plastic penguin said:
IIRC PP old buddy, you said valve amps were prone to overheating , not the valves. Thats why I jumped on yer charlies at the time.
@ CJ , 200 quid for a 300B is peanuts. Google Western Electric NOS 300B , then sit down . Conversely EH 300b Gold Grid 69 quid a pop , damn good valves and not exactly bank breakers.
@ Steve , do not buy valves from Icon contact me when/if you need any.
plastic penguin said:
As I said PP, 'some women can be high maintenance', same as the valve amps one chooses, a KT88 can be economic and give quality performance, you can equaly pay an arm and a leg, for, in my humble opinion, the same item dressed up in finery that dont much change what goes on inside if you get my meaning????
PP, you have to be understand of the product to get value for money . . . takes years, sometimes never? Certainly listen to those that know . . .
I did a lot of searching, got my excellent Sovtek KT88's for £25 each inc. They proved to be as good, if not better than fancy £100 glitter types, I listened, took note and made my choice . . . :dance:
CJSF
plastic penguin
Well-known member
floyd droid said:
Floydie me ole mucker, what else *other than valves* would overheat? Did make it very clear in that other thread, around the festive period, that valves overheat, and gave a very factual reason based family member working on valves costing far more than ya average amp.
Convinced there's a conspiracy. |(
plastic penguin
Well-known member
CJSF said:plastic penguin said:
PP, you have to be understand of the product to get value for money . . . takes years, sometimes never? Certainly listen to those that know . . .
Ample reason why I wouldn't dip my toes in the valve pool. I know nothing about valve amp... I don't know anything about anything...
floyd droid said:
You are right Floyd, as I had no experience of the unit I was trying to put forward a personal view to Steve as to the way I thought about the 300 amp. Believing you would put him on the right track?
I did not make it clear enough, Icon is not the place to buy valves from in my attempt to make a point.
Your valve experience has helped me a lot, I said you would be the best person to talk to. Great valve, yes, but £69 x 4 still racks up in my book, unless one has deep pockets?
CJSF
plastic penguin said:
I think thats the point to be made PP? To those of use who do have hands on experience, valve amps, respected brands that is, do not overheat or go wrong any more than any other type of amp, I suspect less because of their simplicity, in fact, when they do need attention . . . 'a valve goes off' . . . its a user job to unplug and replace with a new one, what could be more simple or practical. :?
CJSF
plastic penguin said:CJSF said:plastic penguin said:
PP, you have to be understand of the product to get value for money . . . takes years, sometimes never? Certainly listen to those that know . . .
Ample reason why I wouldn't dip my toes in the valve pool. I know nothing about valve amp... I don't know anything about anything...
. . . :wall: you did not get the point PP, did you . . . :doh:
plastic penguin
Well-known member
CJSF said:
But if a single valve starts to become iffy doesn't that affect the others? i.e put too much of the burden on the good ones? Or is my understanding that crass?
it is interesting the variation in price of valves ie KT88s some are £60 for pair up to £150 pair - I havent got a clue to be honest!
stevebrock said:
There are more valve brands out there than companies that actualy make em Steve, so heres a clue. Re-Badged
plastic penguin said:
Worse case scenario caused by an internal short somewhere or other , a power transformer.
Theres no conspiracy mate
.stevebrock said:
Its not as clear cut as that Steve. Like anything else really, get a duffer or a blower after a week and that brand , via forums etc , instantly becomes unreliable.
Back to re-badged. Shuguang produce about 60% of the worlds valve output , either under their own name or OEMs.
I auditioned this amp a while back and really loved it. After i got my valve headphone amp i really wanted to get one for my HIFI. I'm not very good at describing sounds but the best way i can put it is; i dont analyse the sound anymore, i just listern and cant stop with my valve headphone setup.
Floyd, whats your thoughts on all these holy grail NOS super tubes that people talk about E.G. Sylvania 6SN7's made in the 40s, metal base Philips GZ34, Western Electric 422A etc? Are they really as good as people say? The prices on these valves are rediculous! I brought an old philips GZ34 (plastic base) off an old collector in my area locally for $10 and did notice it sounds nicer than the stock current producion Shuguang.
Floyd, whats your thoughts on all these holy grail NOS super tubes that people talk about E.G. Sylvania 6SN7's made in the 40s, metal base Philips GZ34, Western Electric 422A etc? Are they really as good as people say? The prices on these valves are rediculous! I brought an old philips GZ34 (plastic base) off an old collector in my area locally for $10 and did notice it sounds nicer than the stock current producion Shuguang.
josh05 said:
You have to remember that if a guy says 'yeah those Sylvis 6Ns are great ' its in his amps circuit and his lugholes. So you pays yer money etc.
If you're looking at KT88s, I think some of the Russian valves are best. Personally I use the JJ Tesla KT88s, matched quad, and have found them to be extremely reliable, and in terms of how they reproduce music I really want for nothing.
stevebrock said:
O'boy, been there, don that got the t-shirt. I went up to £400 for a quad set of fancy KT88 :O frankly they were'nt worth it, got my money back, you can do that over the internet with UK suppliers, they dont like it and will fight it, but it is the law.
Floyd gave me a lot of help, very grateful, I have made mistakes. I favor the Russian valves, my Sovtek KT88 are (6 months ago?) £23 each, sound better to me than anything I have tried. Applies also to the other valves, also Russian, vary from £3 to £17, the £3 ones cost more for p&p than the valve cost,
The point is Steve, if you are enjoying the ST40 as it comes, then dont worry about it, just enjoy. After my experience, I would even say, dont go down the 'valve rolling rout', until it is time to replace the valves after a few 1000 hours . . . if you are luck :? Then again, if you are like me, I could not wait to see how much more I could extract from the ST40. Thinking high cost equaled high sound quality . . . dont believe it. I learned, as Floyd has said, its how a valve sounds to you in your system and environment that counts, not what it cosys.
CJSF
I was just thinking ahead re:replacements
Hot Rox UK are on my doorstep and sell the Sovtek KT88 for £23 each - like you say cheap!
I am really loving the ST40, even Missus B has commented positively on it.
Will be on the phone to Icon Audio tomorrow!
Happy days!!
Hot Rox UK are on my doorstep and sell the Sovtek KT88 for £23 each - like you say cheap!
I am really loving the ST40, even Missus B has commented positively on it.
Will be on the phone to Icon Audio tomorrow!
Happy days!!
p_m_brown
Well-known member
Nice one Steve, glad you are enjoying it. Sounds like a keeper!
The only valve amplification I have heard are guitar amps (I own a tiny vox and love it!) so must get round to trying a proper hifi valve amp at some point.
How does it sound with your Dac BTW?
The only valve amplification I have heard are guitar amps (I own a tiny vox and love it!) so must get round to trying a proper hifi valve amp at some point.
How does it sound with your Dac BTW?
crikey I haven't even got round to connecting my DAC up to it!
just been enjoying the vinyl too much, will report back on that
just been enjoying the vinyl too much, will report back on that
plastic penguin
Well-known member
plastic penguin
Well-known member
stevebrock said:
Holy EDITED. You haven't had the amp 5 mins and you're worrying about replacement valves already?
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