CHI-FI Single Ended Tube Amps, which one to get ?

[ericc129]

Yeah, I know it's risky and I'll have to substitute new tubes etc, but which one of these single ended amps would be the best one or have the best build quality and/or sound? I'm thinking the Gemtune BL-01 EL34 would suffice but the GS02 with the K88s are enticing...it seems though that in the descriptions that sometimes it says its wired for Ultralinear instead of single ended and I never see a switch to be able to change between the two.....anyway I know there have been a ton of brands using the same mass produced parts over the years so I don't know which one I should bit the bullet and choose, etc.....any help would be appreciated.

 

[vinylkid58]

.it seems though that in the descriptions that sometimes it says its wired for Ultralinear instead of single ended and I never see a switch to be able to change between the two...

Single ended is still single ended, regardless whether it's wired UL, triode or pentode.

jeff

 

[primosounds]

Yeah, I know it's risky and I'll have to substitute new tubes etc, but which one of these single ended amps would be the best one or have the best build quality and/or sound? I'm thinking the Gemtune BL-01 EL34 would suffice but the GS02 with the K88s are enticing...it seems though that in the descriptions that sometimes it says its wired for Ultralinear instead of single ended and I never see a switch to be able to change between the two.....anyway I know there have been a ton of brands using the same mass produced parts over the years so I don't know which one I should bit the bullet and choose, etc.....any help would be appreciated.

You seem to be confusing different operating conditions and or terminology.
Tube amps are usually push pull or single ended. Push pull has 2 tubes operating as mirrored pairs where 1 tube or section is amplifying 1/2 of the split signal and the other tube is amplifying the other half of the signal. This results in higher power output.
In single ended , the power tube or tubes is amplifying the entire signal without a signal splitter.
Ultralinear, is a condition where a tap on the output transformer is made which will take part of the primary B+ and that tap can be attached to the suppressor grid of tube with that grid. One can also attach that grid to the plate to make the tube a "triode". Sometimes a switch is used to accomplish this.
But regarding Chinese made tube amps. Many of the cheap ones have problems with poor quality control and will need some attention to work well. If you are not adept at that you might get a lemon and not know how to fix it. Since you live in the usa, it maybe better for you to get an amp made by someone stateside that can give you a better product.

 

[mcgjohn]

Yeah, I know it's risky and I'll have to substitute new tubes etc, but which one of these single ended amps would be the best one or have the best build quality and/or sound? I'm thinking the Gemtune BL-01 EL34 would suffice but the GS02 with the K88s are enticing...it seems though that in the descriptions that sometimes it says its wired for Ultralinear instead of single ended and I never see a switch to be able to change between the two.....anyway I know there have been a ton of brands using the same mass produced parts over the years so I don't know which one I should bit the bullet and choose, etc.....any help would be appreciated.

I bought the Gemtune amp off amazon. was actually pretty surprised at the sonic qualities. Comes with a chinese no name 6SL7 driver and PSVANE hifi grade EL34s. plop in a black plate rectifier and a decent chrome top or black plate RCA and you'll have a pretty nice sounding amp.

certainly a fun amp to listen to....and gives some high dollar amps a run for the money within its power range.

Have thought about the KT88 Gentune but have not gone for it.

best

 

[ericc129]

Yeah, single iended is what I want...I just noticed that sometimes on the gemtune advertisment on amazon it'll say like 10watt ultralinear or 8watts in single ended operation and that they could be wired one way or another. And yeah, I'm stuck with the same decision....there's a ton of reviews it seems on that EL34 amp...especially when people were getting the "luxury"olchen model from a few years back. I know I have a sweet spot for the sound I've heard through El34s usually though a push pull amp and figured it would be marvelous single ended. The KT88 gemtune is a few watts more powerful and about 200 bucks more expensive. I guess ya get more low end with the KT88, etc. but I wonder if the less expensive EL34 would suffice. I wondered if anyone here had experience comparing the two and the differences in the sound? Obviously, I will have to switch out the driver tubes and the rectifier to reach its potential, etc....I know a tech or two that could help me fix any inherent quality control issues that I hopefully won't have.....but over all, it seems that theres gemtune nobsound, douk audio.....maybe music angel? branded versions of these amps. Is there a particular one that has better build quality? I'm assuming they all use the same mass produced transformers, etc and from some user review pics that all seem to be hand/point to point wired, etc. Right now it seems the safe choice is to go amazon for the gemtune KT88; unless someone here can lead me in a better direction

 

[ericc129]

and I may use this amp to biamp the highs and let my SS take care of the lows....but initially I'll just use it stand alone with more efficient speakers. I also have a tube aikido preamp I wanna use the amps with...but now that they are integrated amps maybe 2 preamps stages isn't the best idea....I guess my other option would be to find a refurbed single ended from an old maggie or rca console and use that with my aikido as an alternative?

 

[primosounds]

Yeah, single iended is what I want...I just noticed that sometimes on the gemtune advertisment on amazon it'll say like 10watt ultralinear or 8watts in single ended operation and that they could be wired one way or another. And yeah, I'm stuck with the same decision....there's a ton of reviews it seems on that EL34 amp...especially when people were getting the "luxury"olchen model from a few years back. I know I have a sweet spot for the sound I've heard through El34s usually though a push pull amp and figured it would be marvelous single ended. The KT88 gemtune is a few watts more powerful and about 200 bucks more expensive. I guess ya get more low end with the KT88, etc. but I wonder if the less expensive EL34 would suffice. I wondered if anyone here had experience comparing the two and the differences in the sound? Obviously, I will have to switch out the driver tubes and the rectifier to reach its potential, etc....I know a tech or two that could help me fix any inherent quality control issues that I hopefully won't have.....but over all, it seems that theres gemtune nobsound, douk audio.....maybe music angel? branded versions of these amps. Is there a particular one that has better build quality? I'm assuming they all use the same mass produced transformers, etc and from some user review pics that all seem to be hand/point to point wired, etc. Right now it seems the safe choice is to go amazon for the gemtune KT88; unless someone here can lead me in a better direction

I built myself a few single ended amps that can use either el34 or kt88 type tubes. I put in a switch so that pin 1 of the socket can be disabled thus allowing you to switch between the two tube types. In comparing the sound quality between the 2 types, i prefer the kt88 tube and its slightly higher to much higher power output. Usually , if the the output transformer can handle the extra current that the kt88 needs, one can also use the kt120. With the kt120 you can get about 15watts of class A power. EL34 is around 8 to 10, kt88 is 10 to 12. Here is a pic of such an amp with kt66 tubes and Transcendar output trannys. Very nice clean sound, about 7 watts power. Of course, high efficiency speakers are a must to enjoy all the nuances such an amplifier can provide.

 

[ericc129]

Love that amp, man. One of these days I'm going to venture into tube amp building myself; most likely starting with refurbing console pulls....I have an old RS177J that I pulled a year ago that I'll probably start with since the layout seems nice and clean and it's supposedly a nice amp that was put in some of thier top consoles...it just tweaked with one of the resistors or something to allow for more true low end since consoles killed low end response to avoid rumbling with the turntables, etc......but for now I just wanna take a gamble with one of these chinese units since the payoff seems to be worth it for those who get decent units.
Oddly enough, it seems the GS-01 EL34 unit now comes with the 5U4C rectifier tube although who knows if thats any good...prolly better than the one they have been using in both that and the KT88 unit. Even with the better rectifier though, ya have me leaning toward the KT88...or GS-02 model.....I guess maybe I'll search ebay for a refurbed stand alone power amp to try and break the fever so I don't pull the trigger too quickly.

 

[kray]

Any reason why you aren't considering the Musical Paradise MP301? Can use EL34, 6L6, KT88

 

[primosounds]

Love that amp, man. One of these days I'm going to venture into tube amp building myself; most likely starting with refurbing console pulls....I have an old RS177J that I pulled a year ago that I'll probably start with since the layout seems nice and clean and it's supposedly a nice amp that was put in some of thier top consoles...it just tweaked with one of the resistors or something to allow for more true low end since consoles killed low end response to avoid rumbling with the turntables, etc......but for now I just wanna take a gamble with one of these chinese units since the payoff seems to be worth it for those who get decent units.
.

Well, the satisfaction of building an amp from just parts is hard to beat. Single ended amps are amazingly simple in design. Most of them are 2 stages, a driver tube to a power tube. Of course getting the 2 tubes to be operating at their best requires a good circuit and a good output transformer. This is where the custom builder can out do the mass producer. If you can follow a schematic there is no reason (other than physical limitation) why you can not build your own. The trite expression, if i can do it so can you, is really true.

 

[ericc129]

I just wonder about the musical paradise amp....it seems they can be rather finicky according to reviews

 

[KlipschFan61]

I have the Gemtune GS-02 KT88 running a Winged "C" 5U4G rectifier with 2 EH 6SN7's and a pair of Billington Gold Gui Guang KT88's among a few other brand variations I been burning in and have not been disappointed. It's quite a nice little amp. Very musical.

 

[Pio1980]

You seem to be confusing different operating conditions and or terminology.
Tube amps are usually push pull or single ended. Push pull has 2 tubes operating as mirrored pairs where 1 tube or section is amplifying 1/2 of the split signal and the other tube is amplifying the other half of the signal. This results in higher power output.
In single ended , the power tube or tubes is amplifying the entire signal without a signal splitter.
Ultralinear, is a condition where a tap on the output transformer is made which will take part of the primary B+ and that tap can be attached to the suppressor grid of tube with that grid. One can also attach that grid to the plate to make the tube a "triode". Sometimes a switch is used to accomplish this.
But regarding Chinese made tube amps. Many of the cheap ones have problems with poor quality control and will need some attention to work well. If you are not adept at that you might get a lemon and not know how to fix it. Since you live in the usa, it maybe better for you to get an amp made by someone stateside that can give you a better product.

Screen grid, G2.
Suppressor is G3 in pentodes, or beam formers in KT beam tetrodes.

 

[No Money]

Here is an exceptional amp. I have heard a couple. Very high quality. http://en.lm-audio.com/products_detail/productId=36.html

Kicks more expensive amps in the arse. And they have a North American dealer, Tone Imports.

 

[ericc129]

Ha, well crap.....too late, I just got my Gemtune GS-01 on Monday.....still burning her in, all is good so far....but I replaced the 6sn9 or whatever chinese tube with a sylvania 6sl7gt from like 1953....it's weird though; everyone says they hear an upgrade when changing these tubes in particular. On my amp, the sound remain the same.....I'm temtped to throw down for some NOS Brimars or an RCA 5691 red base them....does anyone have any advice experience with changing the 6SL7 tubes?

 

[primosounds]

Ha, well crap.....too late, I just got my Gemtune GS-01 on Monday.....still burning her in, all is good so far....but I replaced the 6sn9 or whatever chinese tube with a sylvania 6sl7gt from like 1953....it's weird though; everyone says they hear an upgrade when changing these tubes in particular. On my amp, the sound remain the same.....I'm temtped to throw down for some NOS Brimars or an RCA 5691 red base them....does anyone have any advice experience with changing the 6SL7 tubes?

I have collected many 6sl7 tubes and the 5691 is my favorite. But they are quite pricey. Anyway since your amp is new and still breaking in it might not be a good idea to try different tubes yet. Wait until you are sure that the amp is sounding the same from day to day or a break in period of at least a hundred hours before trying different tubes.

 

[ejman]

Ha, well crap.....too late, I just got my Gemtune GS-01 on Monday.....still burning her in, all is good so far....but I replaced the 6sn9 or whatever chinese tube with a sylvania 6sl7gt from like 1953....it's weird though; everyone says they hear an upgrade when changing these tubes in particular. On my amp, the sound remain the same.....I'm temtped to throw down for some NOS Brimars or an RCA 5691 red base them....does anyone have any advice experience with changing the 6SL7 tubes?

So what happened? do you still have it? did it go up in smoke or is it playing nice tunes? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[KlipschFan61]

My Gemtune was pretty picky when it comes to rectifiers. It gobbled up a few before I got everything sorted. The seller was cool enough to send me a brand new 274b for my efforts.
A big improvement was made by swapping out the generic driver tubes and replacing them with the PSVane UK-6SN7. Beautiful, musical tube.
The stock power tubes are fine once they break in.

 

[FlaCharlie]

Here is an exceptional amp. I have heard a couple. Very high quality. http://en.lm-audio.com/products_detail/productId=36.html

Kicks more expensive amps in the arse. And they have a North American dealer, Tone Imports.

That's an unusual design. Why would you use both a 5U4G and a 5AR4 in a single ended amp? Either one would handle the current load and should work fine on its own. The 5AR4 has the advantage of providing a soft start.

Also the claim that it is switchable between triode and ultralinear is nonsense. The 300B (assuming it's a real 300B) is a triode. Ultralinear operation requires a tube with a G2 screen, which a real triode does not have. What would the UL tap be connected to??

I went to the Tone Imports site because I was curious about the price but they have no info on the amp whatsoever. Other searches found this model listed at $1000, $1350 and $3000. And on another site there was speculation that the company might have gone out of business. Although they do have a very nice website there is no pricing information or any links to dealers that show a price.

 

[ejman]

Since this thread picked my interest and the post by FlaCharlie above made reference to 300B amps was curious to see what Amazon has available on 300B Chi-Fi and found this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...beb-4819111bef9a&pf_rd_r=5H45ZWGNW8DM6MN4QS06

I know nothing really about Chi-Fi other than my Jolida 502P (Maryland) has been a stellar performer for the last 4 years with difficult speakers (Magneplanars) driving Tungsol KT150's with no problems whatsover. 300B amps sound intriguing but of course, not with my Magneplanars.