Author Topic: Class A solid state amp who has one?  (Read 12919 times)

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Offline karipas

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #30 on: Jan 31, 2019 at 01:25 PM »
electric bills? do not worry for as powerful as these amps are, they will not consume more than a 100 watts total for the two amps...
the dynaco st 70 with its measely 35watts per channel of power consumed more than 110 watts at idle depending on how hot you bias the EL34 output tubes...

Not too concern about electric bills, I believe mas cheaper dito kaysa dyan sa atin  :-[ . On weekends the receiver and amps will be running for 12hrs while we go shopping, grocery and errands,  my central AC is the worst takes about 65 to 75% of the electric bill in summer.

i coveted the Spec2, but since i make my own amps, what the heck?, the Leach Super amps sounded very good....a truly hifi amp......
btw, user feedback is really  OF value, it gives deeper insights as to what  worked better for guys like me who is into circuit design....

That Leach amp looks very serious, I see 12 transistors :D
Noted Sir Tony, I will keep that in mind I will report interesting finds, acquisitions et al

Sansui, Pioneer, Sonic Frontiers, Paradigm, Technics, Onkyo, PSB, TAD

Offline karipas

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #31 on: Mar 07, 2019 at 03:30 AM »
I.... I will do some experiment again this weekend before my tech takes it to refurb, I will also use the SX1250 as preamp as you recommended and report back.


@Qguy so I did some experimentation on my units,  my stock SX1250+Spec 4+modded HPM 100 were a good combination and there's a great potential but my re-capped SA 8800ii  + Spec 4 + modded HPM100 combo edged the latter a bit I know it was an unfair comparison though. The SX 1250 was supposed to be restored however I put that aside for now and went with the full restoration of my Spec 4 first (using mattds restoration BOM list at AK).

I am so excited that the restored Spec 4 will be delivered today but since I am in a middle of a move, all my gears are on storage until 3rd week of April. For the test I will use my living room speaker pair TAD TSM300. Due to absence of my gears I got the itch and purchased a Spec 1 in a heartbeat leaving a big hole in my pocket (yikes!) for delivery this Friday (Yay!). Once I'm settled to my new place I will do Spec 1 restoration myself. I will keep you posted on how things goes.

« Last Edit: Mar 07, 2019 at 03:32 AM by karipas »
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Offline qguy

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #32 on: Mar 08, 2019 at 01:09 AM »
Guessing the re-capped SA 8800ii  + Spec 4 + modded HPM100 had more detail/definition  vs  stock SX1250+Spec 4+modded HPM 100

Offline karipas

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #33 on: Mar 08, 2019 at 05:38 AM »
Guessing the re-capped SA 8800ii  + Spec 4 + modded HPM100 had more detail/definition  vs  stock SX1250+Spec 4+modded HPM 100

Hi qguy,
It's not about the details/definition, I felt the SA8800ii combo was much easier (pleasing?) to listen to. I realized my shortcoming on the test was listening to these units not flat; tone controls on and turnovers are at different settings. Note turnover points on these two units are different. The controls were set to where I like them when listening to them as a whole single item and not as just a pre-amp.

The good is I have a bigger playroom on the new place and I can conduct more experiments and comparisons without the neighbor complaining. Stay tuned, more to come.
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Offline karipas

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #34 on: Aug 22, 2019 at 02:51 AM »
Hi, at this point the Class A amp is still a dream :| . I mentioned I will be moving to a new place, after placing all my gears in one location my wife's jaw dropped at the amount of stash I collected and won't even decently fit all in my basement. The High Commander hence put into decree that no spending on any gears at the moment until we finish decorating plus me building a computer desk, audio racks, a kitchen utility table etc; unless I buy these for a ridiculous  amount of money...might as well spend it on the hobby. These will take sometime though. Can be faster if I take a 3 week vacation to finish.  :P
The High Commander also mandated that no audio gear or what so ever will be placed in the family living room :'( , all have to be in my man cave

Here is my plan: build 3 systems + 1

System 1 Family room: All tube + SS : Anthem Pre 1 + Sonic Frontier SFS 80 + SA 8800ii
System 2 Main: Spec 1 + Specs 4 + HPM 100 - up and running
System 3 Garage : Pioneer SX 434 + PSB alpha - up and running
System 4 SX 1250 + Thorens TD 147: Will take a lot of convincing to setup in the living room.

Just to add in my impression on system 2: Spec 1 (stock) and Spec 4 (professionally serviced) are match made in heaven. The Spec 1 is a versatile pre-amp these combo sound great pairing it with any of my speakers. I am already happy with what I have ....plus when I get my hands on that class A, an M-22, a Tannoy, Dynaudio Special 40 ...and...and  >:D >:D >:D

Here is system 2 DIY racks to follow :)

« Last Edit: Aug 22, 2019 at 11:51 AM by karipas »
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Offline alvinbaronsia

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #35 on: Aug 22, 2019 at 05:42 PM »
Curious, what made you want an M-22? I do have an M-22, and it is fantastic for small listening rooms.

Offline tony

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #36 on: Aug 22, 2019 at 06:35 PM »
class A amps are very good sounding, there is no notch distortion, and since the output devices do not traverse a conducting to non conducting state, problems associated with class B operations such as sticking and transitioning distortions are avoided....the price to pay however is the heat cost and the power consumption...
how do we defend our freedom? by the truth when it is assaulted by Marcos lies....

Offline karipas

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #37 on: Aug 22, 2019 at 09:12 PM »
Curious, what made you want an M-22? I do have an M-22, and it is fantastic for small listening rooms.

Like what Sir Tony said. Also I grew up with the Pioneer brand and began collecting when I started the hobby. Besides the class A sound, you got to admire the unique design and those humongous capacitors. In my listening space I find 10wpc is more than enough so the M22 fits the bill.

There is one beautiful piece on our local marketplace but I have to drive 8hrs to pick it up.
« Last Edit: Aug 22, 2019 at 10:30 PM by karipas »
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Offline tony

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #38 on: Aug 23, 2019 at 07:13 AM »
some question the need for high power amps, when all you need is just 5 watts most of the time, indeed an amp rated for 1000 watts will never put out that kind of power playing music no matter how loud you play it, that is because music has far less energy content than the sine wave used to get that spec...

but you will know a high powered amp when you hear it, transients are effortlessly reproduced....
how do we defend our freedom? by the truth when it is assaulted by Marcos lies....

Offline karipas

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #39 on: Aug 23, 2019 at 08:46 AM »
 ^^^
Sir Tony, you have wealth of knowledge, a true gem to the audio community. I never thought it this way, I  peeked at my power meters as I type while Neil Young's Motor Cycle Mama playing in the background filling the room beautifully. The needles are barely hitting 1 watt at 14 feet distance! I learned something new today :)

^-^
« Last Edit: Aug 23, 2019 at 09:42 AM by karipas »
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Offline tony

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #40 on: Aug 23, 2019 at 08:54 AM »
there are lots more to learn if one has the discipline and the drive to gain more knowledge.....

indeed, a powerful amp when run at low power is going to be at its lowest distortion points..

but there is i point where low volumes can reveal hum and noise, but in a very well made amp such as the Pioneers, this is usually no concern...
how do we defend our freedom? by the truth when it is assaulted by Marcos lies....

Offline qguy

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #41 on: Aug 23, 2019 at 10:10 PM »
I had a Cayin Push pull, Kt88/6550 Class A  amp and the sound was much more sweeter than my Pioneer SX-1250. True enough the heat produced was unbearable in the summer months.  Sold that one a couple of years ago. I recently got a Cayin Class AB EL34 (Stock Tubes) and it is not as sweet sounding as my older Cayin. 

indeed, a powerful amp when run at low power is going to be at its lowest distortion points..

True enough, my 380 WPC power amp  sound a lot cleaner than any of my other amplifiers


but you will know a high powered amp when you hear it, transients are effortlessly reproduced....

correct, even at ridiculous levels,  my high powered amp sounds clean even at the nearfield position

Offline karipas

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Re: Class A solid state amp who has one?
« Reply #42 on: Aug 24, 2019 at 02:36 AM »
I had a Cayin Push pull, Kt88/6550 Class A  amp and the sound was much more sweeter than my Pioneer SX-1250. True enough the heat produced was unbearable in the summer months.  Sold that one a couple of years ago. I recently got a Cayin Class AB EL34 (Stock Tubes) and it is not as sweet sounding as my older Cayin. 

True enough, my 380 WPC power amp  sound a lot cleaner than any of my other amplifiers


correct, even at ridiculous levels,  my high powered amp sounds clean even at the nearfield position

You guys are making me defy the High Commander :D :D :D I will get a Class A in my collection eventually :D

@qguy Spec 1 and Spec 4 are a fantastic combo. If you can and happen to come across a pair .... you got to do what you gotta do. Describing or detailing its sonic qualities is redundant and subjective anyways, but this combo is definitely what 70's Pioneer is all about.

If I can compare my gears to a car, my Sansui is prolly a Lexus or the more expensive equivalent, eloquent, sophisticated with finesse so you take care of it, clean it make sure its given the Royal treatment...while the Pioneer is like my WRX rough or edgy, meant to be driven hard and it liked it that way without any worries of breaking any.
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