R.E. Designs LNPA 150 Monoblocks - withdrawn

mgalusha · « **on:** 20 Jan 2009, 06:13 pm »

Withdrawn from sale due to second thoughts.

Selling my pair of R.E Designs LNPA 150 amps. These are rated for 75W in to 8 ohms, 150W into 4 ohms and 220+ W into 2 ohms. They are the best solid state amps I have owned and have been rock solid for the years that I have had them. All specifications can be found on the R.E. Designs web site here: http://www.redesignsaudio.com/LNPA150.html.

Note that Dan Banquer has ceased production of these amps but still offers warranty service should that become necessary. Dan also supplied the schematics with the amplifiers and of course these will be included. The photos below are from Dan's site, I will take some pictures of the actual amps and post them later. They look essentially the same with the exception of the power switch, which is black instead of white. I changed them simply because I didn't like the look of the originals. They are identical in size and shape. I would rate the cosmetic condition as a 8 or 9, there are a couple of small paint chips, electrically they are 100%.

To answer the inevitable question of why they are for sale, there are two reasons. The primary reason is that I have been using an OTL tube amp for quite some time and they are just sitting idle and the second is I simply have too much gear sitting around idle. I have not used these for over 6 months and have wrestled with the sale. I may very well live to regret the choice but I am offering them up. A search for reviews will show that the folks who have heard these were very fond them.

The price is ~~$2500~~ and that includes PayPal and shipping in the US. If someone local (Denver area) wants them I will adjust the price accordingly. I am also open to interesting trades as I'm not selling these for economic reasons, so if you have something of equal value that you want to trade I'd love to hear about it. These almost never come up for sale, so if you ever wanted a pair your opportunity is now.

I would much rather sell these to someone on AC, I'd rather cover the PayPal and shipping costs than pay Audiogon.

edit: fixed spelling typo
edit: withdrawn from sale

richidoo · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 Jan 2009, 09:36 pm »

I heard these amps for a month in my system last year, thanks to a generous loan by mgalusha. They are great amps. They have a very clear, natural sound unlike most ss amps at this price. Treble is clear and extended like a modern PP tube amp, and bass is clear and satisfying but not artificially slammy, the balance is more like a live performance than a mixing studio. Gorgeous midrange, I think that must be the highlight but overall very balanced and "musical." 75W is surprisingly robust in this amp. The power supplies are proverbial "overkill," but that's what makes them so relaxed and effortless. I had some Quad 2905s at the time these amps visited, 79dB sensitivity is optimistic but still the LNPAs handled them easily and flattered those revealling speakers.

LNPAs are rare, iirc there were only about 25 pair ever made. The last pair I saw for sale was 2 years ago after Dan stopped making them, and that sold in two days. I talked to Dan about the amps shortly after he stopped making them. What an amazing, genuine guy and a real genius audio designer.
Good luck with your sale Mike!
Rich

Some reviews:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/pfbackissues/0604/olson.close-enc.6n4.html
http://www.moultonlabs.com/index.php/more/power_amps_revisited/
http://www.redesignsaudio.com/Recording.html

and some threads of our own:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=20169.msg222014
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=26907.msg238995

RodMCV · « **Reply #2 on:** 20 Jan 2009, 11:26 pm »

mgalusha · « **Reply #3 on:** 20 Jan 2009, 11:54 pm »

Thanks for the comments and the links Rich. It was Lynn Olson's review that made me want them. I have them playing right now and part of me is regretting this but there is another reason for sale that I didn't mention.. I received one of the "you have how many of those" comments from my wife the other night. She is right, I have too much stuff but of course if I end up trading for something that doesn't improve but at least it would be different stuff.

TomW16 · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 01:27 am »

I have never heard the amps but I read the reviews (in the links provided by richidoo) and then the RE Designs web page and the solid engineering of the amp is evident. I would like to hear how it would stack up against my AVA 550 Ultra noting the strong engineering background of both designers.

Unfortunately without any additional funds or anything worthwhile to trade, I'll stay more than satisfied with the AVA 550 and wish you the best of luck with the sale.

Tom

mgalusha · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 02:35 am »

Thanks for the kind words Tom.

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 04:47 am »

I would be very interested in those amplifiers, too, if I had the right speakers for them - which I don't.

I bet they would sound fantastic on something like Duke's Jazz Module.

brj · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 06:19 am »

Wow, I'd love to try these on my mid/tweets with an active crossover to something beefy on my woofers... Alas, my sofa cushions didn't turn up the price of entry, but good luck on the sale Mike!

(I can't remember if you had them on the Meadowlarks the first time you were kind enough to invite me to your place, but I talked to Wayne about them briefly this evening when I stopped by, and he had nothing but good things to say about them!)

zybar · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 12:47 pm »

Quote from: Russell Dawkins on 22 Jan 2009, 04:47 am

I would be very interested in those amplifiers, too, if I had the right speakers for them - which I don't.

I bet they would sound fantastic on something like Duke's Jazz Module.

I was under the impression that these amps could pretty much drive anything and sound good doing it...what speakers do you have?

George

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 02:40 pm »

well, Turk said this in May 2006: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=26907.msg238995

"No, these are probably not the amps for power hungry speakers, we tried them on PeteG's Continuums and they fell short. "

... and I believe the Continuums are a more effective at sucking the power out of a solid state amp than the Timepieces, being half the impedance at low frequencies.

I had Timepieces which I have very recently exchanged for Klein und Hummel 0300s, experimentally - may switch to 0410s and really do it, though. They are both powered speakers.

mgalusha · « **Reply #10 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 03:03 pm »

Quote from: brj on 22 Jan 2009, 06:19 am

(I can't remember if you had them on the Meadowlarks the first time you were kind enough to invite me to your place, but I talked to Wayne about them briefly this evening when I stopped by, and he had nothing but good things to say about them!)

Brian,

Yes, there were driving the BH2's when you were over. I admit to having second thoughts about parting with the amps. I know I can't replace them once they are gone and part of me knows that at some point in the future I won't want the heat and expense of 30 vacuum tubes.

brj · « **Reply #11 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 06:23 pm »

There you go, Mike... seasonal amps! Tubes in Winter for heat, and the LNPA 150s in Summer to avoid punishing the AC!

Regarding power... I don't know how conservative the specs are, but 75W into 8 Ohm isn't especially high, so I'm not surprised that there would be restrictions for some people. My own woofers bring down the (8 Ohm nominal) speaker efficiency to 85 dB/w/m, so the LNPAs would definitely be a mid/tweet amp only if I could manage to go that route. (Too bad... then Mike could come visit them, but the price might be modding a Behringer for me!

)

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #12 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 06:28 pm »

In one of the reviews, there is mention of the LNPA 150s punching way beyond their weight.

edit: just found the reference - last para in the first column to top of second column:
http://www.redesignsaudio.com/Recording.html

sts9fan · « **Reply #13 on:** 22 Jan 2009, 06:39 pm »

Totally off topic but I would love Dan to give his blessing for a LNPA 150 DIY project. Maybe I will work on him.

mgalusha · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 01:41 pm »

Quote from: sts9fan on 22 Jan 2009, 06:39 pm

Totally off topic but I would love Dan to give his blessing for a LNPA 150 DIY project. Maybe I will work on him.

Dan called me last night and asked that I pass along the message that it's not going to happen. In his opinion the amp is too complex for most DIY builders and he doesn't have time to support it.

mgalusha · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 01:42 pm »

I've gotten cold feet after thinking about getting rid of these so I've decided to keep them. Thanks for all the kind words.

Mike

denjo · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 01:54 pm »

Hi Mike

Glad to hear that you are keeping it! With such a fine product and so few made, its already a classic and will be worth more than what you paid for with time. Its definitely going to be a collector's piece! Meanwhile, just enjoy the amp and the music!

Best Regards
Dennis

TomS · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 02:08 pm »

Quote from: mgalusha on 23 Jan 2009, 01:42 pm

I've gotten cold feet after thinking about getting rid of these so I've decided to keep them. Thanks for all the kind words.

Mike

Good move Mike. I kinda felt that way about my BEL 1001 mono's after they shipped out. Some of these gems are SO hard to get back if you change your mind...

JoshK · « **Reply #18 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 02:24 pm »

I'm glad you decided to keep them. I understand your motivation for wanting to liquidate some of your extras, but having been there myself, I am glad you didn't.

mgalusha · « **Reply #19 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 02:57 pm »

Thanks for the kind words fellas. The fact that I could not buy another pair if later deciding I missed them was a big factor. I did some listening last night between the LNPA and the OTL and while I love the way the OTL conveys emotion the LNPA's with the Abbey's is more dynamic and just really musical, so I just have to keep both.