point-to-point, hand-wired tube amps

Another argument is that P2P is more susceptible to wiring issues. Far more chance of a bad solder, wire crossing, etc., etc. With few exceptions the chances of a PCB going bad is far less liking than something that was hand wired. Please do not think that I am against P2P, I am just pointing out the other side of the issue. I think both sides have valid points but reliability definitely falls on the PCB side.
 
Serge, cool your jets please. My inbox is full of complaints.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
I have owned Croft Acoustics integrated/amp/preamps before they got popular with the Stereophile crowd. I find them to be very good, certainly very spartan, and won’t appeal to many. And measurements be damned, I love them. Even paying a bit of extra for imported goods, they just sound right to me. And of course, not chock full of any “audiophile approved” parts, and point to point wiring, only circuit board is for the timer circuit. Good enough for me.
 
TheOctopus said:
Ahem... PrimaLuna. Kicks the sonic butt for the price. Seriously. My Dialogue Premium HP EL34 integrated brings me more listening joy than ARC REF250SE monos with the 40th anni REF preamp did back in the day. Imagine that.
Click to expand...
My buddy does not care for Audio Research and Conrad Johnson but he really likes Prima Luna. He says it is one of the best sounding amps he has heard.
 
stereogeek said:
My buddy does not care for Audio Research and Conrad Johnson but he really likes Prima Luna. He says it is one of the best sounding amps he has heard.
Click to expand...

It is all personal preference, system synergy and even how we hear. I guess my inner music lover preferred the EL34 tubes and the PrimaLuna design more. Price wise, there is a significant difference but the inner music lover is blind to shiny boxes and cares not what the price tag is... (but that can go either way... :) )
 
TheOctopus said:
Ahem... PrimaLuna. Kicks the sonic butt for the price. Seriously. My Dialogue Premium HP EL34 integrated brings me more listening joy than ARC REF250SE monos with the 40th anni REF preamp did back in the day. Imagine that.
Click to expand...

Another PrimaLuna fan here. Amazing sound quality, musicality, reliability and value, and loads of fun with tube rolling. Have used EL34's, KT120's and KT150's with my amps, but my favorite is the 7581a.
 
CPP said:
Quicksilver Audio all P2P
A lot of Bob Latino's amps are P2P
Leben P2P
Click to expand...

I have known Mike Sanders (Quicksilver Audio) since I replaced him as National Sales Manager at Magnepan.

He wanted to start up his company way back then, and he did.

I have two pairs of his monoblock amps.

Are they the best tube amps that I have heard?

No, but from a musical involvement standpoint, they are extraordinary values when compared to amps that cost more than 10 times as much...

Oh, and they are super reliable...
 
I had a pair of Quicksilver KT150 mono blocks a few years ago and sold them to Randy. One of my audio regrets was parting with them.
 
Randy Myers said:
Another argument is that P2P is more susceptible to wiring issues. Far more chance of a bad solder, wire crossing, etc., etc. With few exceptions the chances of a PCB going bad is far less liking than something that was hand wired. Please do not think that I am against P2P, I am just pointing out the other side of the issue. I think both sides have valid points but reliability definitely falls on the PCB side.
Click to expand...

But on the flip side, if a PCB takes any significant damage, the repair can be a more costly and difficult - and that PCB may not be available anymore at some point.
 
Tube sockets should never reside on the PCB but some manufacturers do exactly that.... heat is not kind on that scheme over time.
Click to expand...
That's a pretty broad, and incorrect statement. Done right, there is no reason tube sockets can't be board mounted. In my experience (over 25 years in this business) I can think of 2 maybe 3 manufacturers that have issues with board mounted sockets. Most problems stem from parts around them or circuit design.

But on the flip side, if a PCB takes any significant damage, the repair can be a more costly and difficult - and that PCB may not be available anymore at some point.
Click to expand...
I run into this far more with solid state amps than with tube amps. In 25 years and thousands of repair jobs, I've only ever had to replace a tube amp circuit board twice, and both were relatively recent. In both cases the manufacturer wanted way too much money for replacement boards, so they were reverse engineered and I made them myself.
I've had quite a few more P2P amps that had broken solder, burnt wiring, and even wiring mistakes.
 
It's not an amp but a pre-amp First Sound Paramount Plus SE and it's paired with 2 power supplies, one for each side.........Truly amazing piece.
 

Attachments

  • 0823A41C-C63B-4DAF-A745-378F82D81CA7.jpeg
    0823A41C-C63B-4DAF-A745-378F82D81CA7.jpeg
    287 KB · Views: 231
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top