I am the original owner of this Vista Audio i82-mkII integrated amplifier which is in excellent cosmetic and mechanical condition. It has been lightly used and comes with the original Westinghouse tubes. The mirror finish, stainless steel chassis looks very nice but does show fingerprints easily. See photos below.
It uses two PCL82 tubes per channel in parallel single-ended, class A mode for
5 watts per channel. The PCL82 is identical to the sweet sounding and highly regarded ECL82 except that the former requires 14 volts for its heater rather than 12 volts. The PCL82 contains a triode and a pentode section. The triode section functions as an input tube and the pentode is the power section.
The PCL82/ECL82 family of tubes sound similar to an EL84/6BQ5 but perhaps even a little bit better in some folks' estimation (including mine and I am a big EL84 fan).
It has two sets of inputs: the set marked "main" passes the signal through the volume control while the set marked "direct" bypasses the volume control so the unit can be used more conveniently with a separate preamplifier. It is very compact, measuring 11.25 in. X 11.25 inches (including the front knob and the rear jacks).
This amplifier works well with high efficient single driver speakers using Fostex, Lowther or similar drivers. It can also work with multiple driver speakers that have a nominal 8 ohm impedance and are at least 92dB efficient. If used in a small room or in a near field desktop system, slightly less efficient speakers might work (although speaker/amp synergy cannot be accurately predicted by these measurements alone). Using a separate, high quality preamp can add 3dB or so to the output and may also enhance the sound (again, YMMV).
I really like this little amp but I have not had appropriate speakers for several years now and it is time to let someone else enjoy it rather than let it languish in its (original) box.
If you meet my asking price I will include ten (10) NOS Philips PCL82 tubes at no extra cost. These tubes sound even better than the Westinghouse ones and will ensure that you will be able to use this amp for years to come without going through tube replacement hassle and expense.
$275 plus shipping.I will double box it for shipment.
I will accept payment by PayPal or USPS money order.
Thanks for looking.
David Dye
(pilot232 on ebay & Audiogon)
