spkrman57
wrongsideofthetracks
After having this amp for over a year I thought I would post my opinions on its performance.
I bought this from Brian @ Venus Hi Fi. Brian has sold me many great products, most of them run on tubes.
My first year with this amp did not have a lot of time running in the main system as it does run pretty warm in summer time.
The Stingray is like most tube amps, that is you must have a synergy between the amp and the speaker system to be used for optimum results.
I finally found a wonderful match using a pair of 4 Pi-pro(Wayne Parham/Pi speakers) 2-ways. Using a JBL 2226 15" driver in a approx 3 cubic ft ported cabinet mated with a round wooden 650 hz Edgar tractix horn with 1" throat driven by Great Plains 902. Crossover is vintage stock Pi crossover that Wayne designed. I have used that basic crossover @ 1.6 khz for years and it's time proven.
CD player is Audio Note tube buffered output. Yes, once again my friend Brian/Venus Hi Fi.
Interconnects are Zu silver wire unshielded. (Brian/Venus Hi Fi)
Trying various commercial speakers gave some decent sound. I tried Klipsch Heresey's and they sounded okay, but without any real bottom end and midrange body. I tried these and most on the "triode-strapped" mode for little bit better bass response, and also less thin on the midrange.
Nothing really got my attention with this amp until the Pi 4 Pi-pro speakers were used. They are 97.5 db/watt and are capable of running off a 45 SET amp (2 watt output), but they also can be run at several hundred watts easily without strain or stress.
I can say that I finally used the amp with the "ultra-linear" mode and I think I finally have around 250 hrs on the Stingray now and it's burned in.
The imaging is quite good, just shy of my EL34 triode-strapped mono-blocks, but that is saying a lot for the Stingray as my EL34 amps were custom built for me.
The HF response of the Stingray is very clean without being brittle, the bass response is very solid without blooming as is the case with most EL84 amplifiers that I have heard. (Note: the little Almorro single-ended EL84 amp also has this great quality).
With highly efficient speakers this amp has many great things going for it. I'm a bit biased towards the bigger power tubes(especially the EL34/6CA7), but as far as 6BQ5/EL84 amps are concerned, this amp performs well with rugged high efficiency speakers.
With lower efficiency speakers the sound is still good, but with my current speakers the soundstage is defined enough and hearty enough to listen to hard rock without fatigue.
Classical music shines with the EL84/6BQ5 magical midrange. Actually most folks who use this tube for amps are more concerned with the midrange as other tubes are more robust sounding.
Allright, enough praise already, the downfalls on this amp are as follows:
1. Bias adjustment pots are tiny and located below the chassis top. Since I'm older with less than perfect eyesight I would love to have easier bias adjustment controls.
2. This is the 1st (tube) amp I have owned that worked best with stock EI tubes. I tried old-stock vintage tubes and found they did not work as well. That could be a plus for some folks who don't want to roll their own. So it's not really a flaw, just my opinion.
3. If you're poor like me and can't afford to run the AC on high all the time during the summer months, then this amp will be packed up until the Fall season. With 8 power pentodes running along with the heat from the power transformer will heat up the area in a hurry. Good thing Ohio is under 70 degrees lately, so I can use the amp until the 80 degree weather is here to stay.
In ending my "long-winded" comments, I have to say this amp is great integrated amp to have negating having to use a preamp. In fact when I tried to use a preamp with it(6SN7 octal w/cathode follower outputs) with the Stingray I found it not to improve on the quality of sound. The preamp is a custom built for me and I regard it highly as my best tube linestage preamp.
Any questions/comments are welcome!
Regards, Ron
PS: Thanks to Brian @ Venus Hi Fi for all the wonderful gear I have purchased from him.
I bought this from Brian @ Venus Hi Fi. Brian has sold me many great products, most of them run on tubes.
My first year with this amp did not have a lot of time running in the main system as it does run pretty warm in summer time.
The Stingray is like most tube amps, that is you must have a synergy between the amp and the speaker system to be used for optimum results.
I finally found a wonderful match using a pair of 4 Pi-pro(Wayne Parham/Pi speakers) 2-ways. Using a JBL 2226 15" driver in a approx 3 cubic ft ported cabinet mated with a round wooden 650 hz Edgar tractix horn with 1" throat driven by Great Plains 902. Crossover is vintage stock Pi crossover that Wayne designed. I have used that basic crossover @ 1.6 khz for years and it's time proven.
CD player is Audio Note tube buffered output. Yes, once again my friend Brian/Venus Hi Fi.
Interconnects are Zu silver wire unshielded. (Brian/Venus Hi Fi)
Trying various commercial speakers gave some decent sound. I tried Klipsch Heresey's and they sounded okay, but without any real bottom end and midrange body. I tried these and most on the "triode-strapped" mode for little bit better bass response, and also less thin on the midrange.
Nothing really got my attention with this amp until the Pi 4 Pi-pro speakers were used. They are 97.5 db/watt and are capable of running off a 45 SET amp (2 watt output), but they also can be run at several hundred watts easily without strain or stress.
I can say that I finally used the amp with the "ultra-linear" mode and I think I finally have around 250 hrs on the Stingray now and it's burned in.
The imaging is quite good, just shy of my EL34 triode-strapped mono-blocks, but that is saying a lot for the Stingray as my EL34 amps were custom built for me.
The HF response of the Stingray is very clean without being brittle, the bass response is very solid without blooming as is the case with most EL84 amplifiers that I have heard. (Note: the little Almorro single-ended EL84 amp also has this great quality).
With highly efficient speakers this amp has many great things going for it. I'm a bit biased towards the bigger power tubes(especially the EL34/6CA7), but as far as 6BQ5/EL84 amps are concerned, this amp performs well with rugged high efficiency speakers.
With lower efficiency speakers the sound is still good, but with my current speakers the soundstage is defined enough and hearty enough to listen to hard rock without fatigue.
Classical music shines with the EL84/6BQ5 magical midrange. Actually most folks who use this tube for amps are more concerned with the midrange as other tubes are more robust sounding.
Allright, enough praise already, the downfalls on this amp are as follows:
1. Bias adjustment pots are tiny and located below the chassis top. Since I'm older with less than perfect eyesight I would love to have easier bias adjustment controls.
2. This is the 1st (tube) amp I have owned that worked best with stock EI tubes. I tried old-stock vintage tubes and found they did not work as well. That could be a plus for some folks who don't want to roll their own. So it's not really a flaw, just my opinion.
3. If you're poor like me and can't afford to run the AC on high all the time during the summer months, then this amp will be packed up until the Fall season. With 8 power pentodes running along with the heat from the power transformer will heat up the area in a hurry. Good thing Ohio is under 70 degrees lately, so I can use the amp until the 80 degree weather is here to stay.
In ending my "long-winded" comments, I have to say this amp is great integrated amp to have negating having to use a preamp. In fact when I tried to use a preamp with it(6SN7 octal w/cathode follower outputs) with the Stingray I found it not to improve on the quality of sound. The preamp is a custom built for me and I regard it highly as my best tube linestage preamp.
Any questions/comments are welcome!
Regards, Ron
PS: Thanks to Brian @ Venus Hi Fi for all the wonderful gear I have purchased from him.
He had it paired with some F.J. speakers and it made an impression. Brian seemed to have taken some time and effort in getting the room set up well acoustically, including some improvised bass traps in the corners. One of the nicer-sounding set-ups at the Fest for long-term listening, IMO.
