[TrungT]

DIY 6CL6



 

[doug s.]

all these amps are contenders, but i think a real shoot-out would need to be done, to be certain.  i simply have not tried all these amps on the same speakers.  w/my present hi-efficiency horns, i have only used the almarro.  w/my prior 97db-efficient coincident victory's, all the amps were used, but in two different room set-ups.  my present studio apartment set up is simply not conducive to rotating amps in and out of storage & into the system.  but mebbe i need to get motivated & check the other amps out w/my horns... 

totally refurb'd electrohome amp, ~8-10wpc w/6aq5 tubes.



almarro a205a mkll w/upgraded hovland caps; sep, ~5wpc w/6qb5's:


custom home-brew set, ~4wpc, w/6qb5 tubes:


akai m8 tapedeck amps, set, ~5wpc w/6qb5's:


custom home-brew set, ~4.5wpc, w/6v6's; adjustable negative feedback:



i suspect the almarro or one of the two home-brew amps would win, but the the tapedeck amps are also competitive.  all these are single-ended; the electrohome amp, push-pull, would be better w/speakers requiring a bit more drive.  it is definitely a bit drier than the other amps.  it worked great driving the bass-bins of my active triamped oris-fostex/lascala-fostex/vmps subs system, but it seems kind of a waste to use tubes in that way, only operating from 80hz-300hz, so i now use either my 25w gainclone or my hypex ucd180 amp w/the lascala bass-bin.

doug s.

[SET Man]

Hey!

   Oooh! Show and tell thread!



   These beauties are my Welborne Lab Apollo I SET amps.



   Using 6EM7/6EA7 driver and KR Audio 842VHD output tube with output of 18 watts per channel of SET power. I think of these tubes as 300B on steroid.



   I just spent 4 hours listening and enjoying musics through them tonight and have been so for the last 12 years. They turned 12 last December, that should explained the picture above.



   That is my room of which is also my bedroom... space is tight here in NYC  My speaker are homemade 6" Fostex TQWT type that I built back in 2002. The pic above were taken back in April 2010. Well,  my system still pretty much the same, with one exception of a new turntable I picked up last year.

   Anyway, I've heard quite a number of amp SS or tube, even some in my own system including SET and so far I just don't feel that I need to replace them. But there is one down side of these amp and that is that KR tubes are getting expensive, but good thing they do last very long.

   BTW...I see that Scott F. still have his DRD. I wish I got a pair of those as well. It is unfortunate that currently Welborne Labs doesn't have any amp kit available.

Take care,
Buddy

[lonewolfny42]

Best Low Watt Amp in your system Today?

The Black Knight.... (reminds me of one)

The KR Audio Antares VA320.....a 20 watt powerhouse....two 842VHD tubes....that's it.

Photo's here from a visit to SET Man's/Buddy's place with Boris from Vista...had a little comparison back in 2007....and I'm still happy.

Photo Link....

Review Link...

[JoshK]

My E-linear KT88 amp.

[Quiet Earth]

I have enjoyed my Audio Note Quest amplifiers for about seven years now. I have the silver signature version, plus I upgraded the coupling cap to AN silver foil/mylar. Eight watts of mesmerizing entertainment. 



These amps and their non-oversampling DACs have really brought me back into the audio hobby in a good way. I can't get enough of a good thing!

[sebrof]

Wow, some really nice looking amps in this thread already.
Here's a 2A3 amp I built a couple of years ago based on the WE91A - 6C6s driving those honkin' big JJ 2A3-40s

[JoshK]

Wow, some really nice looking amps in this thread already.
Here's a 2A3 amp I built a couple of years ago based on the WE91A - 6C6s driving those honkin' big JJ 2A3-40s



Those are purdy!  I can't recall very well the only time I heard a 2A3 amp.   Remember the times with 45 and 300B better. 

[bhobba]

Trafomatic Experience 2:
http://www.trafomaticaudio.com/experience_two.php

Thanks
Bill

[nopants]

Is there a reason that there aren't more solid state offerings at low wattage? Sorry I don't have more to contribute, I use a Rawson Aleph J personally- it's a bit too much power for my needs.

[Freo-1]

Is there a reason that there aren't more solid state offerings at low wattage? Sorry I don't have more to contribute, I use a Rawson Aleph J personally- it's a bit too much power for my needs.

Nelson Pass seems to be one of the only solid state designers who provides support to the low wattage community.  If you check out the First Watt website, he offers quite a few low wattage options:

http://www.firstwatt.com/prod.html

The new SIT amps look interesting.

[opnly bafld]

Nelson Pass seems to be one of the only solid state designers who provides support to the low wattage community.

Monarchy Audio SM70 Mk2 and SM70 Pro. 
http://www.monarchyaudio.com/specs_SM70_Amp.htm

[Freo-1]

Monarchy Audio SM70 Mk2 and SM70 Pro. 
http://www.monarchyaudio.com/specs_SM70_Amp.htm

Great!

Thanks for that.  This type of information is why this circle is helpful.

[doug s.]

Is there a reason that there aren't more solid state offerings at low wattage? Sorry I don't have more to contribute, I use a Rawson Aleph J personally- it's a bit too much power for my needs.

this amp spawned a slew of imitators, both diy and from other mfr's:

http://www.sakurasystems.com/products/47amp.html


i have a tim rawson gainclone, purchased new from tim for <$200 delivered; it is a really nice amp; drives my 91db/4 ohm piega p5 mkii ltd's effortlessly.

(yes - all it is is this little black box):


doug s.

[nopants]

Thanks for all the replies,  I was framing my question more along the lines of power output. Why aren't there more offerings in the ~10W category? The only ones I know of are the F1 and Hiraga's Monster- neither of which pop up for sale often. Something along those lines would be more fitting for my needs, which include both speakers and the k1000 headphone.

[Ericus Rex]

Super low power SS kind of reminds me of the 'rock against drugs movement'...what's the point?

Bedini made a 10/10 Class A ss amp.  But they are very rare and fairly pricey...and now over 25 years old.

[Bemopti123]

My Final Laboratories Music 6 is one of the best SS amplifiers I have heard paired with the right type of speakers.  10 watts of the same type of sound that the Gaincard produces with more silkiness, refinement and silence.  How I described on a review many Springs ago, "it drops the rhythm notes out of thin air with unbelievable speed"  but, it needs the right type of speakers.  A simple 2 way with minimalist crossovers, a la old Epos ES11 with it was magic. 

No longer available in the United States as its inventors have decided to launch themselves into ultra high end and portable armature headphones....


http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue1/final.htm


http://final-audio-design.com/about

[FredT300B]

I've been enjoying my new OddWatt Audio PoddWatt EL84 kit amp with full range single driver MLTL speakers. The PoddWatt amp is rated at about five watts into six ohms. Other EL84 amps are rated as high as 15 watts, but the PoddWatt designer decided to favor good sound over high power wherever a choice had to be made, resulting in a very low negative feedack triode wired amp that sounds very nice. Here's a link to the OddWatt web page: http://oddwattaudio.com/owabout.html

Any odd person attending the Lone Star Audio Fest next month will be able to hear the PoddWatt in my DIY room along with other OddWatt amps in the Oddwatt room.

[cheap-Jack]

Hi.

Modified Decware 84c, modded to 3 watts

 but my favorite is a small flea watt tube amp-Mullard tubes.

Scrolling down the pages, I still can't find any amp lower O/P power than the one I built years back as a gift for a SS only audiophile friend -only 2x1W

This is for my someone who never used any tube stuff. His power amp was Swiss Physics 2x100W dual-mono class A power amp (built huge like a tank, on sale for only USD5,000), driving a pair Westlake reference monitors (91dB/M/W). CD player/DAC is Vimak 1000, a USD12,000 hi-end pair, driving the power amp direct. No linestages at all.

Just a small gift hopefully to give him a little tube surprise. Yes, indeed, to the huge "surprise" of the audition panel invited to audition this tube vs solidstate amp, the small 2x1W David beat the 2x100W SS Goliath! Unbelievable!

As a small gift, I took it easy by building it with old used parts scrapped from a dead vintage FM stereo radio & some from my parts bin. Tubes were: 1x12AX7, half tube to drive a 50C5 SE each channel. Totally only 3 tubes. Since personally I love only TRIODE sound, I triode-strapped the 50C5 pentode which delivers only about 1W when triode-strapped with B+ 100V ! Zero global NFB.

NO power iron, the heater string & plate PS hooked direct to the 115VAC mains like the oldtime radios. HV PS is a simple sand diode half-wave rectification, C-L-C-R-C filter bank (using 160UF-80uF-80uF330V rated fast-speed 'lytic caps.)

Here was his verdict:- "Vocalwise, the 50C5 is the winner, so smooth, natural & detail emotion. It's more vivid & musical which the SS amp could not meet."

Well, hearing is believing. Simplicity wins.

c-J

 

[cheap-Jack]

I have enjoyed my Audio Note Quest amplifiers for about seven years now. I have the silver signature version, plus I upgraded the coupling cap to AN silver foil/mylar. Eight watts of mesmerizing entertainment. 

Wow, now I know you're a Audio Note owner.

Frankly, Audio Note is one of the 2 brandnames of power amps I love their sound most. Audio Note is the most expensive audio on this planet, for sure. Price alone qualified for it for the Guinea Book of World Records.

The AN model I still love most was: Kagon (2x17W using 2x300B paralel SE)
when played with ALL AN matching gear ONLY. Tagged for Stirling Pd 85,000 (=USD136,000), Kagon with its complete AN lineup (total: USD260,000) made me lost my music interest at home for a whole month !!!

c-J

PS: which version of Quest you got? Hi or Lo gain?