Least maintenance tube amp?

[Bruc3]

Hi guys,

I am thinking of getting my first tube amp to be paired with a beyer t1 but don't care much for tube rolling or changing tubes etc.

I just want something plug and play and will last without much maintenance from me.

Which tube amps would you say had least maintenance and good pairing with t1?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I am thinking of getting my first tube amp to be paired with a beyer t1 but don't care much for tube rolling or changing tubes etc.

I just want something plug and play and will last without much maintenance from me.

Which tube amps would you say had least maintenance and good pairing with t1?

If you're not rolling tubes then there's really not that much in the way of "maintenance" on tube amps apart from switching out tubes when they wear out.

If you think that's too much maintenance, compare that to solid state components. If a chip conks out, you have to measure several chips or discrete ICs to figure out which one is busted. Then you have to desolder, pull the chip out, then solder in a new one.

When a tube wears out you just roll it out from the socket, use a tube tester on each, and then put in a new tube. No soldering required. Just make sure you get the kind of tube amp that has only tubes and theyre all sticking out of the chassis.

 

[Bruc3]

Thanks for the reply ProtegeManiac.

Ah I see, sounds maintenance sounds ok then I guess since I won't be rolling tubes.

So saying that, are there any specific models you would recommend?

 

[Compassionator]

Microzotl. Berning's tube designs are reliable and indifferent to tube rolling and last much longer than most other tube amps. The only caveat is that it may not be an ideal match with the T1.

 

[twitch133]

I have heard that most tubes have lives of between 6 to 10k hours... I have not experienced a tube failing due to end of life on me yet though.

Unless you are listening to it for 10 or 12 hours a day, that is going to get you many years of enjoyment before a tube reaches end of life.

I have two amps that are both really good... A Schitt Valhalla 2 and a Woo Audio WA6. It depends on your price point, and if you are willing to change tubes a single time or not. I was not a huge fan of the tubes the Woo came with, and it got a new set not long after I got it. But, once you get that set, they will last years. But, some people feel that for 700$, the amp should come with better tubes. (What they don't realize is it has 14 pounds of hand wound, customer engineered transformers in it)

If you want something plug and play, that sounds great (Not as good as the Woo, but still great) and is a few hundred less expensive? The Valhalla 2 is a good choice.

It really depends on what your price range is, and if you are willing to change / roll the tubes a single time when you first get it.

 

[Geezer Rock 001]

Check out the Garage 1217 Project Ember. It only requires one tube and it does a great job with any headphone that I have used with it. Dynamic drivers and planars.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Thanks for the reply ProtegeManiac.

Ah I see, sounds maintenance sounds ok then I guess since I won't be rolling tubes.

So saying that, are there any specific models you would recommend?

If you'll only use high impedance headphones, you can use the Darkvoice DV336se. Most expensive I'd go with OTL amps is the WooAudio WA3, but that's only $100 less than the WA6, which is more flexible as it has as much power at 300ohms but has waaaaaay more power at 32ohms (and you're more likely to find lower sensitivity headphones with low nominal impedance).

 

[ok3wire]

If you'll only use high impedance headphones, you can use the Darkvoice DV336se. Most expensive I'd go with OTL amps is the WooAudio WA3, but that's only $100 less than the WA6, which is more flexible as it has as much power at 300ohms but has waaaaaay more power at 32ohms (and you're more likely to find lower sensitivity headphones with low nominal impedance).

Apologies for the newb question, but is this suggesting that an OTL amp is somewhat more limited, or otherwise less desirable, than other (I’d assume more costly) tube amplifier topologies?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Apologies for the newb question, but is this suggesting that an OTL amp is somewhat more limited, or otherwise less desirable, than other (I’d assume more costly) tube amplifier topologies?

Output Transformerless amps have high output impedance and produce more power at 300ohms (and even at 600ohms) than at 32ohms. They're a good way to get a lot of power into high impedance headphones for not a lot of money as in the case of Little Dot (though the MkII EQs the sound a fair bit) or the Darkvoice DV336se. WA3 runs Class A (although AFAIK I think the DV336se and LD MkIII do also), cleanest sound of the bunch with less coloration than the DV336se.

That said, if you're going to get an OTL amp, the best buy is still the DV336se, or the Crack if you can build it (I just hate the top mounted sockets on the default kit though). The WA3 isn't necessarily $300 better, and if you're going to spend that much anyway, might as well add another $100 to get the WA6, which not only flips the power delivery (ie it makes most power into 32ohm loads), it has more power at 300ohms also; and for that extra cash you already get an amp that can drive practically anything other than electrostats.