Tube Preamplifier/ Solid State Power amplifier

organ

55LS70,
Since you're using 12AU7's, you might want to try these while they're still cheap, http://www.thetubestore.com/jan12au75814.html Very neutral and realistic sounding tube. I like them as much as a pair of Mullards I once had. The Mullard had more warmth. I like them a lot and will order spares. I don't know why they're not well known but these are excellent NOS.

I've owned the original ST70 for about 2 1/2 years and love it. Since you feel that you need more slam, you could try the 6CA7 (direct replacement for EL34). Electro Harmonix makes them for $25/pr. What speakers are you using? Getting more efficient speakers will give you your slam back. But if you want to keep your current speakers, the 70's output might not be enough. So like you said, you might have to go with the hard hitting amps.

55LS70

Organ,

Thanks for the tip on the 5814A's and 6CA7's I'll give them both a try. For speakers I'm using a pair Polk Audio LS70's with an efficiency of 90db. The volume is good with this combination, but like I mentioned before it's a little light on the bass. I tried bi-amping, with a Carver TFM-15CB, but came up with dismal results. A speaker change might solve my problem. Klipsch have been recommended to me on several occasions. I'm sure there are other speakers, I just have to find the time to do research.

Sometime I'll have to round up an original ST-70. Myself and some of my friends are curioius as how the two well compare.

audiobliss

55LS70 wrote:

I have to finish my 55 Chevy before I can pull the trigger.

Mmm. The '55. Definitely the prettiest of the Tri-5 Chevy's. Is it a Belair? Hardtop? With or without a post? Two door? What are you doing to it? Street rod? Restoring? What kind of engine? Maybe you should start a thread on it...(seriously...I'd love to know more about it...maybe some pics!!).


I would also recommend Klipsch. Obviously, I like the sound. Have you heard some Klipsch?

55LS70

It's a 210 Delray (optional black and white vinyl interior), two door sedan (post), with a modified 283+.060", M-20 muncie four speed and 3.73 geared 12 bolt rear end. Right now we're installing NOS front fenders, new floors, floor braces, rocker panels, quarter panels and metal in the trunk area. We'll eventually paint it a dark blue and install a reproduction Delray interior. I'm 48 years old now and I first got it when I was 16 years old. This is my first car. When I get it somewhat back together, probabaly sometime next spring, I'll post some pics. I'm thinking about putting a tube based stereo (perhaps a pair of Milberts) in it. Those amps would look pretty good next to the nitrous bottle. Don't you think? When I get to that point I'll start a thread in the car section about car based tube equipment. That reminds me, I think a I have a Link Wray CD someplace.

Back to this thread, yes, I have heard some Klipsch speakers over the years. A friend has a pair of corner horns while several other friends have Heresys. None of these people are using tube equipment though. As far as newer Klipsch speakers go, I'm afraid I haven't heard too many of those. Like I said before, I'm going to have to do a little research before I can make a good decision on speakers. I would like to stay with EL34 tubes. Those are my favorites. Someone suggested to me a pair of VAC Auricle MK ll's. That would probably cure my ills, and take care of my bank account too. Again the above 55 would have to be completed first before I purchased anything like that. Thanks for your interest. It's been my experience that when someone goes to tube equipment they very seldom go back to solid state. There are exceptions of course. I know I probably won't go back.

audiobliss

Sounds real nice! Excuse my ignorance, but at the moment my minds blank - what would the displacement be on a 283 bored .060 over? That's a nice story about it being your first car and you having it since you were 16. It's great that you were able to hold on to it all those years instead of having to sell it and then start all over again. Just out of curiousity, did you drive it most of those years or did it go into storage some?

To be perfectly honest about the tube amps next to the nitrous bottle....I wouldn't have a nitrous bottle anywere near my '55 Chevy (and no I don't have one.....but I might one day!! ). From that period everything was based on displacement. I probably wouldn't even want to go with forced induction. Certainly not nitrous. Just doesn't fit with the theme, in my opinion. However, it's your car, lol. You'll definitely have to start a thread about it when it gets closer to being done!

A tube-based stereo in it would be awesome, no doubt!

madmax

RuSsMaN wrote:

Word of caution re: McAllister amps, the EL50x tubes are VERY hard to find (decent NOS Sylvania). Buy that amp, you're pretty much stuck with Chinese grunt. The price is nice, and tubes with hats are hella cool - but I won't be buying one anytime soon.

You're better off spending more, and getting a couple push pull 6550 / KT88 / EL34 mono amps, or stereo amps that you can bridge. You'll end up with more tube options, better iron, and more likely than not, better sound.

I'm willing to be one of the guinnea pigs on this one. Might as well take advantage of that before putting up your money.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. From what I understand changing the particular type of tubes in this type of circuit cause little difference. I can't say if the sound is adequate or not because obviously I have not heard them yet. I believe they will show up with the cheaper tubes in place. I will compare to the standard group of audio tubes we all use and let you guys know what I think, for whatever thats worth.

madmax

W WALDECKER

madmax wrote:

I'm willing to be one of the guinnea pigs on this one. Might as well take advantage of that before putting up your money.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. From what I understand changing the particular type of tubes in this type of circuit cause little difference. I can't say if the sound is adequate or not because obviously I have not heard them yet. I believe they will show up with the cheaper tubes in place. I will compare to the standard group of audio tubes we all use and let you guys know what I think, for whatever thats worth.

madmax

Hey madmax,this guy is building these amps one at a time and is obviously not a novice to circuit design or tube selection, some of the best sounding audio gear comes from small mom and pop outfits like his. he is obviously a great tweeker and i have a good feeling about his products. tube rolling may be a thing of the past as far as his gear is concerned. thanks....WCW III

Normanality

W WALDECKER wrote:

Hey madmax,this guy is building these amps one at a time and is obviously not a novice to circuit design or tube selection, some of the best sounding audio gear comes from small mom and pop outfits like his. he is obviously a great tweeker and i have a good feeling about his products. tube rolling may be a thing of the past as far as his gear is concerned. thanks....WCW III

I guess the proof is in the pudding (or listening) as it were.

Compared to my old McIntosh MC240 in combo with EPI / Vandersteen/ Klipsch / Energy speakers, this McAlister amp surpasses in every way. Sure, it's not all glitzy like a Dodd or some of the off shore imports but I turn my lights out when I'm listening, and it's the sound that matters.
I'm still astounded how much deeper and tighter the bass is over Rich's Rotel 1090B and his SRS 2's. Someone please explain how a measly 75wpc tuber can outgun that mighty high-output SS amp? Guess it breaks the old wive's tale that tubers can't produce outstanding bass.

Once I remove the Carver preamp from the mix, I'm sure it'll be better yet.

RuSsMaN

Tube rolling is never a thing of the past, when it's audio related. EAR and MELOS both made big 509/519 amps, the only problem - a shortage of DECENT tubes.

Looking forward to your thoughts Chuck.

W WALDECKER

Normanality wrote:

I guess the proof is in the pudding (or listening) as it were.

Compared to my old McIntosh MC240 in combo with EPI / Vandersteen/ Klipsch / Energy speakers, this McAlister amp surpasses in every way. Sure, it's not all glitzy like a Dodd or some of the off shore imports but I turn my lights out when I'm listening, and it's the sound that matters.
I'm still astounded how much deeper and tighter the bass is over Rich's Rotel 1090B and his SRS 2's. Someone please explain how a measly 75wpc tuber can outgun that mighty high-output SS amp? Guess it breaks the old wive's tale that tubers can't produce outstanding bass.

Once I remove the Carver preamp from the mix, I'm sure it'll be better yet.

another satisfied customer!

SCompRacer

RuSsMaN wrote:

Word of caution re: McAllister amps, the EL50x tubes are VERY hard to find (decent NOS Sylvania). Buy that amp, you're pretty much stuck with Chinese grunt. The price is nice, and tubes with hats are hella cool - but I won't be buying one anytime soon.

You're better off spending more, and getting a couple push pull 6550 / KT88 / EL34 mono amps, or stereo amps that you can bridge. You'll end up with more tube options, better iron, and more likely than not, better sound.

I wouldn't have bought an amp that you couldn't get tubes for. While it may be true that Sylvania NOS tubes are hard to find, there are several horizontal output tubes that will work in place of it. 6KG6, 6KN6, 6LM6, 27KG6, and 6LB6 just to name a few. Other tubes that could work would require a filament voltage change.

As far as being stuck with Chinese grunt, I don't see where they have ever made a horizontal output tube. The EL519 Golden Dragon listed was made in Yugoslavia.

The reason he uses horizontal output tubes is not for the cool factor; sweep tubes have much lower distortion and handle 5 times the currect and 10 times the voltage of audio tubes. Imagine a guy saying circuit design should dictate sound, not a tube change.

There may be better sounding tube amps, but don't discount this one until you have heard it. Since I have no credibility, you'll just have to wait to see what Chuck says. Until then, I say bury the contempt and Chuck, let me know how it works out.

madmax

SCompRacer wrote:

Since I have no credibility, you'll just have to wait to see what Chuck says. Until then, I say bury the contempt and Chuck, let me know how it works out.

That is certainly not true. If you had no credibility I would have passed right by.


Russman makes a good point that the standard tube set is more likely going to be easier to deal with. With the internet though, I doubt you would ever be tubeless. If finding tubes is any concern at all just think of this: I couldn't find mosfets of the same number for a Soundcraftsmen SS amp a few years ago. It would have taken some engineering talent to cross some over as no crossovers were given. The amp was about 10 years old. Same problem, just who would have thought?? It was a cheap amp anyway so not really worth the effort.

madmax

ND13

I'm ordering mine as soon as I have the cash to spare for the deposit. You have plenty of credibility with me Rich. I don't thionk Russ was discounting you and your credibility. He was just bringing up a point that some may not understand about the difference in design philosophy between Peter's and the status quo of tube amps. I don't believe there are very many people out there with experience with McAlister amps, so the cautiousness is warranted in some ways. With that said, I know how picky you can be about your gear Rich, so if you say it's kicking your Rotel's ****, I tend to believe you.

Maybe if there was some chrome or bling on these amps, people would give them a second look. I don't think that it's worse looking than an old Dynaco ST-70, but it's a proven design that has been around in one form or another for what...40-50 years now??

RuSsMaN

I guess it read wrong. I'm not discounting anything, actually I'm amazed he can offer what he does, at the price point. The iron alone, especially the output trannies (if they are of any quality), have got to run him $100 / $150 a piece.

I'm familar with sweep tubes, I've been listening to a pair of EAR 519's on Gallo Ref 3's for the past year and half, every other Saturday at Uncle Charlies.

As far as bling / glitz, I think the amps look great. At the end of the day, who cares what they look like anyway - I never said anything about looks, did I?

Credibility? Huh? You've got as much as any other **** here, including me.

ND13

I think he does it more out of his passion for audio, just as Gary Dodd did. Before Dodd Audio went "public", he was offering the consumer "OUTSTANDING" products that were WAY underpriced for what they were/are. He still does to this day as far as the ELP is concerned. Really though, even with the price increase of the MLP recently, it's still a hard unit to top within it's price point. I don't have any experience with the Reference pre or any Dodd's amps, but I trust RuSs' views on those. Some day I would like to get some of Gary's monos or one of his stereo amps, but for now and the near future, the McAlister will be the only amp on my short list of must haves. Unless of course something ridiculously low-priced comes along, like some Mac, Cary, BAT, CJ or the like comes along for under $1k, that can compete with the McAlister.

Cary Stereo v-12.....that would be nice. Do you think anyone will sell me one of those for $900 :rolleyes: . I can dream, can't I????

organ

55LS70 wrote:

Organ,

Thanks for the tip on the 5814A's and 6CA7's I'll give them both a try. For speakers I'm using a pair Polk Audio LS70's with an efficiency of 90db. The volume is good with this combination, but like I mentioned before it's a little light on the bass. I tried bi-amping, with a Carver TFM-15CB, but came up with dismal results. A speaker change might solve my problem. Klipsch have been recommended to me on several occasions. I'm sure there are other speakers, I just have to find the time to do research.

Sometime I'll have to round up an original ST-70. Myself and some of my friends are curioius as how the two well compare.

Hi 55LS70. Your speakers are efficient. Are your driver tubes old? If they're weak, they'll send a weak signal to the power tubes.

Also, try the 4 Ohms output taps. Going from 8 to 4 doubled the bass in my speakers.

I hope the 6CA7 works out for you. It's the American version of the EL34. Sounds similar to the EH EL34 with more slam/dynamics and better extension.

Klipsch will mate very nicely with your amp but they're not for everybody. The ones you've heard are from the Heratige line. I own the RF-35 from the Reference line and love them. The horns may be a bit too much with SS gear but completely transforms into a different beast with tubes. If you like the "live" sound, you'll love them.

Let me know how the tubes work out for you.

You'll find this interesting.... It's a write up on the original ST-70 vs. Series II http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/dynaco1e.html

Maurice

00p225

I used a homebrew tube pre using 12au7's into a 200wpc soundcraftsmen PM-840 mosfet amp with very good results. Soundstage, note decay, and timbre, especially with piano was greatly improved over a solid state pre. The solid state preamps I've tried with the soundcraftsmen was an NAD 1130, which was not bad, but has some grain, and less detail than my tube pre. The phono stage was not bad however. I also tried the preamps from the HK 730 and 930 twin powered receivers. The 730's pre was actually more musical than the nad pre. Way too much background noise though, as this old receiver as most needs updating of the caps etc. The third pre I tried was my Mcintosh C-28. Maybe 80% of the detail of my tube pre, but again way to much background hiss and noise. Time to update this one as well. No way I would go back to a solid state preamp though. I'm now using my tube pre into my updated 35wpc eico hf-87 el34 amp. There's no going back to solid state for me! My setup now has more dynamics at low volumes than any of my solid state equipment ever had. Bass is awesome, and when a bass note stops, it stops dead. No flab here! Midrange vocals are simply awesome, and highs are smooth detailed, yet without siblance. Nice...........

Gaara

Currently using a Modwright SWL 9.0SE tubed preamp with a Earthquake Cinenova Grande 5 SS amp. Great combo, tubed preamps are the best thing that ever happened to my system.

Dennis, the modwright is quite the piece of equipment, its build quality is phenomenal and Dan is great to work with. I am one very happy customer.

Jared

Dennis Gardner

I will have a Modwright once I stop buying gear that I don't really need. I have enough gear for 6-10 people to feast on. I tend to buy 3 $500 pieces of gear to see what they are like, instead of the single $1500 piece.