Vacuum Tube Preamplifier & Amplifier Lust Pages

 

Here's a unit that uses all silver wires throughout... including the power supply! The power transformer, output transformer and even the choke filter are carefully hand wound too. This unit is called the Wavelength Audio Napoleon and is shown here using the VIAC VV300B tube. The Mullard GZ37 (CV378) is used for rectification while a 12AU7 and 6S4A round off the tube complement on this monoblock. Frequency response is claimed as 15Hz - 35kHz and has an output of 8 glorious watts.

Wavelength Audio
4539 Plainville Road
Cincinnati, OH 45227

Tel/Fax (513) 271-4186

Click here to see Wavelength Audio's site.

 

So if you really and truly love tubes and use headphones, this is the best combination i've heard to date. Sennheiser's Orpheus HEV 90 combines open electrostatic headphones and a tube amplifier all in one beautifully sounding package. The volume control in integrated on the top of the chromed front leg. Elegant wood touches are added to definitely make this a unit of lustful desire. If you ever get a chance to audition this combination i highly recommend you do so. It is indeed amazing!

Sennheiser Electronic
Am Labor 1
30900 Wedemark
Germany

voice 49-5130-600-0
fax 49-5130-600-386

Click here to see Sennheiser's site.

Right here we got the Audium 6L6 integrated amplifier. Using no negative feedback, this unit runs in 'Class A/B' produces 50 watts per channel. Audium's designer, Heinrich Eras, uses a special power transformer which helps to lengthen the life of the tubes! Automatic biasing makes this unit easy to maintain too. Frequency response is stated from 20 Hz - 50 kHz and this baby looks kinda futuristic.

Audium Elektroakustik
Catostrabe 7
12109 Berlin
Germany

voice 49-30-6213033

 

The above monoblock amplifier is by Audio Valve and called the Baldur 100 Plus. Using six 6AS7 output tubes per channel it achieves 110 watts. Three ECC82 and one ECC83 round off the tube complement. Very high quality components are used throughout to achieve a rated frequency response of 3 Hz-72 kHz (-3db). The first time looking at this monoblock amplifier i said to myself in jest, "With the heat of the output tubes and the wire rack above them, i wonder if this thing could also cook my breakfast bacon?" The larger picture may make ya salivate just like the smell of morning bacon cooking!

Audio Valve
Kirchheider Str. 13 A
D-32108 Bad Salzuflen
Germany

voice 49-52-647799

This integrated amplifier is by C. R. Developments and is called the Romulus V2. The pre-amplification section features five inputs, volume control, and a mute feature. Also included is a pre-amplification output just in case the included amplifier needs to be augmented (or if you just decided to use another amplification stage instead of the one supplied). In the amplification stage we find two per channel 6L6GC to produce 35 watts per channel. An attractive visual layout and golden finish (seen above) or chrome (the larger picture) makes this unit as beautiful to the eyes as it is to the ears!

C. R. Developments Ltd.
8 Craftsman Square
Temple Farm Ind. Est., Sutton Road
Southend On Sea, Essex SS2 5RH
Great Britain

voice: 44-1702-469055
fax: 44-1702-601883

 

This week we simply celebrate a tube. What can be said about the Western Electric 300B that hasn't already been written? Well, quite a bit. After a brief break they have decided to start manufacturing them again! Me? Got my two matched pair here, so where are yours? How do they sound you ask. Well, you'll just haveta wait to see the review(s) on it. Simply said, buy now or cry later. Aaaaaaaaaah, the WE300B. The 300B is being built by Westrex which is owned and operated by Charles Whitener. He basically got all the folks he could from the original crew at Western Electric, is using the most recent manufacturing plant, and fortunately for us has reintroduced WE300B.

Westrex Corporation / Western Electric Audio Products
1230 Peachtree Street
Suite 3750
Atlanta, Georgia 30309

voice (404) 874-4400
fax (404) 874-4415

Click here to see Western Electric's site.

 

Went to a friends home who uses BAT gear. It sounded cool an' all so i figured, HEY, why not add a BAT amplifier to my Tube Lust page. Well, now presenting their VK-60 amplifier which uses four Russian 6C33C-B and eight 6SN7s tubes. It's single-ended bridge design output for what BAT feels achieves the performance of single-ended amplifiers yet eliminates the crossover distortion inherent in push-pull designs. Frequency response is rated at 7 Hz to 70 kHz (+-3db). Whoever said tube amplifiers have no bass hasn't heard a good tube amp on the right speakers.

Balanced Audio Technology Inc.
26 Beethoven Drive
Wilmington DE 19807

voice (302) 999-8855
fax (302) 999-8818

Click here to see Balanced Audio Technology's site.

 

Air Tight, known for their tubephillia regatta, has quite a few yummies to offer. This is their model ATM-1 which features two EL34 tubes per channel, two 5AR4 tubes for rectification, two 12AX7 and one 12AU7 as their tube lineup here. Direct point to point soldering (no circuit boards) help to bring out the best in this design. The famous Tamura output transformers help to round out this high quality design. Front and rear selectable inputs as well as right and left attenuation is also offered. Gotta admit i heard this unit and it was very nice (until the supplied Chinese firebottles cherried). Wish i could get another listen to this unit for an extended period of time. It was that good in my humble opinion.

Air Tight
Axiss Distribution
17800 South Main Street
Suite 109
Gardena, CA 90248

voice (310) 329-0187
fax (301) 329-0189

Years ago a product representative came to the 'high-end' store i worked at. He hooked up this amplifier and man it sounded soooo good! Although Beard isn't in business any longer this yummy still makes it on my tube lust page. This is the Beard P35 MK. II stereo power amplifier. It uses six EL84 tubes per channel to deliver 35 watts per channel. The rated frequency response is an outstanding 5 Hz - 50 kHz! Amazing still, i even have their contact information. i do see this baby on the used market in the UK from time to time. Ya might wanna check it out!

Hi-Fi Studio Modling
Bruhler StraBe 7
2430 Modling
Austria

voice/fax: 43-2236-41615

 

My humble apologies, but no matter what i tried with my many different photo editing software programs this small 'thumbnail' doesn't do this amplifier any justice. It's just another lust-alicious that must be seen in it's larger format. From Experience Electronics we submit, for your approval, the Classic series. Using four EL84 tubes per channel this unit achieves a whopping 32 watts per channel. This unit also features a gain control on the front panel. When you see the larger picture you'll see why i drool over this one!

Experience Electronics
West Str. 1
D-89542
Herbrechtingen
Germany
voice: 49-7324-5318
fax: 49-7324-2553

 

Now presenting the conrad-johnson Premier Eight power amplifier. Paralleling the sections of two 5751 tubes are used to amplify the input signal. This monoblock amplifier uses four pairs of the 6550 output tube to achieve 275 watts per channel! This unit runs in 'class AB' ultralinear for high power, low distortion, and low output impedance. conrad-johnson uses their own proprietary Transpectral output transformer which is claimed to achieve ten times the bandwidth of conventional transformers. Please believe me, this small thumbnail does this killer kool amp no justice. Please check out the lager photo.

conrad-johnson
2733 Merrilee Drive
Fairfax, VA 22031

voice (703) 698-8581
fax (703) 560-5360

 

Here's a yummy from Hans Appell. It's called the Intonation P1. This gorgeously chromed stereo preamplifier has it's own separate power supply unit (lower half of the picture) which feeds the main preamplifier with power. The tube heaters are always on even if you turn the unit to the off position. This not only extends the tube's life but also helps to severely reduce that ol' tube 'warm up' time. This unit also includes an MC phono section. Frequency response is claimed at 5 Hz - 120 kHz!

Intonation
Neumann-Reichhardt-Str. 27-33
22041 Hmburg
Germany

voice: 49-40-6567236
fax: 49-40-6567203

 

What cha got here is just your basic chromed, mono-block design on one chassis, remote controllable integrated amplifier with six inputs (did i actually say "basic"?). The Tube Technology Synergy uses six EL34 tubes per side running in 'Class A' mode. Therefore this unit is capable of 150 lease-breaking watts per channel. That makes this the most power tube amp on this page so far! Full onboard bias control automatically makes sure all the output tubes are running great. With seven circuit boards and entire hardwiring of the signal path this baby probably looks as good inside as it does outside.

Tube Technology
214 Station Road
Addlestone Surrey KT15 2PH
England

voice: 44-1932-821111
fax: 44-1932-821182

 

This unit started being produced in 1945! It's the Leak TL10 "Point One" to be exact. This was the very first tube unit to reproduce very low distortion (0.1%). Of course this was all achieved by using major amounts of negative feedback along the lines of 26 db! This unit has been meticulously restored and some tubes have substituted from the original version which used an EF86, a 6SN7, a 5Z4 and two KT61 tubes.

 

Ok, so ya gotta see the larger picture to enjoy this one, yet it's a goodie in my humble opinion. This baby is offered by Masaho Uchida and is sold by Sun Audio in kit form! It features either the 2A3 or the 300B output tube (your choice). A 6SN7GT drives the output tubes which use none other then the highly acclaimed Tamura Corporation output transformers. This kit also includes oddities like coal resistors which were felt to subjectively sound better then others. Regardless of the uniqueness here, this is what i feel deserves tube lust!

Sun Audio
3-25-13 Minamiohizumi
Nerima-KU, Tokyo 178
Japan

voice: 81-3392-16551
fax: 81-3392-16530

Click here to see Sun Audio's site.

 

Here is the Shindo Western Electric 300B Limited Version mono power amplifier. Ken Shindo takes the classic Western Electric 300B circuitry and takes it a step further using his own unique, yet highly refined skills. Shindo's Western Electric 300B design accepts either the XLR or RCA input and is a very limited production piece. If you ever have the chance to buy one i'd humbly suggest grabbing it up as fast as you can.

Shindo Laboratory
Auditorium 23
Gabelsberger Str. 23
60389 Frankfurt
Germany

voice: 49-69-465202

 

This unit is a Grundig, Fine Arts, CD Preamplifier. It features a balance control, input selector, volume control, and a loudness control. Four E83CC tubes garnish the top which lay on ceramic tube bases. Lust away my friends!

Grundig Vertriebs-GmbH
Deutschland
Beuthener Straße 41 - 43
D-90471 Nürnberg
Germany

Website: www.grundig.de 

 

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