For Sale: John Wood KT88 Integrated Valve Amp

[nickbaba]

I imagine I don't have to say too much about this, many here will already be familiar with the man and his work, and will know exactly what this is.

Suffice it to say that John is one of the maverick geniuses of UK electronics. He built this amp for me about 4 years ago. It's sadly had very limited use since then due to my not having space at home for it, and I've decided the time has come to let it go to pastures new.

THE GOOD NEWS: This amp is an absolute BEAST. John claims it will give 100w p/c and I've no reason to doubt him. The sound is phenomenal, detailed and weighty yet liquid and smooth, with top-end clarity, a honey-golden mid-range and low-end heft. I can't find fault with it. There's no phono stage but it has 3 Line Ins on the back and a front-mounted Volume knob. Hand-wound transformers. A work of art inside. It's even CE certified as you can see from John's sticker on the back by the power switch ; ) At the moment it's got the Sov-Tek valves that came with it, as fitted and biased by John. Nobody else has worked on the amp but him, and indeed he requests that no-one does, save for himself.

THE SLIGHTLY LESS GOOD NEWS: When I received the amp from John, one of the black speaker terminals had got snapped off in transit (as pictured below). When I asked John about fixing it he said that both speakers could be wired to one black terminal and that's how I've been using it, with no problems. When I mentioned to John that I'd like to sell it he told me that should the buyer not be happy using it that way he would fix the issue, and also service the amp at the same time, all for free. Any prospective buyer is welcome to give him a call and check that with him, he has kindly agreed that is no problem. Not necessarily a big issue but wanted to mention it upfront.

I'm asking 1k for it. Willing to discuss shipping but personally I wouldn't trust a valve amp to a courier company, not to mention that it weighs about 40kg. It's currently in SW London and collection is preferred, or at least a door-to-door delivery such as AnyVan.com or similar.

231752317623177

[Audio Al]

I own one of these and have NO plans on letting it go , John Wood is very good with his custiomer service and told me if it ever goes wrong he will fix it ( NO time limit ) how good is that for a guarantee , Who else offers this ? I have been to John's workshop and seen his transformer winding machine :eyebrows:
My back knows how heavy this amp is and complained when carrying it up the stairs at the last scalford WW show :eek:

QUALITY amp :)

[jandl100]

Have I missed the price in that listing? :scratch:
Ah, no, found it.
It's well hidden - £1k.
Bit of a bargain imo.

[nickbaba]

Yes its a QUALITY amp, Al, and sounds phenomenal through your old Cheviots! (now with external crossovers built by Paul Coupe).

I'm sad to let it go tbh and not entirely at peace with my decision. I hope in a few years time, once I have a bit more living space and my little boy is grown, I will have the opportunity to ask John to build me something equally spectacular.

[hifinutt]

not as knowledgable as many of you but i guess wiring both speakers to one black terminal would have no effect sonically would it ?

[maverick2000]

This is the very model of amp (owned by aejoker) that we used in room 117 at the Kegworth show to drive my hungry Boenicke W8s to very great effect (we were running off the 4ohm taps) . His has recently been serviced.

We never bothered to reconnect my heavily modded MF A5 (~500wpc) once the valves warmed up!!

This is a magnificent amp with power in plenty, anyone who came to our room will agree :)
Suspect it would cost a lot to replace new and it weights a TON, thanks god for the Kegworth lifts and a trolley :D

GLWTS (but suspect it will sell VERY quickly)

[struth]

Surprised it's still here at that price and. Condition

[chris@panteg]

Very nice amp, not heard it, but is it really a 100w? Not that I need that much power as I have Living voice Avatars.

[maverick2000]

Very nice amp, not heard it, but is it really a 100w? Not that I need that much power as I have Living voice Avatars.

well all I can say is that at Keggie show it drove my W8s in a way that my (now sold) Meridian 556 never could and that's rated at 170wpc

[walpurgis]

not as knowledgable as many of you but i guess wiring both speakers to one black terminal would have no effect sonically would it ?

It should make no difference in this case.

But it should also be born in mind that some amps do not have common negatives, so the outcome could be unpredictable.

[chris@panteg]

well all I can say is that at Keggie show it drove my W8s in a way that my (now sold) Meridian 556 never could and that's rated at 170wpc

Sounds impressive.

[montesquieu]

PM sent on this.

[philv]

I had tne equivalent monos a vew years back.

They were 200w per channel, which was verified by one wam poster who saw them being measured at JW’s home.
So i don’t doubt the rating for tnis.
Although no doubt it depends on the type and brand of valves fitted.

Certainly woke up my kef 104/2.

[Marco]

well all I can say is that at Keggie show it drove my W8s in a way that my (now sold) Meridian 556 never could and that's rated at 170wpc

That doesn't surprise me in the slightest, as on top of my substantial personal experience in this area, 'valve watts' are renowned as being rather different from SS ones!;)

This amp will prove to be an absolute bargain to the lucky person who ends up buying it. Simples...

Marco.

[Audio Al]

I thought it was 70 wpc

[hifi_dave]

What are the output valves ? and how many watts is possible from a pair ?

[Audio Al]

KT88s the amp is a integrated not mono blocks

[hifi_dave]

I don't think 200w per pair is possible..:scratch:

[Audio Al]

I don't think 200w per pair is possible..:scratch:

It uses 4 x KT88's as said I thought it was 70 WPC

[philv]

I don't think 200w per pair is possible..:scratch:
That was for tne monos.

So i assume 100 wc is realstic for this.

[hifi_dave]

It uses 4 x KT88's as said I thought it was 70 WPC

Yes, that is realistic for a pair of KT88 - I was querying the claim in post 13.

Anyway - probably a very nice amp, good for 70 w.

[chris@panteg]

According to Wikipedia the kt88 in push pull mode, class AB the maximum output is 100w.

[chris@panteg]

I should add with 2.5% distortion, much lower if used at 50w.

[nickbaba]

To be fair I think John claimed 'close to' 100w. I've never measured it.

But next to my McIntosh MA7000 (250w p/c) it sounds just as beefy to me.

Anyway, now Held pending Sale.

[nickbaba]

Thank you, gents. Amp now has a happy new owner.

[struth]

KT88.
Typical class-AB amplifier operation
(Values are for two tubes)
Power output 100 W
Anode voltage 600 V
Anode current 100 mA
Screen voltage 350 V
Bias voltage -45, (class AB2)

[karma67]

Thank you, gents. Amp now has a happy new owner.

oh yes,very happy!
lovely to meet you nick,thanks for taking the time to demo it.
its sounding superb!:cool:

[Bigman80]

oh yes,very happy!
lovely to meet you nick,thanks for taking the time to demo it.
its sounding superb!:cool:Wow, Jamie! Fair play mate. Pleased you've took the plunge.

[karma67]

cheers oli,do you mean the plunge into debt? lol

[karma67]

My back knows how heavy this amp is and complained when carrying it up the stairs at the last scalford WW show :eek:

QUALITY amp :)

unfortunately i can now relate to this :(

[struth]

that will put hairs on yir back;) or put u in hospital:eek:

[Bigman80]

cheers oli,do you mean the plunge into debt? lolLmfao. Well, sometimes, something comes up that you can't miss. Just enjoy it!

[nickbaba]

oh yes,very happy!
lovely to meet you nick,thanks for taking the time to demo it.
its sounding superb!

My pleasure Jamie - wish you many hours of happy listening.

cheers

[Parcelmonkey]

Lmfao. Well, sometimes, something comes up that you can't miss. Just enjoy it!

And I missed it by a hairs breadth! I think I was second in line as I had to go through a friend, signed up especially to fall at last hurdle. Gutted!
Oh well, good luck to the new owner and of course Jamie if you ever think about how the burden of debt casts shadows over musical enjoyment, first dibs? Please... :D

[philv]

And I missed it by a hairs breadth! I think I was second in line as I had to go through a friend, signed up especially to fall at last hurdle. Gutted!
Oh well, good luck to the new owner and of course Jamie if you ever think about how the burden of debt casts shadows over musical enjoyment, first dibs? Please... :D
Might be worth having a word with JW as his prices to build were very good.
Might be pleasantly surprised.

[Parcelmonkey]

Might be worth having a word with JW as his prices to build were very good.
Might be pleasantly surprised.

Thanks, I'll give it a go. I like surprises! :thumbsup:

[Audio Al]

oh yes,very happy!
lovely to meet you nick,thanks for taking the time to demo it.
its sounding superb!:cool:

Welcome to the JW owners club :)

[nickbaba]

And I missed it by a hairs breadth! I think I was second in line as I had to go through a friend, signed up especially to fall at last hurdle. Gutted!

You were indeed second in line, but I had a feeling it would go to the first person who listened to it! Sorry you didn't get the chance this time.
But definitely a good idea to contact JW about a build - it likely won't run you a great deal more than pre-owned prices and he can make one tailored to your specs/needs.

Good luck!

[Audio Al]

I understand a new build is around £1750 , may be wrong

[nickbaba]

Gone up a bit since I got mine then.

[struth]

tidied up... no more now. thanks.