Monoprice "Pure Tube" 15 wpc stereo vacuum tube amp - worth review?

[Seventhrest]

I'm old enough to remember when transistorized stuff had "extra" transistors tossed in to increase the count. I had a radio (with schematic printed inside) that featured a 5 stage Darlington

My comment regarding the third tube in the preamp stage stems from the effect the amp produces when you attempt to hook up a halfler channel to it. They could have easily put four tubes in the preamp stage that's what their hybrids use.

 

[fpitas]

My comment regarding the third tube in the preamp stage stems from the effect the amp produces when you attempt to hook up a halfler channel to it. They could have easily put four tubes in the preamp stage that's what their hybrids use.

Vacuum tube designers learned early on to minimize tube count. I imagine it got to be reflex.

 

[Seventhrest]

Vacuum tube designers learned early on to minimize tube count. I imagine it got to be reflex.

Right. Or they took a look at the hundreds of designs out there already and selected for cost, sonic quality, and tube availability.. and maybe gave it a couple little tweaks. Don't think they came up with a unique design or it'd be labeled patent pending?

Make it work properly?
I'm sure there are "closer to reference" amps out there, in fact, I know that my hafler MOSFET amps would 'measure better' in every way on a lab bench...

But I don't know anyone who has lab grade unbiased ears... 'sounds better' is subjective, yes you can build an amp for the same price. I'm saying this amp has a wonderful and deep soundstage, it has a warm clean sound, it looks decent, it's got a phono stage, and the Bluetooth supports aptx hd which has a higher bit rate than a wired RCA connection.

This amp works miracles to hide compression and bring crisp warmth and depth from streaming music.

This amp sounds great with great speakers but it also will seriously impress any audio snob just connected to moukey m20-1 and a Polk psw10.

Tldr: The price performance is unrivaled in the space. Benefits greatly from replacing the Chinese tubes. Monoprice will send you a new one if you accidentally break it. And you have 30 days to return it.

 

[mhardy6647]

There was no doubt the venerable 5-tube radio design was a big compromise. But, tubes and their power supply were expensive. And big!

Ahh, yes.
The All American 5.


That fetching avocado green piece on the top left is a Motorola AA5 (one of the few AA5s in my collection, oddly enough).

ASR's safety first! crowd would love to have one of those

Don't miss that innovative and economical power supply section!

Now, contrast that with an E.H. Scott masterpiece.

48-Tube E.H. Scott Quaranta by Jacques Dubois

Fabulous reconstruction of a 48-tube radio - the E.H. Scott Quaranta (1936)

www.campx.ca

48 tubes of goodness... the Boulder Amplifiers of their day!?

Home - Boulder Amplifiers

The official website of Boulder Amplifiers. Manufacturing and engineering world-class audio components for the last 35 years.

boulderamp.com

Boulder's massive 3060 monoblock

Boulder Amplifiers, Inc., introduced its new Model 3060 Stereo balanced, class-A amplifier ($114,000), a huge, 900Wpc, solid-state amplifier that weighs 450 lbs! Sitting nearby was the company's flagship monoblock, the silver 3060 ($205,000/pair), a class-A 1500W power amplifier shown in my...

www.stereophile.com

I assume the orange was there to give a sense of scale.

 

[fpitas]

That Boulder amp is uhm, too much of a good thing, perhaps. Especially since you'll need an AC just for the amp. But I guess by the time you spend that much, an extra $10,000 here or there doesn't even register.