:15:34

jaynemo
Audiophile

Posts: 1881
Location: Connecticut
Joined: February 7, 2003

I'm very happy with the dynamics and sound of it, however the only drawback is I have Legacy Focus HD's, about 95 DB/W sensitive, so there is some very low level tube noise present thru the mids. However, its much much lower than the surface noise of the record, but it is there as a noise component. But surprisingly enough, dont know how Fosgate pulled off such low noise with this all tube design. All around great design and performance. There is also a slight mechanical hum from the power transformer, can only be heard with ear about 6 inches from it. A fellow over in NY experienced the same.

So you sold the Neo's I see on Agon. What did you switch to?

RE: How's that Fosgate ?, posted on July 22, 2011 at 13:58:37

AbeCollins
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Posts: 46280
Location: USA
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Contributor
Since: February 2, 2002

Thanks for you comments on the Fosgate. My speakers are maybe 87dB efficient so it's hard to hear anything out of them without some power. ;-)

I think I sold the Neo-Classics but I'm not getting any response from the buyer after he made me an official offer.

I am now running the Bryston 7BSST2 monoblocks and the Aesthetix Calypso linestage that I am tube rolling to tailor the sound. It's a work in progress until I find a couple 12AX7 and 6992 tubes that I like.

Unfortunately Yes, well over a year ago..., posted on July 18, 2011 at 07:36:33

AbeCollins
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Posts: 46280
Location: USA
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I don't know why they discontinued the SixPacs but I can only guess that Cary wanted to focus on their higher-end (more profitable?) line of equipment.

Dennis Had also retired a couple years ago and their Marketing guy (forgot his name) took over the company. Dennis loved to tinker and his SixPacs were some of his best work (in my opinion) especially when you consider their very reasonable price. In fact, the input circuitry on the SixPacs were later incorporated into the more upscale Cary V12 amps. (Latest V12r has the same input circuit as the SixPacs)

So, they're no longer available new and they're harder to find used. Since they were discontinued, I rarely see used ones come up for sale and when I do, they're usually 'beaters' and not in great condition.

I would put those SixPacs up against any 40 - 60wpc tube amp at any price!

P.S. The only reason I no longer own my pair of SixPacs is because I now run very power hungry Thiel CS2.4 speakers and I need well over 200wpc to make them sing. (Even the 150wpc Pass X150.5 was under powered for these speakers).

Recommend an affordable SixPac substitute??, posted on July 18, 2011 at 08:06:28
Feanor Audiophile Posts: 9853 Location: London, Ontario Joined: June 17, 2003 Contributor Since: March 12, 2004	I.e. 55+ wpc stereo amp or monoblocs for a similar price? Dmitri Shostakovich

Why Not Look Into, posted on July 19, 2011 at 16:58:29
philltubes Audiophile Posts: 345 Location: Atlanta Joined: January 8, 2007	......the Quicksilver Mid-Monos or even the Mini-Monos (depending on speakers). Haven't heard the six packs but have a pair of the mini-monos with latest transformers, built to last and they sound wonderful.

I haven't heard them...., posted on July 18, 2011 at 10:59:29

AbeCollins
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Posts: 46280
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
Since: February 2, 2002

...but possibly an EL34 based Rogue amp or maybe PrimaLuna. I would personally try EL34 based amps because I love the EL34 sound.

http://www.primaluna-usa.com/product-main/prologue/prologue-

Amp/Preamp Asylum

Why Did AES discontinue the Sixpac tube monblocs?

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