Brian
An Old Geezer
Check out this babe. Not mine http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=50593&item=5705411461&rd=1
(but I am thinking).
(but I am thinking).
For those who think electrolytics equal quality
- Thread starter Brian
- Start date
Thatch_Ear
Addicted Member
Looks like a piece of test gear and the freq specs are marginal. Probably sounds good, but you can get some fine SE gear to biamp with SS for bass that would probably blow it out of the water.
You want to get some good PP 6550 amps, Russ gates has some mono blocks that are one offs made by a great designer using Dyna MkIII steel.
You want to get some good PP 6550 amps, Russ gates has some mono blocks that are one offs made by a great designer using Dyna MkIII steel.
Brian
An Old Geezer
Actually Thatch it is one of the rarer ARC amps and very much sought after as 1 of if not the best of the ACR all tube amps. With tubes, specs mean even less than with SS. Some of the grails in the tube world have specs that seem to be bettered by a Yorx. Just look at SE specs for example.
Thatch_Ear
Addicted Member
The specs I was refering to were that the freqs were stated to be 30 hz to 15Khz. That is not very much as my 300B will go lower and higher and should sound as good as a PP 6550.
And it still looks like test gear. Expensive and well made test gear, but something an engineer would fall in love with. And I am not saying engineers have bad taste, but this would make an engineer feel right at home.
Who bought these things?
And it still looks like test gear. Expensive and well made test gear, but something an engineer would fall in love with. And I am not saying engineers have bad taste, but this would make an engineer feel right at home.
Who bought these things?
Brian
An Old Geezer
The freq response is 15-40KZ at the - 3dd points at rated output. The reponses you mention are the <1% distortion points at output. During those days, ARC published specs as consevative as Mc. I'll agree that WAF between this and a MC 2105 would go towards the 2105 but personally I think it is a beautiful unit. Then again I prefer the Marantz 18 looks to the 19 and love the site of the MC3500 and Marantz 9. As to who bought these, I can't specifically say since I've never met anyone with one in their system. I did compare 1 against my 75 watt ARC and it was a toss up for me but the front panel features of the 79 have all over and above the PITA system for setting up the 76a. I could not justify the cost to trade up in my mind. I would suspect more than 1 well heeled Tympani owner bought these.
I'm sorry... I 've heard the ARC D79 models (as well as the D70, the D76, the D150 and such), and there's not much way that any SE gear I've heard, is going to better this amp in total sonic performance, OVERALL. The D79 has imaging, soundstaging and vocal clarity like an SE 300B amp, but without the FR variations these amps generally have, and has bass response and extension that sounds like a big SS amp. That, and dynamics, even on marginal-efficiency speakers, that is frankly stunning. It's one of those few tube amps, that really sounds good FULL RANGE... no real compromise anywhere.
If there's an amp that could just instantaneously kick a Marantz Model 9 monoblock pair out of a system I was listening to, it would be the D76 or D79. William Johnson just flat-out got it RIGHT on those ones.
And realistically, IME, there's no way Dyna MK3 or MK4 iron is going to come close to the transfformer quality that is used in the ARC D79. The Dyna iron was GOOD stuff, but the ARC stuff is GREAT. Not many better at any price, IME.
Regards,
Gordon.
RuSsMaN
Pudknocker
Thanks for the plug Thatcher.
I have a couple of what may very well be some of the best sounding sixty-watt tube monoblocks on the friggin planet, and I can't get $5 / watt for them. Maybe if they had a nice shiney exterior, or that new car smell. I just don't know, maybe it's a sign I need to keep them.
Getting some Golden Tube SE40 stereo amps in the next week or two, they don't sound half as good, but they'll sell in a couple days because they have 'the look'.
Got me.
Cool looking piece in the original post, pricey, but cool.
Cheers,
Russ
I have a couple of what may very well be some of the best sounding sixty-watt tube monoblocks on the friggin planet, and I can't get $5 / watt for them. Maybe if they had a nice shiney exterior, or that new car smell. I just don't know, maybe it's a sign I need to keep them.
Getting some Golden Tube SE40 stereo amps in the next week or two, they don't sound half as good, but they'll sell in a couple days because they have 'the look'.
Got me.
Cool looking piece in the original post, pricey, but cool.
Cheers,
Russ
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