[kbuzz3]

lm a die hard tubie nut. I need a SS integrated to replace the various tube amps in my office system. I just cant run tube amps for 14 hours a day. No time to audition a lot of gear. They will be used to run vintage 15 ohm chartwell LS35a in a small room. I must have non fatiging highs. Id buy a used sugden in a sec but it runs a bit too hot for my small ofice. Used is fine but not DIY. Here's my short list:

Blue Circle CS
The new Van alstine integrated
odessey - i think its the cyclops or tempest

Any thoughts, particuarlary on a chip amp like the audio zone would be apprieciated

PS I already own a red wine sig 30 for my home system so id like to buy something different.  But the RWA is excellent

[maxwalrath]

If you are really die hard for tubes, you might want to think about a Jolida 301.  Heat isn't an issue, and you probably won't want to crank much more than 30w worth of sound in an office....plus you'd have lots-o-cash left over.  It's a really great piece, and for the money it's a steal.

That said I am a current audiozone amp owner (audiosector patek...same company I think???) and am extremely happy with it. 

[PhishPhan]

Try picking up a Jungson JA-88D.

These can be found used on Audiogon for around $900.00. That's what I paid for mine, and it was the best money I've ever spent. 80 watts of class A power. It has a very organic sound with pleasant highs, and mids that are astouding for the price. Only problem is that it is a beast of an amp, perhaps a little too big for an office, but it looks as good as it sounds. The three reviews I've read all say that it combines the best of SS and Tubes. It does run warm, but not hot.

If you think it's too big you may want to check out the JA-88C, a slightly smaller amp with a similar sound so I'm told.

[GBB]

lm a die hard tubie nut. I need a SS integrated to replace the various tube amps in my office system. I just cant run tube amps for 14 hours a day. No time to audition a lot of gear. They will be used to run vintage 15 ohm chartwell LS35a in a small room. I must have non fatiging highs. Id buy a used sugden in a sec but it runs a bit too hot for my small ofice. Used is fine but not DIY. Here's my short list:

Blue Circle CS
The new Van alstine integrated
odessey - i think its the cyclops or tempest

Any thoughts, particuarlary on a chip amp like the audio zone would be apprieciated

I heard a couple of integrated amps last summer that impressed me quite a bit.
The Bryston B-60 was very good.  I think it lists for $2000 but you should be able to find a used one in your price range.

And the bargain basement Dusson DS-99 is remarkable at only $500.

Bound for Sound has some interesting comments about these amps and a few others on their sample review page:
http://www.boundforsound.com/reviews.htm

---Gary

[dcktr]

redwine audio sig 30, look at the accolades

[zeke]

In the past i had a Audio Analogue Puccini which was smooth and overall sounded very good.

If you can find a McIntosh 6200 in good condition, that would also fit your description.



 

 

[dwk]

redwine audio sig 30, look at the accolades

That was what I was going to suggest based on the thread title, but threw that idea out when he said '15 ohm LS5/3A' . High impedance and low efficiency are not a good fit for a tripath-based system. It might be worth trying to demo to confirm, though.

[Thebiker]

Audio Classics has a Mac 6100 available for $799.99, rated in excellent condition.  Might give that a look.  Mac's are about as close as you are going to get for a tube guy.

[eric the red]

Audio Classics has a Mac 6100 available for $799.99, rated in excellent condition.  Might give that a look.  Mac's are about as close as you are going to get for a tube guy.

Speaking of 6100s, check this one out
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1176789602

[duggie]

why not get a hybrid integrated?  you can certainly run a coupla low-stress tubes from the integrated's preamp section into a s/s amp.  depending on vintage, these usually sell for $1k-$1.5k:

pathos classic one

[LadyDog]

Add Electrocompaniet to the list.

[mcgsxr]

Sugden, class A joy, owned one for 10 years, made me very happy.

Runs warm though, but never a hiccup in those 10 years, probably on for 8 of them.

[Sonny]

I would grab the Consonance A-120 hybrid integrated amp on audiogon...
On sale for $700 new is $1500.
I have alll consonance gear.  Tubes Cyber 800 (monos) and Cyber 222 (pre) for the main and for the bedroom, an A-100 SS integrated, also from Consonance!

[Toka]

Van Alstine gear is as smooth as SS gets.