Tube amp for a PL/FW fan

[Dennis Hui]

Hello,

I'm not sure how meaningful a question this is, but here goes.

I'm a fan of Papa's work and have built a number of FW designs
(AJ, F4, F5, F6). I've never had a tube amp and am curious
about trying one.

I'm posting here because I am hoping for suggestions from those
who have used FW/PL designs. What tube amp might make for
an interesting comparison to the FW designs?

Thanks,
Dennis

 

[Zen Mod]

in every possible aspect** - EAR 859 (or 869)

** sound , wit , approach, originality ; sole possible difference - Papa , at least judging by public Persona, having greater level of humor , while TdP having longer beard and ego



disclaimer - (my) Papamp still better sounding than 859 ; but , name of the game is fun?

 

[MEPER]

If you can live with 7W or so in 8 ohm and your speakers are easy to drive I would suggest a SE 300B based amp. I have a direct coupled and it sounds great. If you need more power it could be a more powerful tube for SE (e.g. 811A) or a PP amp.
If you can get a pair of Luxman MB-300 mono blocks you are very lucky:
MB-300 LUXMAN - HiFi-Do McIntosh/JBL/audio-technica/Jeff Rowland/Accuphase
…..you may find them on a flea market for $200 or so if you are very lucky with original WE300B tubes 🙂 …...then you can rebuild the amp with new capacitors etc......the "iron" in these amps are very good…..

 

[Zen Mod]

ok , I know that both terms - Fun and Fetish ..... are starting with same letter

 

[Rodeodave]

If you still have the F4 you're listing, you should build a fleawatt single ended triode design, something like 45, 2A3, 300B or even 12b4a. There are a few examples of pairing such an amp with the F4 in the manual.

 

[MEPER]

I remember when they were released in mid 198x. I have wanted a pair since…..
Luxman MB300 - Schematics and Lids Lifted - StereoNET
They make a stereo version of it today called MQ-300.....but that is not the "real stuff"....

 

[6L6]

Rodeodave has the right answer - build a flea power DHT (45, 2A3) and use the F4 behind it to actually have useable power to drive speakers.
Those who have done that with the F4 report excellent results, and that the character of the device driving the F4 giving all the sonic characteristics (Which is true enough with preamps, it will be more so driven by a transformer coupled amp)

 

[MEPER]

Strange that 6L6 does not recommend 6L6s for this project…...

 

[6L6]

Lol

😀 😀 😀

 

[Zen Mod]

if flea watt range is acceptable , then using F4 as power buffer is absolutelly logical

on the other hand , if D. needs more watts , or he simply wants to have fun ..... all roads are leading to Rome

I'm still good for that that EAR 859 is proper mirror image to FW amps .....

 

[Quard]

Have any other kit or open-design amps utilized pentodes in a similar manner?
(cathode-tied control grid, signal to screen)

 

[nr12]

EAR 859

Is there more information about this amp than reviews and blurred images of the schematic? Sounds really interesting...
Thanks.

 

[Dennis Hui]

So is the EAR 859 the anti-FW? 🙂

I still have the F4, so fleawatt + F4 is definitely possible. I think I can just
get by with about 5 to 6 watts. (That's the max output I'm getting with my
cd player + preamp + F4; only 10 dB gain with the preamp). The 300B
seems to be the best bet powerwise.

Just spotted a couple of Elekits at the store:

Elekit TU-8200DX 6L6GC Integrated Amplifier / Headphone Amplifier Kit – diyAudio Store
Elekit TU-8600E 300B Power Amplifier / Headphone Amplifier Kit – diyAudio Store

The first one apparently uses the 6L6. 🙂

Thanks for the suggestions!

Dennis

 

[Nelson Pass]

while TdP having longer beard and ego

Bigger ego than mine not allowed on this forum.

😛

 

[MEPER]

Don't know if you this will be of interest for you. TG har written a little about the EAR 861 (it is of course not a 859).
EAR-861

 

[MEPER]

There is a schematic of the Lux MB-300 in this thread if you want to build a good 300B amp:
Luxman MB-300 - Le forum Audiovintage

 

[Zen Mod]

Bigger ego than mine not allowed on this forum.

😛

 

[Zen Mod]

Is there more information about this amp than reviews and blurred images of the schematic? Sounds really interesting...
Thanks.

just one of several threads here EAR 859 questions

AV8R is , as I'm digging it , Tim de P.

 

[vdi_nenna]

Dennis, I have the same dilemma. Have more than a bunch of Pass, Rothacher and FW amps, never owned a tube amp. Was thinking a 2A3 or 300B might be in order.

Just the other day I asked, in the ACA thread, whether or not the ACA was close to a 300B in sound quality. I'm chasing that surreal, palpable midrange that supposedly triode tubes possess. By the few responses I received, the ACA is not a bad competitor to the 300B. I have the ACA 1.0 (W/ R15 added) and it is a little different from all other FW amps. It definitely punches above its weight class.
Yet, it's not a tube amp, so the ACA doesn't help with the comparisons.

Let us know if you figure something out.

Vince

 

[asanden]

I build several FW amps, all great in their own way.
But also build the tubelab TSE 300B version, which has a mosfet “powerdrive” , sounds great, worth checking out. You find tubelab on the diya vendor forum