Post by Owen Y on Jan 27, 2017 8:03:54 GMT 12
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Post by Owen Y on Jan 27, 2017 8:13:28 GMT 12
 Hmmm..... I've never seen EL84s with black plastic bases, Watson.... Also a capacitor can where the GZ34 rectifier should be. That lovely pic is of a Leak Stereo 50 or 60, not a Stereo 20 
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Post by foveaux on Jan 27, 2017 12:31:17 GMT 12
fair enough from a UK viewpoint, helpful to provide some guidance in the exploding valve scene. Ive seriously looked at Icon in the past. 'budget' is relative of course, Id be interested in a 'value-for-money article too. Im becoming a bystander regarding valve amps, but I do have Ecofan (nz) and Mapletree (canada) amp systems in storage. Locally Ive heard Prima Luna - great sound and good value-for-money imo Quad has a deserved reputation and I was impressed with this release: www.quad-hifi.co.uk/product-detail.php?pid=41 nice looking speakers too - should be a worthy little system? Rogue gear is always well rated too www.rogueaudio.com/Integratedamps.htmthere must be plenty of eastern origin 'budget' valve amps, that kiwis can access before moving up the food chain to Mactone, Triode, Kondo, Air Tight, Leben, Yamamoto, Allnic, Shindo, Almarro etc...so many options...maybe a TPP without usa could benefit kiwi valve audio fans
"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]
"Free - I miss that band, but when I look back, we were very young" [Paul Rodgers]
862 posts
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Post by foveaux on Jan 27, 2017 12:34:30 GMT 12
and there a fellow in Aussie westonacoustics.com who is delivering the goods - I have a colleague who rates his integrated as the best amp he has after 30+ years listening
"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]
"Free - I miss that band, but when I look back, we were very young" [Paul Rodgers]
862 posts
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Post by Owen Y on Jan 27, 2017 14:03:12 GMT 12
Ecofan & Mapletree are maybe esoteric even in the world of esoterica  Have spent many an evening enjoying Ecofans. And had a Prima Luna running here for AEnz for a few wks. Yes many decent options in the world of valves these days.
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Post by Graham on Feb 3, 2017 14:54:48 GMT 12
Hmmmmm, no mention of Yarland.
I'm very impressed with my Yarland Pro88SE.
Excellent build quality, massive transformers, neat point to point wiring etc, and it sound wonderful.
Cheers
Graham
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Pundit
Post by beeman on Feb 7, 2017 11:33:53 GMT 12
I can vouch for Ming Da & they are making hi end stuff too. The Icon amp in the review is on a Ming Da base
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Post by guitardude on Feb 7, 2017 13:08:17 GMT 12
Line Magnetic seems to be the brand i'm always seeing on TM. Anyone tried them ?
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Post by Owen Y on Feb 7, 2017 15:56:18 GMT 12
Line Magnetic seems to be the brand i'm always seeing on TM. Anyone tried them ? They look good, vintage styled & many of their designs are vintage inspired. Not 'budget' category though, I imagine.
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Post by michaelw on Feb 7, 2017 17:11:41 GMT 12
wasn't there some controversy a year or so back over who was the real 'offical distributer' of line magnetic in nz ?
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Post by Owen Y on Feb 7, 2017 21:35:50 GMT 12
Yes, I recall someone parallel-importing & selling on Trade Me? ie. Not from the NZ distributor. China-made, you wouldn't know it. Homage to Western Electric - their 'vintage' range.
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Member
Post by klaatu on Feb 7, 2017 22:26:44 GMT 12
Yes, I recall someone parallel-importing & selling on Trade Me? ie. Not from the NZ distributor. China-made, you wouldn't know it. Homage to Western Electric - their 'vintage' range. Yes Owen, Turned On Audio are the importers here - I purchased my darling little LM210ia integrated from Paul & Neil a couple of years back. One of the best audio buys I've ever made Its not really budget material though  
KLAATU BERADA FUCTO
Currently at DEFCON 4
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Post by guitardude on Feb 8, 2017 7:58:01 GMT 12
And therein lies the problem of what you classify as budget ! I'm not familiar with that model but recall seeing and EL34 integrated that was about the $1599.00 mark which is probably about as budget as it gets for a 25w/ch valve integrated ?
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Post by Owen Y on Feb 8, 2017 9:30:27 GMT 12
Would the next $$ step up from 'budget' be 'affordable' valve amplifiers?! (That LM210ia has great styling huh? klaatu - Hard to beat the visual appeal of a big analogue meter )
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Member
Post by klaatu on Feb 8, 2017 19:57:56 GMT 12
Oh yeah, the LM sure has its brutish appeal - for a flea powered SET! I'm also the proud owner of some real budget tube amps, Antique Sound Labs WAVE AV8's. $99USD a pair when released from memory, they actually sound bloody marvelous with the matching passive pre into my pair of Omega Super 3XRS hemp cones. And even better using the Audio Innovations pre I've had lying around  
KLAATU BERADA FUCTO
Currently at DEFCON 4
20 posts
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Post by Owen Y on Feb 8, 2017 20:26:23 GMT 12
The other thing to note about that LM2101a is that it looks (to me) like it's based on the Western Electric 91-A theatre amp circuit - legendary for being good sounding. This amp was interesting because: - features a 310A pentode (shock,horror) driving a 300B SE triode. - often built with only 2 stages (ie great transparency) - very sensitive (the LM adds a 12AX7 input stage in front for even more gain). I built this cct once (OMG in 2003) & indeed, it is lively, clear & musical - better, dare I say, than the more fashionable all-triode SE amps. There's a synergy between the pentode & the triode. My fav 300B/2A3 SE amp design. A pic of my rough old breadboard version:  (You can see the red EF37A pentodes I used, cool top cap connected tubes like the WE310As on the LM.)
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Post by guitardude on Feb 9, 2017 14:06:40 GMT 12
Um, I think that's an Audio Research pre in the photo not an Audio Innovations ?
Definitely not budget or probably even affordable (unless second hand). What model is it Klaatu ?
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Member
Post by klaatu on Feb 9, 2017 14:37:24 GMT 12
Well spotted guitardude! It's an ancient Audio Research MCP-2 moving coil step-up, with one configurable MC input and a MM input that just passes through to the moving magnet phono stage of your choice. Which in this case is an Audio Innovations P1. The L1 pre is on the bottom shelf between the power amplifiers. It's a great little second system for the spare (listening) bedroom!
KLAATU BERADA FUCTO
Currently at DEFCON 4
20 posts
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Post by guitardude on Feb 9, 2017 15:07:36 GMT 12
You learn something every day ! I didn't know that ARC ever made such a unit. I covet their early pre amps something wicked....
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Pundit
Post by beeman on Feb 10, 2017 19:55:13 GMT 12
Line magnetic are an interesting company. They make some really nice vintage copy stuff like Western Electric compression drivers & horns & field coil speakers. Also monster valve amps. They make vary competent entry level valve amps. I owned one of there valve DACs & it us a nice sounding unit. Unfortunately I was caught by NZ Audios parallel import & the value halved over night grrr. Oh well I guess that can happen these days & no fault of the importer I got mine from. I would happily own Line Magnetic gear again
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Post by guitardude on Feb 16, 2017 14:26:11 GMT 12
Perhaps a best budget valve amplifier buys in NZ might be a starter topic ?
One vote for the Leak Stereo 20 here: Not that i've heard one for ages nor seen one for sale under $800.00 recently either....
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Post by Owen Y on Feb 17, 2017 11:22:43 GMT 12
What do folks think might be an approx NZ$$$ (or USD) definition of 'budget'?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 12:19:43 GMT 12
Budget would be the 1000-1500 range, surely? Beyond that its toys for boys and you're paying as much for the name and the status. That's not at all to say that spending more won't net better results sonically - but when people use the term budget to describe a 4k amp, I think there's a certain disconnect...?
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Post by guitardude on Feb 17, 2017 14:46:43 GMT 12
For once I actually agree with you. I'd start a thread on the subject but I really don't have any idea of what's around in the market at that price and any aspirations I might have towards Valve amplifiers are all more expensive i'm sorry to say. I was quite keen on the "affordable" ARC GS175 integrated until I found out they were 25k AUD...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 16:39:27 GMT 12
For once I actually agree with you. Rude. So rude. But until I finally settle my account, I guess you're stuck with me... And 'affordable' at 25k... There's that disconnect. You could get a second hand Mars Rover for less...
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Member
Post by reducedtolerance on Feb 25, 2017 11:51:22 GMT 12
First valve amp I listened to was a 2 amp Decware Zen driving a huge pair of 15" Tannoy GRF's, utterly sublime and steered me away from solid state. I've currently got a pre/power set up from Glen Croft, excellent value for money with a cracking MM phono stage in the pre.
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Post by Owen Y on Feb 25, 2017 13:07:05 GMT 12
I've currently got a pre/power set up from Glen Croft, excellent value for money with a cracking MM phono stage in the pre. Perhaps some pics? All hard-wired style, still, I believe. Cheers.
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Post by Owen Y on Feb 25, 2017 13:08:05 GMT 12
I've currently got a pre/power set up from Glen Croft, excellent value for money with a cracking MM phono stage in the pre. Perhaps some pics? British, all hard-wired style, still, I believe. Cheers.
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Post by guitardude on Feb 28, 2017 9:09:31 GMT 12
I think Glenn Croft is out of business now isn't he ? Although to be honest he had a reputation for keeping a fairly low profile anyway ?
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Post by deano1974 on Feb 28, 2017 10:04:15 GMT 12
I think Glenn Croft is out of business now isn't he ? Although to be honest he had a reputation for keeping a fairly low profile anyway ? Far from it, one of the top custom pre amp and phono stage manufacturers in the uk www.croftacoustics.co.uk
Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI
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