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Post by speedysteve on Jan 5, 2017 14:57:21 GMT
No conflict for me, best of both worlds.
No valve amp I could ever afford could do what my big silicon sisters do on the bass channels. Ditto, no SS amp can do what my little EL84 SET amps do on the compression drivers mid and upper channels.
No compromise. Either end.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 15:01:10 GMT
'EL84' are the safe bet. Never heard a bad one yet.
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Post by MartinT on Jan 5, 2017 18:38:05 GMT
Since the Leak Stereo 20 is the best valve amp I've ever heard (in the midrange), the EL84 is my favourite valve, too.
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Post by Chris on Jan 5, 2017 20:49:20 GMT
Black Treasure 6CA7. Head and shoulders better than a host of equivalents and preferable to kt88s and 6550s. Pricey but very,very good in the circuit I use them in.
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Post by daytona600 on Jan 5, 2017 22:40:37 GMT
 western electric WE212 24wpc SET 212 tubes from pre war , one of the best i have ever heard you will need a pair for Stereo ! |
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Post by Greg on Jan 5, 2017 23:08:48 GMT
Yes indeed. I have heard a 212 based amp and the sound was wondrous. More so because it was Paul Barker's, a member here. We (Audio-talk mob) had a meet at Eggborough Power Station social club several years ago. Paul turned up with his giant 212 valves and proceeded to build an amp on the floor using various bits of ironwork and a few caps/resistors all linked together with clip leads. Actually, I'm probably wrong there. At the time I think Paul was into capless design so ironwork and resistors only. Those 212's really did glow. It was a marvellous experience. Probably the best reproduced music sound I have ever heard. Now if you want a real valve amp, take a look at this. The whole structure is an intergrated pre, power and phono stage.  |
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Post by Greg on Jan 6, 2017 0:02:12 GMT
This is Thomas' 'Tower of Power'. All 7 watts of it, and I might be being generous there! Will look lovely in the lounge, don't you think, dear?
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Post by ChrisB on Jan 6, 2017 0:21:53 GMT
Very nice, but I know for sure that you're not going to be strapping that to the back of the telly, Greg!
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Post by malcolm on Jan 6, 2017 15:39:51 GMT
Last night curiosity got the better of me. I tried my MBL speakers with a 75W BAT VK75SE valve amp with VK3i pre.
Compared to the Hegel H360 I normally use, the valves added a lovely richness to clarinet and instruments with a similar timbre but at the price of a smoothing of the higher notes of a violin. With the Hegel SS amp every little detail of the violin is reproduced in glorious (and sometimes not so glorious) detail. With the BAT it was slightly masked. Rather like going from the front few rows of a concert hall to nearer the back. I always preferred being near the front and getting the spine tingling on the edge of ones seat effect. Other casualties of the valves were cymbals.
So the valves were a much "easier" and more comfortable listening experience but the SS sucked me into the performers and their performance. Much more of a visceral experience. No rights are wrong, just a question of taste and I suspect that my taste is moving towards detail and dynamics - providing it can be done cleanly without harshness of course.
I have found that whether or not I preferred the valves depended very much on the speakers they were partnered with. An ageing pair of Martin Logan Ascents and I preferred the valves, although in those days it was in comparison to a Quad 909 and for a short while a large multi channel BAT SS amp. With Martin Logan Electromotion electrostatics I much preferred the Quad, although the newer Martin Logan is much easier to drive and it may be that the valves covered up the fact that the Quad doesn't drive the low impedance Ascents very well at high frequencies, whereas the valves covered up that deficiency.
Back to the Hegel SS for me and thoughts of selling the BAT, but that mean taking pictures and the hassles of selling when I would much rather sit down and listen to music.
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