Was wondering if anyone is familiar with this OTL amp called REX 100. They are apparently made by a Croatian company called VDN Elektronika. My web search has turned up very little information and that in other languages unfortunately I was unable to get around. The amp uses the El509. A mono block pair of these are available in the estate of an avid local audiophile though I believe one of the amps has an issue or two. I am half way interested in acquiring these but I would like to know before hand what I might be getting myself into. I'd also like to know about their value so as to be able to have a reasonable and fair transaction with the heirs--if that does not end up being way beyond my budget that is.
Since I am a newcommer to this forum, I will not be able to
send you the mail directly. Thus, I am leaving this additional post
in connection to yor question about the REX-100 OTLs.
Behind this design there are 2 University degree electrical engineers who own the company VDN Elektronika d.o.o.. The primary business of this small company is not audio at all; they are highly specialized in design of the custom regulation circuitry for the military appliences, special power supllies and battery units, again for the "special purpose" use. Until 1998 the OTL existed as a prototype unit, since then - another local audiophile and myself practically pushed VDN to estublish the "serial" production. This means that they have a finished and proven product ready for sales to anyone who, first of all, is familiar with the OTL highly distinctive sound quality. There are about xx pairs sold, mainly in Croatia - but the 2 were exported to USA back in 1998/99, as well as 1 to Austria and 1 to Greece. The amplifier(s) performed more than excellently with practically anything hooked to them (it is a 2x mono-integrated design - 100 W RMS/ch.) and in direct comparison, left few very costly amplifiers in the dust, strictly talking in the terms of sound quality. The amp is very stable in operation even with extremely large surface electrostats, e.g. S.Lab's A-1, or the Ultimate's; the same counts for M-L's speakers like ReQuest II or CLS II, or THIEL's. Of course, there are limits; sometimes 100 W will not be sufficient to reach the desired levels in the very large listening rooms; but this is rather rare situation.
The unit has 20 original PL-519 SIEMENS' output tubes, and operates in pure class A, up to 5 W RMS power.
Because of the VDN's professional background (which has nothing to do with audio) their people never seriously enough approched to the international marketing of this product. However, there will be soon a website dedicated to this design and you will be able to find there further information and more tech.details, if neccessary. The sound is better than anything I personally tried in my 35 year audio experience; suppose this
means something...The only "lack" I see is its visual appearance which is rather "too puristic" and simple.
Best regards,
Damir
send you the mail directly. Thus, I am leaving this additional post
in connection to yor question about the REX-100 OTLs.
Behind this design there are 2 University degree electrical engineers who own the company VDN Elektronika d.o.o.. The primary business of this small company is not audio at all; they are highly specialized in design of the custom regulation circuitry for the military appliences, special power supllies and battery units, again for the "special purpose" use. Until 1998 the OTL existed as a prototype unit, since then - another local audiophile and myself practically pushed VDN to estublish the "serial" production. This means that they have a finished and proven product ready for sales to anyone who, first of all, is familiar with the OTL highly distinctive sound quality. There are about xx pairs sold, mainly in Croatia - but the 2 were exported to USA back in 1998/99, as well as 1 to Austria and 1 to Greece. The amplifier(s) performed more than excellently with practically anything hooked to them (it is a 2x mono-integrated design - 100 W RMS/ch.) and in direct comparison, left few very costly amplifiers in the dust, strictly talking in the terms of sound quality. The amp is very stable in operation even with extremely large surface electrostats, e.g. S.Lab's A-1, or the Ultimate's; the same counts for M-L's speakers like ReQuest II or CLS II, or THIEL's. Of course, there are limits; sometimes 100 W will not be sufficient to reach the desired levels in the very large listening rooms; but this is rather rare situation.
The unit has 20 original PL-519 SIEMENS' output tubes, and operates in pure class A, up to 5 W RMS power.
Because of the VDN's professional background (which has nothing to do with audio) their people never seriously enough approched to the international marketing of this product. However, there will be soon a website dedicated to this design and you will be able to find there further information and more tech.details, if neccessary. The sound is better than anything I personally tried in my 35 year audio experience; suppose this
means something...The only "lack" I see is its visual appearance which is rather "too puristic" and simple.
Best regards,
Damir
Thanks very much indeed Damir for the background information and your attempt to contact me. Please check your email.
I am in need of tubes for one amp. But the other amp that is complete and working simply sounds divine! How's that for a descriptive term? I will try to and elaborate a bit. I have driven the Quad ESL 57 with the REX-100. One has to be careful with the gain control when driving the Quads with any amp capable of more than 25 W output. The ESL57 with the REX-100 to my ears was a heavenly match for the few watts lent by the REX-1. The amp as you indicated operates in Class A up for the first few watts. Music is pure and transparent and the bass which is deficient in the Quads was surprisingly more noticeable and taut. Very enjoyable combination. I also used a dynamic loudspeaker that employs a series cross-over with the REX-100. Musical ecstasy (blessed be Harvey) Part II! Now I could turn the gain to louder levels. Again most remarkable was the tight bass response. In so many words well controlled and effortless. The mids and highs are equally engaging, fluid with complete absence of graininess--musical and non-fatiguing. You can listen to an REX-100 for a long time without listener's fatigue. This amp is indeed stable. Its simplistic looks I rather like. High quality parts used throughout stand out, layout and construction are outstanding. This amp in my book with its 20 mm thick front face slab of beautiful Italian marble is very neat in appearance indeed.
I am in need of tubes for one amp. But the other amp that is complete and working simply sounds divine! How's that for a descriptive term? I will try to and elaborate a bit. I have driven the Quad ESL 57 with the REX-100. One has to be careful with the gain control when driving the Quads with any amp capable of more than 25 W output. The ESL57 with the REX-100 to my ears was a heavenly match for the few watts lent by the REX-1. The amp as you indicated operates in Class A up for the first few watts. Music is pure and transparent and the bass which is deficient in the Quads was surprisingly more noticeable and taut. Very enjoyable combination. I also used a dynamic loudspeaker that employs a series cross-over with the REX-100. Musical ecstasy (blessed be Harvey) Part II! Now I could turn the gain to louder levels. Again most remarkable was the tight bass response. In so many words well controlled and effortless. The mids and highs are equally engaging, fluid with complete absence of graininess--musical and non-fatiguing. You can listen to an REX-100 for a long time without listener's fatigue. This amp is indeed stable. Its simplistic looks I rather like. High quality parts used throughout stand out, layout and construction are outstanding. This amp in my book with its 20 mm thick front face slab of beautiful Italian marble is very neat in appearance indeed.
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