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RE: Which Sherwood S-5000?

OK, time for me to chime in. Yes, Mikey has rebuilt a ton of S5000 amps, and I have done I think 4 of them. I have done a few of the S8000 receivers and one or two others with the 7868 output tubes. All have their sonic virtues. I have done probably well over 300 rebuilds of various amps in the past few years so I have heard quite a variety of tube gear and have some basis for comparison :). We all have our tastes. There are a number of pieces with great reputations that I have heard that I thought were vastly over rated and quite frankly, built like crap. The Sherwoods were built to a much higher standard than most of the others. I prefer the little 7189/EL84 version for that little bit of sweetness. However, the 7868/7591 version is a very good amp and I totally agree that it will depend on what speakers you are using, what room, and your musical taste. They are both great amps. Mikey and I are buddies, we are not in an competition, our recipes for rebuilding them are pretty much the same. If you get one I would be happy to help you sort it out, and so would Mikey (I think), but I cannot speak for him and how long his queue is. Mine tends to run under 30 days most of the time.

I also agree with Eli D. in that these are great amps, they are one of the best little integrated amps I have ever heard, but they are not quite in the same league as my Citation I/II combo, especially on phono. That said, they are more than good enough for most folks and cost considerably less than separates. They will give you 75+% of the performance of a killer pair of separates and cost much less and take up far less space. If you can live with 13-15 watts/ch or 30 or so that you get out of the 7868/7591 version then you will be very happy. If you really push the 7189 version you can get a bit more than 15 watts/ch. Depends on how hard you want to run the output tubes. If you need more power then you are looking at separates. Let's put it this way. If I had to set up a great system on a budget I would probably start with the S5000 at the core. If cost were not an issue then I would start with a Citation II......

cheers,
don


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