Justin & Jerry's Hifi Blog

[Ali Tait]

Do folks feel the same way about Radford el34 amps then?

[jandl100]

Do folks feel the same way about Radford el34 amps then?

I've not heard a Radford el34 myself.

But el34 amps I have heard/owned include Papworth, PrimaLuna (1 integrated and 1 pair of monos), a Chinese MingDa ... and others I can't bring to mind at the moment ...
The MingDa had the most musical interest - the others noted were definite snooze machines with el34, but the PrimaLuna integrated picked up a lot when the el34 were swapped out.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Do folks feel the same way about Radford el34 amps then?

Nope! The Radford does not possess the 'vintage bass' syndrome, not to my ears anyway.

I know what you mean though. I had an obscure US amp that was loosely based on a Dynaco ST70. With EL34's it just sounded like any old EL34 amp. It fizzled out one day & as a side effect of the work I had done to resurrect it, it gained the ability to take alternative valve types. In the bass region it was completely transformed.

[Ali Tait]

Possibly down to the quality of the ironwork.Radford are known for their excellent transformers.

[Barry]

I felt the same way about the Croft Series 4S that I still have in my garage. Running on EL34 valves it too had soft edges and lacked some go. Glenn Croft then upgraded it to 6550 valves which certainly gave it more edginess and shear brute force in the bass. I just never liked it as much as the Leak Stereo 20 I also have, especially in the midrange.

This month's HiFi News has Ken Kessler raving about the Leak ST-20. He says it works well into Quad ESL 57s. I'm surprised at this, as I have found that 10 watts is not enough, yet the 15 watt Quad II seems OK. Perhaps the Leak can produce more than 10 watts. Anyway Kessler gives the Leak a score of 87/100. Not bad for a design that is over 50 years old. The down side is of course that the prices will increase even more.

Actually this is 'sour grapes' on my behalf. At the tender age of 19, the father of a school chum, who had a pretty good system in those days (he used Wharfdale SFB-3s, sand filled open baffle speakers), offered to sell me his Leak SL-20 for a very reasonable figure (something like £20 or £25) as he was going to buy a Rotel ss amp (of all things). As an impecunious undergraduate I just didn't have the money and could not afford it.

Perhaps I should have asked my father for a loan.

Regards

[DSJR]

Kessler writes what his fanbois want to read. He gets more work that way and enjoys the adulation...

I never thought the Stereo 20 deserving of all this fanw@nk, finding it a bit "etched" and almost hard toned. Must have heard a bad 'un. I understand it was the Stereo 60 (?) that was the real giant killer...

I loved some TL12's I once borrowed for a few weeks though.

[jandl100]

Yes, the Leak St20 is of the 'forward' persuasion, ime. Very very nice, though, if you don't mind that. A very different beast to a Quad II, for example.

I thought the Leaks got worse as they got bigger? I've only ever owned the St20, though.

[DSJR]

If HiFi dave can remember, he'll tell you as he's owned 'em all... (and still has a treasure or two tucked away I believe.

[jandl100]

Come on DaveSJR - after all those humourous emoticons, you owe me an answer as to whether you'd formed your opinions on the AI500 with el34 choobs or not!


... this is a Marco-style "don't evade the issue" !!

[Ali Tait]

I've heard one that had been totally rebuilt with all new components.It was a while ago now,but I don't remember it being particularly forward,in fact it sounded very like a KEL 84,not surprising since they are both PP EL84,so rather nice really!

Barry,I'm not surprised one will drive the Quads.I used to use an original Sugden A21 with mine,which at 7w/ch drove them very well indeed,and a very synergistic pairing too IMO.

As for KK,he probably bought a few before he wrote the article!