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Interesting you lot rave about the Stereo 20. I've heard a few and found them too bright and dry sounding for my tastes.. The Leak TL12's and Quads are more my thing, colouration or not, they both always bring a huge silly grin on my face. Mind you, these had been "Crofted" to perfection......
One amp I could have kicked myself for ignoring back in the mid seventies was the Lowther power amp(s). Beautifully executed and around £320 then (a Yamaha CA1000 integrated was £200 or thereabouts and a Technics SL1800 [1200 equivalent then]around £140 I think), they were still available in 1975, although the lady on the phone was surprised at the interest, as they hadn't sold many (if any) in the preceeding years. It apparently commands huge premiums now and is a genuine top end classic I understand... I could have got one at trade price for around £225, but bought a 1967 vintage Radford STA25 with pre and tuner for £120 instead.
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I don't think I was raving about the Stereo 20, just observing that the performance available for the price makes it a good way into valves.
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I've heard a well fettled Stereo 20 and it's a good amp! And agreed,an excellent intro to the valve world.The output transformers in particular are very good.But possibly for less money (used) would be a WAD KEL84,which to my ears is superior in every way and is a real giant-killer of an amp.One very musical amp.
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You can get 'em ready made too for not much more..
Not sure how much they sell for, but the Croft series V power amp and one of the Micro series pres would make a great used buy from the early nineties. Cheap valves, easy service and a great phono stage really endeared me to this setup..
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Strikes me that a visit to the WD site would be in order here.
http://wduk.worldomain.net/
I know at least one member of their forum who lives in Bristol and would be more than happy to demonstrate what valves can achieve.
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As I found out when Marco was good enough to bring his last valve amp up for me to have a listen too they can be very fussy with speakers but when you consider I was comparing his amp with over 15k worth of naim gear the result was a real eye opener, and from what I have read posted on here he is now using an even better amp. almost convinced me to give up the naim gear and go for valves myself.
(He...He... I said almost Marco) maybe one day.
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Ooh! Lots of questions!
What does push-pull mean?
What does SET mean?
Why are nearly all the models on the excellent Cornwall site ugly or rusty?!
DIY is an interesting option. But, I am too scared of killing myself. My DIY abilities are less than minimal and the idea of playing around with potentially high voltage equipment is very scary.
Why are a lot of valve amps mono?
One thought I did have: maybe I should look at a pre-amp to use with my Quad 405. This would help me do comparisons with what I am used to (Quad 33 and 405) and decide if valve really is what I am interested in.
I will have to look a bit more closely at the WD forum to see if I can find a friendly local.
How do I work out if my speakers are compatible with valve equipment - or, if valve equipment is compatible with my speakers?
Thanks for all the help and replies so far.
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hi all,
i have explained this before, but here goes again, one of the most important things to look at when choosing a valve amp and speaker combination is impedance versus frequency, ie, valve amps like to see a pretty constant impedance over the entire audio frequency spectrum, thats why its so important to look at the graphs provided by the good speaker manufacturers, this will tell you a lot about wether the speakers are indeed a good match with your amp.
hope this helps.
regards,anthony,TD...
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Anthony, thanks.
I will do a search for your posts on this. I have to be honest and say that your response is helpful, even if I don't know what it means yet. :confused::lol:
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Hi Peter,
Some of the terms can be confusing,so to answer some of your queries-
S.E. stands for Single-Ended.This means there is one main output valve per channel i.e. one for the left and one for the right.The valve in each channel amplifies the whole musical signal on it's own.SET means Single-Ended Triode,such as a 300b,45,px4 or px25.Triodes are the most simple and linear amplifying devices ever made,which may explain why many cannot live without a SET amp once they have heard one,a good one at least!
P.P. stands for Push-Pull.This means that there are two valves in each channel,each valve in that channel amplifying half the musical signal,one doing the positive part of the signal,and the other doing the negative.Imagine a sine wave as the musical signal going through the amp,and a line drawn along the middle of it.One valve will do above the line, the other below the line.
Each topology has it's merits and diadvantages,but very generally,SE amps can sound tonally very pure with a wonderful and engaging midrange and top end,but can be a little soft in the bass.PP brings more power to the party,and a tighter grip in the bass (Sometimes!).They can however,to afficionados of SE amps,sound muddled and confused by comparison.You need to listen to each type to find which you prefer.Both have their proponents.
I'm not familiar with this "Cornwall" site,but I'd guess it shows a lot of vintage stuff.It will be rusty because it's all very old! This is also the reason a lot of the vintage stuff is mono,as they were made before stereo was invented,so if you went down this route,you would need to buy two to get stereo sound.
Hope this helps.Any more questions,don't hesitate to ask. :)
