GOLDEN TUBE AUDIO SE40 Pure Class A Tube Amplifier

Toolfan66
Toolfan66 Posts: 18,080
edited July 2012 in 2 Channel Audio
Anybody have experiance with this amp? is it worth $400

Thanks,

Larry.
Post edited by Toolfan66 on
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  • haimoc
    haimoc Posts: 1,031
    edited June 2009
    I don't know this amp, but $400 for a pure class A amp is cheap.
    -?¿-
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,072
    edited June 2009
    I thought Russman owned one and seem to recall it was one of his favs.
    HT SYSTEM-
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited June 2009
    I think Russ has passed it on to another member after some mods.

    GTA made excellent sounding gear. Problem is reliability. If you know a good technician, you are safe.

    My GTA SEP-1 pre amp is my favorite tube pre amp. It did have to go to the shop twice. First time was to replace the pot and second time was an issue with the B+ voltage.
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  • Goth child
    Goth child Posts: 38
    edited June 2009
    I used to sell them a few years back.They sound ok,but we did have a lot of reliability issues,catching fire,that sort of thing.......
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  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited June 2009
    GTA stuff is pretty damn good..IMO. But as mentioned you may want to have it checked before REALLY enjoying it.
    Testing
    Testing
    Testing
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 35,056
    edited June 2009
    They are notoriously failure prone; probably part of the reason that the company is no longer extant.
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  • W WALDECKER
    W WALDECKER Posts: 900
    edited June 2009
    Jeff Glowacki @ SonicCraft used to Mod the Golden Tube Audio SE 40 to improve both the sound of the amps and cure the reliability issues that the stock units had. The mod sevice from SonicCraft is no longer available but they do offer a kit to perform the mods with.The Sonicraft Modded SE 40 has a fine reputation.
    Rogue Audio stereo 100 tube amplifier - Lector Zoe preamplifier with 6H30 pi's
    .Audience AU24SE speaker and ic cables- Chord Qutest DAC - Black Cat Silverstar II 75ohm digital cable-Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Signature system with large bass cabinets to accommodate 10" Seas magnesium woofers.2xhmpsuownoj.jpg
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  • dcmeigs
    dcmeigs Posts: 708
    edited March 2011
    W WALDECKER wrote: »
    Jeff Glowacki @ SonicCraft used to Mod the Golden Tube Audio SE 40 to improve both the sound of the amps and cure the reliability issues that the stock units had. The mod sevice from SonicCraft is no longer available but they do offer a kit to perform the mods with.The Sonicraft Modded SE 40 has a fine reputation.

    I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to revive it for a few quick questions. I listened to one of these tonight and was impressed by the sound. It's a three tube parallel SE design with significant power and class A SE qualities. Decent build quality for a PCB build other than the use of too many pin connections.

    Can you tell me of the reliability issues that are a concern. This one had a problem with poor contact with the "something similar to a molex type" plug that was causing filament power to be lost to one channel. Are there other known concerns? Other than that pesky catching fire thing?
    The world is full of answers, some are right and some are wrong. - Neil Young
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  • cstmar01
    cstmar01 Posts: 4,424
    edited March 2011
    Russ man I believe just got one and was getting my Golden Tube Audio SEP-1 pre amp to match.

    Supposed to be a good match when they are combined but on their own also nice. There were issues with reliability and IE why they are no longer in business.
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  • W WALDECKER
    W WALDECKER Posts: 900
    edited March 2011
    dcmeigs wrote: »
    I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to revive it for a few quick questions. I listened to one of these tonight and was impressed by the sound. It's a three tube parallel SE design with significant power and class A SE qualities. Decent build quality for a PCB build other than the use of too many pin connections.

    Can you tell me of the reliability issues that are a concern. This one had a problem with poor contact with the "something similar to a molex type" plug that was causing filament power to be lost to one channel. Are there other known concerns? Other than that pesky catching fire thing?
    i own two of these amps.one is a stock unit and the other i bought fully modded by a EE named Loc Vu who is the resident GTA Guru over at the Yahoo Golden Tube Audio Group. there are certain resistors installed in the stock amps that were barely up to spec when new and over time they can degrade and the resistor may go POOF! on the other hand a modded unit can sound really beautiful. i remembered Russman was very fond of these amps and a few years ago i saw and bought one in pristine condition used from Echo Audio for about $450.00 and it was the best bang for buck that i have had in this hobby.do a little work on it and you will be rewarded with a very nice sounding reliable Class A Single ended parallel tube amplifier that will sound better than 90%of the PP tube amps out there :eek: go join the Yahoo GTA Group and people who know will answer any reasonable questions you may have. there are some nice people in that group and Loc Vu sells Kits to mod the SE40 yourself if you are so inclined he likes Russian PIO caps but you can put any flavor you like in yours.good luck....WCW III
    Rogue Audio stereo 100 tube amplifier - Lector Zoe preamplifier with 6H30 pi's
    .Audience AU24SE speaker and ic cables- Chord Qutest DAC - Black Cat Silverstar II 75ohm digital cable-Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Signature system with large bass cabinets to accommodate 10" Seas magnesium woofers.2xhmpsuownoj.jpg
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  • scdrj
    scdrj Posts: 11
    edited July 2012
    For the record, Loc Vu is no EE, Sonic Craft still performs the most advanced upgrades for the SE-40, and this is the yahoo group for SE-40 help: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GTA_SE-40/
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited July 2012
    W WALDECKER wrote: »
    on the other hand a modded unit can sound really beautiful.

    I agree. I own a modded SEP-1 I got from Russman around 8 years ago or so. Got it modded about 3 years ago and the difference is incredible. The original sound signature and tonal balance is still the same but everything else (dynamics, bass, resolution, etc) increased a lot. Still my favorite tube pre amp.

    GTA gear sound great when they're working properly and they sound excellent when modded (done properly, of course).
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