[Wildgoose]

Hi guys--

Years ago I joined Head-Fi to find out about a Singlepower unit that came with a rack of high end audio gear that I purchased. Though I was no headphones expert, the Singlepower story was fascinating to me and had a feel of "classic and collectible" to it, so I just held on to the unit.

I get a charge everytime I I look at it- just looks powerful and cool. Wondered if there is any information or interest in Singlepower these days.

Thanks in advance for any info-- sorry if I posted incorrectly or in the wrong place.

All the best,

Doug Wilgus
Charleston, SC

 

[mulveling]

A year out now from your post, sorry - do you still have it?
Unfortunately there was a LOT of drama with Singlepower in the mid/late 2000s. Major safety issues, quality issues, and other severe problems - culminating in owner/proprietor Mikhail running off with a lot of peoples' money and gear. So the market for Singlepower amps has been permanently and severely damaged. That said, a few of the old time head-fi'ers (like myself) still fondly remember the sound. I still own an early Singlepower SDS "toaster" style amp that was gone over by a tech to improve its safety (bleeder resistors on the big power caps, etc). It still sounds amazing.

Your Maestro is really a beautiful chassis. Inside it will most likely have a "rat's nest" of P2P wiring and parts, with caps & resistors probably "air" mounted in most cases. It may or may not have safety issues that need to be addressed. But IMO, the Maestro was also an earlier model that would have been produced before things got really crazy and bad with Mikhail. This Maestro was at the top of the line for a time, roughly the same level as the SDS (which stands for: Supra Dupra Supra). I think the Maestro was more tuned for people who also wanted to use it as a preamp, but I can't exactly remember - it's not like it would be a super preamp without at least remote volume & mute controls. It's fitted with a trio of 6SN7 tubes. The center is input/gain, and the back 2 are divers/outputs. The 6SN7 outputs proved to be a limiting factor for lower impedance headphones. That's why people started using 5687 (with adapters) outputs in their place, keeping the sweet sounding 6SN7 input tube. If you were going to use the Maestro as is, your best bet would be Russian Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB outputs (these are much stronger drivers than any NOS) and a really sweet sounding vintage input tube like USA Tung-Sol round plates. Man, I bet it could sound sweet in the right setup. And it's very nostalgic for me to see that beautiful chassis again.

After the Maestro and SDS, the SDS-XLR was their top amplifier, in TWO of these chassis. It was truly a great sounding beast, despite its issues.

 

[Wildgoose]

A year out now from your post, sorry - do you still have it?
Unfortunately there was a LOT of drama with Singlepower in the mid/late 2000s. Major safety issues, quality issues, and other severe problems - culminating in owner/proprietor Mikhail running off with a lot of peoples' money and gear. So the market for Singlepower amps has been permanently and severely damaged. That said, a few of the old time head-fi'ers (like myself) still fondly remember the sound. I still own an early Singlepower SDS "toaster" style amp that was gone over by a tech to improve its safety (bleeder resistors on the big power caps, etc). It still sounds amazing.

Your Maestro is really a beautiful chassis. Inside it will most likely have a "rat's nest" of P2P wiring and parts, with caps & resistors probably "air" mounted in most cases. It may or may not have safety issues that need to be addressed. But IMO, the Maestro was also an earlier model that would have been produced before things got really crazy and bad with Mikhail. This Maestro was at the top of the line for a time, roughly the same level as the SDS (which stands for: Supra Dupra Supra). I think the Maestro was more tuned for people who also wanted to use it as a preamp, but I can't exactly remember - it's not like it would be a super preamp without at least remote volume & mute controls. It's fitted with a trio of 6SN7 tubes. The center is input/gain, and the back 2 are divers/outputs. The 6SN7 outputs proved to be a limiting factor for lower impedance headphones. That's why people started using 5687 (with adapters) outputs in their place, keeping the sweet sounding 6SN7 input tube. If you were going to use the Maestro as is, your best bet would be Russian Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB outputs (these are much stronger drivers than any NOS) and a really sweet sounding vintage input tube like USA Tung-Sol round plates. Man, I bet it could sound sweet in the right setup. And it's very nostalgic for me to see that beautiful chassis again.

After the Maestro and SDS, the SDS-XLR was their top amplifier, in TWO of these chassis. It was truly a great sounding beast, despite its issues.

Hi-- yes I still have it--looking at it right now. I'm suddenly in my 70's now-- downsizing everything in my life, which includes the Maestro. Thanks for all the nostalgia and info. Know anybody who could and would appreciate her?

All the best,

Doug

 

[Thaddy]

Wow, seeing a Singlepower amp brings back memories. I remember lusting over those piano black chassis', but it's probably a good thing I was a broke college student and couldn't afford one. At the time I think maybe only Ray Samuels and Woo were making top of the line amps like Mikhail? Maybe also Craig @ Eddie Current too? I hope it finds a good owner that can give it some TLC.

 

[minimus]

You could put it up for sale, maybe on Audiogon. The problem is that Singlepower has been defunct for almost two decades and an internet search will reveal that many Singlepower amps were badly, some say dangerously, designed. So you would either have to sell the amp with an "as is" warning or try to find a technician who can diagnose whether the amp is working and safe to use before selling it. Unfortunately, in my experience, there are very few technicians in the business of diagnosing and repairing old audio tube amps. Maybe you can find one, but its quite plausible that you won't recover the cost of having someone diagnose/repair the amp when you sell it.

 

[Wildgoose]

Thanks again for your good advice-- sorry I didn't get back sooner; I thought I would get a reply notice in my email. Had to go back to the site and the thread to see your response. All the best!
Doug

 

[Wildgoose]

Wow, seeing a Singlepower amp brings back memories. I remember lusting over those piano black chassis', but it's probably a good thing I was a broke college student and couldn't afford one. At the time I think maybe only Ray Samuels and Woo were making top of the line amps like Mikhail? Maybe also Craig @ Eddie Current too? I hope it finds a good owner that can give it some TLC.

Thanks for weighing in-- worst case scenario I just keep her-- that's sounding better all the tiome. Downsize downschmize! Doug