FS: Icon Audio Stereo 20PP

[Haselsh1]

I have for sale my precious Icon Audio Stereo 20PP valve amplifier in as new condition with all original packaging and transparent valve cage. It comes with a full set of original Chinese valves and also a full set of Genalex Gold Lion valves which were bought last August. I would like £400 for this and I will cover the courier within the UK.


http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab240/Haselsh1/PICT0003aa.jpg

[Haselsh1]

Removed from sale cozz I just can't bring myself to sell it.

[southall-1998]

If you like something, why sell it:scratch: Nearly made that mistake before!

[Gromit]

If you like something, why sell it:scratch: Nearly made that mistake before!

We've all been there once or twice Shane. :(

Something really special about a small EL84 amp - if I didn't need the extra oomph I'd have been very tempted by the 20PP. :)

[DSJR]

If it's anything like the Stereo 40 hifi dave has, I'd say to keep it unless you can go way up the range. The more expensive ones (with KT120's) are superb IMO and offer great sonics and looks and the build looks exceptional too (not slightly effusive as the Puresound integrated seemed to be in comparison).

This is the sort of gear the lovers of small active AVI speakers will never "get," since an amp like this is a HEART purchase and gives emotional pleasure on many levels denied the AVI active-speaker crowd I reckon :)

[Haselsh1]

You know I so love this little amplifier and I really wouldn't know what to upgrade to right now. Last night, the missus and I were listening to an album by Younger Brother which is a kind of electronica/trance/ambient thing and some of the slams and punches in the music were damn right scary even though it only has a supposed 15 Watts of power. I am now using it with 87db/W/m KEF Q500's and in a relatively small room the sound is fabulous. OK so next year I really do intend to upgrade to a mightier Icon Audio amp or Consonance 300B PP but for the next twelve months I seriously do not want to see the back of this amp.

[Haselsh1]

I don't know what it is about the EL84 valve. Its a gutsy little shit of a thing. Listening to Ezio 'Black Boots on Latin Feet' the vocals are awesome and the attack of the guitars is amazing.

[DSJR]

The KEF's have a good reputation and as you rightly said, it's the music that counts - and the emotional connection we have with it. I wish i could more fully describe this on a certain other forum, where I'm something of a sorrowful character/laughing stock because I still love my vintage passive system and haven't embraced the One-True-Way of active speakers with 6" main drivers :(

I love the glorious rebuilt Quad II's I have and only hesitate from using them more because of the limited life of the GEC KT66's fitted. I believe that some Russian alternatives (5881's are one possibility) can give good sound and are not too expensive to buy, so I could use these and not feel guilty.....

[Haselsh1]

A friend of mine many years back bought a ready built WAD K5881 as a pair of monoblocks into Spendor LS3/5a's and the sound was sublime using his Gyrodeck/RB300/Goldring 1042. At the time I had a WAD 300B PP ready built with a KLP1 preamp and an Alphason Sonata/HR100S MCS with an Ortofon MC25FL. The sound of these systems was staggering and if the active brigade want to keep on trying to convince themselves, so be it. I have heard many an active system and though they do have a couple of virtues, it is no substitute for the real thing.

[Haselsh1]

The whole hi-fi scene is mainly about the music for me and always will be. Back in days of yore I found that I had 15k of hi-fi gear but alas, not a single new and exciting piece of vinyl to play on it. I vowed it would never be that way again. I adore music with a massive passion and I like hi-fi only because I want my music to sound a certain way. I know how I want it to sound and only I know. At the moment the vinyl side of things needs a bit of work but CD is bang up there where I want it to be. More Watts would be nice but it is not crucial.

[Frankyc2003]

Couldn't agree more, I have myself an early version of the icon audio stereo 40, and even in triode mode, it is a gusty beast! Kicking and punching way above its small Output...
I did depart from some more expansive pieces of kit because it just didn't sound right! And now with a much leaner system, i can enjoy my music much more too!
So here's to that and enjoy your Icon Audio many a night!
:cool: