Best Tube Amp Today? Cost maybe an object

[n_maher]

http://www.stereophile.com/news/042406heaven/index.html

fifth pic down--i believe and it's the one with the copper top. i spoke with blackie about a year ago, he now lives in Los Angeles, and he charged over $10K for that amp.

Hmmm, that 10k figure is different that what tj told me at the first National Meet when I was sitting across from him. Maybe he had mods done that pushed the price higher but I was told $8k.

I can say that it sounded absolutely outstanding when I listened to it then, my frame of reference has changed since then but I'd still expect it to be nothing short of stellar.

And fierce, I will be publishing the schematics for both the power supply and the amp for the menace some time in the next couple of weeks. If you're really interested and can't wait just give me a couple of days to make sure the amp works. I'd expect that this amp will compete with many mentioned in this thread.

[Smeggy]

RSA Raptor.

[909]

Hmmm, that 10k figure is different that what tj told me at the first National Meet when I was sitting across from him. Maybe he had mods done that pushed the price higher but I was told $8k.

you spoke to the buyer and i spoke to the maker/seller (Blackie)... both have reason to fudge the numbers.

[fierce_freak]

I'm cool, no rush Nate. I was just wondering what the opinions were like for Tube amps.

I'm considering a few different amp designs or topologies, but it will probably be a few months before I start ordering/building. I'm looking at Menace/Wheatfield/SP amps, a full voltage Aikido style amp (the 24v Aikido hybrid I have is really a stunner...soundstage is unreal), dsavitsk's S^3 amp I linked to earlier, or something with pentodes.

[n_maher]

you spoke to the buyer and i spoke to the maker/seller (Blackie)... both have reason to fudge the numbers.

Agreed, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle. Either way it's 8 to 10x more than I can think about.

[luvdunhill]

I'd probably build one of these:

http://www.tubelab.com/Headphone.htm

[Guest sacd lover]

I like this design. The amp is lower power so the amp doesnt need padded down (0.75 watt), the tubes are inexpensive (1626 @ $9 each and the 8532 @ $3-4 each) and it would be easy to sub a headphone jack for speaker outputs. This design uses the obscure 8532 driver. The more recent builds I have followed use a 12SL7GT.

http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1965/darling.html

[Fungi]

The SDS-XLR is GIGANTIC.

[slwiser]

For the money that I spent last I would suggest the Yamamoto HA-02 at 575$ shipped from the US distributor with full warranty and fresh tubes for his demo unit that was sent out to those US people who reviewed it like 6moons. It matches well with my Ultrasone Edition 9. It runs very cool and only has two tubes that are fairly inexpensive. This amp is almost as easy as using a Solid State unit.

Yes, it is the one with the "Pilot Lump".

[Fing]

Despite my earlier quandry about 300B's in headphone amps, The Duality by Tubesville certainly looks interesting. 10k huh? About the price of a stock SDS-XLR.

I want one of these:

Closeup of tube power supply:

[JimP]

Old news but my purple nurple (Almaro A205AmkII, ~$800) with K1000 (fed by 840C) continues to impress long term. There is a headphone out on this (1/8" mini??) that I need to tweak to use other phones, eg HD650. It's got me hooked on tubes, and I'm now in the hunt for another tube amp, so following this thread with interest. (before Jon L jumps in to slap me, this is old photo, I have an upgraded XLR to speaker wire adaptor)

[JimP]

Sorry, forgot to add that~$850 spent on the Almarro (much cheaper used) ranks as one of the best money I've spent in this hobby (and I've spent some stupid money in the process).

SLWISER: I've had the HA-02. The craftsmanship alone is amazing. But to me, it sounded more solid state than my solid state amp experiences, if that makes any sense. That may be it's strength, but as I dabble in tube amps, I'm looking for the stereotypical gooey/lush tube sound to compliment my SS amps.

[luvdunhill]

Sorry, forgot to add that~$850 spent on the Almarro (much cheaper used) ranks as one of the best money I've spent in this hobby (and I've spent some stupid money in the process).

SLWISER: I've had the HA-02. The craftsmanship alone is amazing. But to me, it sounded more solid state than my solid state amp experiences, if that makes any sense. That may be it's strength, but as I dabble in tube amps, I'm looking for the stereotypical gooey/lush tube sound to compliment my SS amps.

Maybe markl should try the HA-02:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/tube-y-tube-amp-owners-need-loaner-singlepower-woo-260560/

:rofl:

[boomana]

Not sure who the shithead comment is directed to (markl or HA-02 people), but I liked the HA-02 quite a lot with W2002s and K701s.

[luvdunhill]

oh, it was directed at markl.

that thread still cracks me up... talk about back-pedaling...

[deepak]

This is turning into the recommend the tube amp you own thread

I've only heard the really nice tube amps in meets, one of the ones I really liked was a Supra-XLR.

edit: this thread might offer some info, I made it when I still had a dynamic headphone:

http://www.head-case.org/headphone_amplification/what_are_my_options_for_a_really_sweet_single_ended_headphone_amp-t2063.0.html

[boomana]

I don't own the HA-02. I love my Extreme Platinum since it got tweaked and the power supply was added, but I'm a Zana Deux fan and jp#'s HD2 is as good as people say. Neil's ES-2 sounded amazing, but it was sourced with the NWO and then the R2R. Voltron's SDS-XLR is part of my fantasy rig, but my new fav tube amp was that crazy Frank Cooter DIY monstrosity. If you want to go DIY, build that thing. I think Thrice has the schematics. I believe Frank said parts would run over a couple thousand, but that's the minimal cost of any other amp mentioned here, except the HA-02.

[Guest sacd lover]

This is turning into the recommend the tube amp you own thread

I've only heard the really nice tube amps in meets, one of the ones I really liked was a Supra-XLR.

edit: this thread might offer some info, I made it when I still had a dynamic headphone:

http://www.head-case.org/headphone_amplification/what_are_my_options_for_a_really_sweet_single_ended_headphone_amp-t2063.0.html

He said he expected to see these recommendations. But that he was more interested in a DIY type amp. Hence my recommendation to check the Darling 1626 based amps.

Here is another amp I find interesting using 807's ....

http://home.att.net/~abraxasaudio/projects/h807t-pp1/h807t-pp1.html

[slwiser]

I am sure that several of the tube amps here would beat the Yamamoto HA-02 in a comparison but the synergy with my headphone is unmistakable. It also has an unmistakable synergy with the ATH-W1000. I have read one comparison of the HA-02 with the Zana Deux with the HA-02 came up short but it did only cost half as much for the retail price. As I said my second one came in at 575$ and it was a known quantity for me at the time I got it. I would love to own one of the Zana Deux amps one day. I feel they are very well designed compared to some others considered at that level.

If I had seen the Almarro earlier I may have had one of those instead of the HA-02 but it is to late for me now. I guess I am just to satisfied with what I have to move from what I have now at this time. One big requirement that I had was concerning heat output. I just did not want anything hotter than the solid state AT-HA5000 that I had and it was hot. The Yamamoto was cool in comparison.

Threads like this are always enjoyable for me to learn what is out there and how they compare. Thanks for making this thread more open.

Maybe Markl does need to sample the Yamamoto or at least one of them. The Yamamoto SET amps are supposed to be something special as well. The HA-02 is a SEP amp.

Noting that the HA-02 is more like a SS amp is very true. When I compared it with the HA5000 the HA5000 came off muddy. Maybe that was the MOSFET haze I have read about. But the HA-02 does have a mellow tube sound with the right headphone.

[jinp6301]

Sorry, forgot to add that~$850 spent on the Almarro (much cheaper used) ranks as one of the best money I've spent in this hobby (and I've spent some stupid money in the process).

SLWISER: I've had the HA-02. The craftsmanship alone is amazing. But to me, it sounded more solid state than my solid state amp experiences, if that makes any sense. That may be it's strength, but as I dabble in tube amps, I'm looking for the stereotypical gooey/lush tube sound to compliment my SS amps.

Hey Jim, how is the headphone output of the Almarro?

[Dusty Chalk]

i heard it with the l3000s, not impressed at all with it.

I've heard the L3000's with the EarMax Pro, and I thought they had excellent synergy -- they actually were one of the few amps that fooled me into not hearing the slight midrange suckout at first. (Hirsch's, anyway, not sure which version he has.)

[Dusty Chalk]

Maybe markl should try the HA-02:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/tube-y-tube-amp-owners-need-loaner-singlepower-woo-260560/

:rofl:

He's such a dufus. Earl's right -- Singlepower amps (the ones that I've heard, anyway) do not have the stereotypical "tubey" sound -- that's what makes them special. For that, he'd want a Wheatfield or a HAP-03 (either Radii or Moretto, one was just a clone of the other, I forget which was which). Or a Xiang Sheng, that's nice and tubey.

[n_maher]

Is it true that Mark writes for Positive Feedback?

[edit]yup, there his is on the writers page...

[swt61]

He's very important you know! Just ask him, he'll tell you so.

[darkless]

i heard it with the l3000s, not impressed at all with it.

When I compared the Earmax AE to a Rudistor RPX100, the Rudistor beat it consistently.