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VTV EXPO - DeHavilland
DeHavilland was rocking their extremely popular $3995 Mercury 2 Cascode preamp and $5995 IOS stereo amp with 25 SET watts. Slimming in black, the $4000 Hyperion 938 speakers were doing that thing they do - kicking ass and taking names.
COMMENTS (4) | Permalink | Amplifiers $3k to 6k , Pre-Amps $2k to 8k , Shows and Expos , Tube Amplifiers , Tube Pre-Amps | Posted by Josh Ray on Nov 21 '05
Pacific Creek SE300i Part Deux
Back in September we posted an article from Enjoy the Music absolutely slamming the Pacific Creek SE300i $1899 integrated. Like a brutal car accident, you try to look away but can't, the horror of it all is just too fascinating.
Well , with Hollywood ending at hand, Tone Audio, a new internet publication with really nice presentation, giving the Pacific Creek a whole lotta love:
"Even in stock form, the Pacific Creek SE300i is a great amplifier and a great value...highly recommended."
It appears Enjoy the Music received a defective model -- faulty transformer, etc. etc. So with Pacific Creek redeemed, here's our obligatory "read the full article for all the dirt on this great new company."
Tone Audio [download the PDF magazine to read the review]
Pacific Creek
| Permalink | Integrated Amp $1k to 3k , Tube Amplifiers | Posted by Josh Ray on Nov 10 '05
Dared Mini Tube Gear
Funky little company I've never heard of, Dared is all up in that retro tube game. Shown is the Mini VP-300B monoblock amps at an extremely cheap $890/pair and the tubed SL-2000A preamp with remote (volume buttons only) at an amazingly low $399. The Mini line is only one of four lines of products, slotting in below their Flagship and Imperial lines and above their New Classic line. Review from Good Sound gives the downside of 300B tubes:
"Rock out at ear-splitting volumes? Look elsewhere...Enjoy intimate small-group jazz, pop, folk, or chamber music? Give these a listen right away."
Basically, small tube watts for Nora Jones and big solid state for System of a Down. Makes sense in some bizarre kind of way, doesn't it?
Dared Tube Audio
Dared Mini Tube Review
COMMENTS (1) | Permalink | Amplifiers Under $1k , Pre-Amps under $2k , Tube Amplifiers , Tube Pre-Amps | Posted by Josh Ray on Nov 09 '05
Art Audio Carissa stereo Amplifier Review
Art Audio loves chrome and, compared to the $17k+ Zanden chromed-out tube amps, the Carissa is svelte at $4000. Providing all of 16 stereo watts, Enjoy the Music has this to say:
"If you haven't figured it out yet, I had a completely enjoyable experience with the Carissa. She has real dynamic growl, and sounds far more powerful than her rated power output. On an efficient loudspeaker she sounds more like 60 than 16 watts."
Enjoy the Music goes on to give the Carissa top marks in nearly every category. While their amps don't really get any cheaper, if you need more juice, Art Audio also makes a push/pull version at the same price point called the Concerto with 48 watts. Of course, then you're moving away from SET gravy, but what can you do...
Art Audio Carissa stereo Amplifier Review
Art Audio
Permalink | | Posted to Amplifiers $3k to 6k | Tube Amplifiers
AES Sixpac Monoblock Tube Amplifiers
Ed Morawski of Positive Feedback opens up his review with this little truism:
"Ten years ago, I would have laughed at the thought of owning tube gear, but the better my system got, the more I became seduced by the "dark" side."
Happens to the best padawans. In review are the Sixpac monoblock amps from oh-so creatively named Audio Electronic Supply. 50 watts each and $2400 a pair, Ed bought the pair he liked them so much:
"If you've been contemplating the "dark side," or are feeling seduced by glowing glass tubes, try the Sixpacs. You can't go wrong for the money!"
Check out the review for tube-rolling adventures and more. The dark side can be purchased directly from the Sixpac website.
AES Sixpac Tube Monoblock Amplifier Review [Positive Feedback]
AES Sixpac Home
Permalink | | Posted to Amplifiers $1k to 3k | Tube Amplifiers
Hyperion HT-88 Tube Monoblock Amplifiers
6Moons tips us to Hyperion's new $2800/pair HT-88 tube amplifier providing 18 watts of power per mono side. If you haven't heard of Hyperion, where the heck have you been the last few years??? Right off the block, these guys blew up the $4000 to $5000 loudspeaker segment with their wildly great HPS-938. It appears they're in the progress of attacking the amplification market, both with tubes and 100 watt solid state amps as well as cables and other audio sundries. Check out the next page for a shot of their now-legendary speaker and links to reviews.
Permalink | | Posted to Amplifiers $1k to 3k | Tube Amplifiers
DeHavilland Los 845 Stereo Amplifier
Does 6Moons Srajan ever sleep? The guy reviews more equipment in a week than most publications do all month. Seriously, he's a reviewing machine and this hour he reviewed the DeHavilland Los 845 stereo amp and has this to say:
"The DeHavilland Ios is the Clydesdale in the S.E.T. stable. It's very muscular and strong, well-tempered and quite literally a workhorse rather than Arabian prima donna."
No kidding, 25 watts for a S.E.T. is huge. Oh, and it's 25 "powerful" watts so it feels like a whole lot more. Sounds like what I tell the ladies: "it's 5 powerful inches, baby!" Check out Srajan's review for all the dirt and like a million pictures of what amounts to a black box with some tubes stuck in it. Price is $5995.
DeHavilland Los 845 Stereo Amp [6Moons]
Permalink | | Posted to Amplifiers $3k to 6k | Tube Amplifiers
Raysonic SP-100
For those familiar with tube gear, you'll immediately recognize this as a tube integrated amp. However, for those that don't know, hidden among those jagged bits of metal are the little glass tubes that provide the power. Some nice antiquated design that seems to sound pretty good as well:
"For a $3,000 amplifier, this would be a good performance, but for well under $2,000 I think Raysonic have a winner here."
Yeah, no kidding, Enjoy the Music gives the Raysonic nearly all top marks. Price runs $1799 for 40 glorious watts.
Raysonic SP-100 Integrated Review [Enjoy the Music]
Raysonic Home
Permalink | | Posted to Integrated Amp $1k to 3k | Tube Amplifiers
Cary CAD-1610-SE Review
Stereophile just posted a review of the Cary CAD-1610-SEs...from 2000. Yeah, a little late, but what the hell, check out what they have to say:
"If you do buy them, however, you'll be rewarded with God's own sound."
God's own sound??? Uh huh....The Cary amps pump out 50 watts, cost $40,000 a pair and weigh 130 pounds a piece if you want to emulate the big man upstairs.
Cary CAD-1610-SE [Stereophile]
Cary Home
Permalink | | Posted to Amplifiers $20k and up | Tube Amplifiers
Prima Luna Prologue 3 and 5 Review
"6Moons Srajan" finds some cheap tube love from Prima Luna's $1295 preamp and $1295 amp putting out 36 watts. The man behind Prima Luna says this about his company:
"As an old veteran in the retail trenches, I had some input into certain features. Make sure you check out how these things are put together. There's nobody in the business right now who can beat us on how well our components are crafted."
Pretty big words. Srajan agrees these pieces are damn fine values with stellar workmanship. Not giant killers, he says, but definitely on his highly recommended list.
Prima Luna Prologue Review [6Moons]
Prima Luna Home
Permalink | | Posted to Amplifiers $1k to 3k | Pre-Amps under $2k | Tube Amplifiers | Tube Pre-Amps
Transcendent Sound Beast
It's called The Beast and is claimed to be the world's most powerful OTL amp. What you're looking at is a monoblock cranking out 165 glorious watts into 8 ohms. Interestingly, connections can be made via XLR in addition to the regular RCA in case you want to run fully balanced operation. Price runs $3995 for an unassembled pair or $5295 for fully assembled.
Transcendent Sound Beast [via Enjoy the Music]
Permalink | | Posted to Amplifiers $3k to 6k | Tube Amplifiers
Z.Vex World's Smallest Stereo Tube Amp
Z.Vex is their name and making tiny tube amps is their game. The iMP above provides a whole .75 watts into 8 ohms and boasts a bunch of other features that make it unique (which I won't go into here). Price is unknown at the moment, but if you are in the market for a micro tube amp for your headphones or really, really, ridiculously efficient speakers, drop by their mildly informative website and take a peek (or their forums which seem to have more info than the site itself).
UPDATE: Price is rumored to be $500.
Z.Vex Home [via Stereo-Fi]
Permalink | | Posted to Amplifiers Under $1k | Tube Amplifiers
