For sale or trade is my custom Wavelength Audio SET amp using 45's as output tubes, designed and built by Gordon Rankin. Gordon built this for me in response to my request for a great amp with small form factor based on the incredible 45 output tube. As you can see from the photo's, he named this the "Big Electron"
; it uses a pair of 45's for the output tubes, a single 6072A as the input tube and single rectifier (5R4GY or similar).
It has great iron, using a pair of Magnaquest TL404 output transformers that he had in his private stash, and per Gordon is an amazing "3dB down at 8Hz and slams better than any 2A3 amp, and puts out around 3 wpc"--pretty amazing for a 45 SET amp using only a pair of 45's! I can provide more extensive measurements that Gordon provided for the interested and technically inclined. The amp's small form factor is a real plus, but this little guy weighs in at almost 45 lbs!
The amp has a switch to choose between 4 & 8 ohm speaker taps, a single input (RCA of course), and a high quality Penny & Giles (10k) volume control (I used it primarily with my tubed preamp, with the volume control maxed with no degradation of the sound). The amp drove my 96dB, 6 ohm impedance, speakers superbly, with absolutely no noise! Sensational mids and highs, and even with a really nice tight significant bass for a 45 SET amp!
Given the flexibility of the great TL404 output transformers, Gordon also installed a high quality headphone jack. With really efficient headphones with low impedance (i.e. the ATH W3000 ANV's) there was too much hum for me--although I solved that issue with a speaker to headphone adapter built by James Burgess--not included in the sale, but with other phones such as the HD650's, hum was almost completely gone, and with tougher to drive headphones such as the LCD-2's and HE-500's that I used to own, the sound was just incredible. Gordon also advised that the amp's speaker taps could be safely connected to drive headphones directly, as the amp is stable even with no speakers attached, so I would think the amp would be incredible driving something like the HE6's, etc.
The amp will come with a couple of rectifier tubes for choice and rolling, both a GE 5 Star 6072A and a Raytheon 6072 as input tube options, plus the following pairs of old stock 45's: National Union, RCA, Philco, Cunningham (engraved base), Tung Sol, and Raytheon--so there is pretty much a lifetime supply of 45 tube options! The amp does not come with a pwr cord, as I advised Gordon it wasn't necessary given my use of aftermarket pwr cords.
Gordon's custom amps start at $7,500 and go up from there, based on options. Being a custom amp, this is difficult to 'price'--I'm thinking $SOLD plus paypal fees (I'll cover shipping in CONUS) is a great price for the quality of this baby. I'd also be interested in trades involving a 300B amp such as the Woo W5 or possibly a Cary 300SEI.
I've done numerous transactions here and can provide references, and have lots of perfect feedback dating back many years on Audiogon (username "Rrsclyde" there).
Thanks,
Randy
