I need a tube vendor for my home intercom system (Home & intercom system built in 1964) and the 1954 (?) Phillips (Europe) radio that moved in when we did, in 1965. (I was 8, then).well -- it is a bit of a strawmanbut this is usually about the time that I like to point out that RCA introduced the direct-heated 2A3 power triode for audio amplifier use in 1933 per Eric Barbour*. That was 92 years ago. As far as I can tell, the 2A3 has been in continuous production, somewhere, by somebody, ever since. It's a pretty future proof piece of hardware.
In all seriousness, the weirdness of the above is hard to overstate. Many tubes have enjoyed long lifetimes because they are good for something -- vacuum tube musical instrument amplifiers, Soviet (or Russian) avionics... something. The 2A3 has a pretty limited bag of tricks. For "high powered" radio AF amplifiers, it was rather rapidly supplanted by much more practical alternatives like - ahem - the 6L6 (pentodes, push-pull, and feedback FTW, as they say).
The only "use" for 2A3 tubes seems to be low powered, barely practical "hifi" audio amplifiers -- a decidedly niche market**. Yet the 2A3 is a survivor.
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* https://www.worldradiohistory.com/A...m-Tube-Valley/Vacuum-Tube-Valley-Issue-12.pdf
** I have one such amplifier. OK, technically, two. Actually three, in that "one" of my single-ended 2A3 amps in the form of monoblocks.
two US made 2A3 from the 1940s that I bought, used, for $20 each about 24 years ago.
two Chinese-made "meshplate"
DSC_0858(2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
two nice, nearly new Slovak-made 2A3 kindly passed along to me recently by a hifi fellow traveler.
All six of the above 2A3 power triodes are alive, well, and ready to boogie at a moment's notice.
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Older Amplifiers Better?
- Thread starter SdeGat
- Start date
Yes Cords where to far ahead of their time both in features and styling. Kind of a Cyber Truck of the day.Well, the economy was rather rough when the Cord 810 came along.
Tucker had some other extenuating circumstances
I could've gone with a reasonable definition of an average car and pictured a 1933 Ford or Chevy. I went exotic because, in her* own sweet, inimitable way, the 2A3 was exotic and ultimately impractical, too.
No current production Cords (AFAIK) but I can buy a new pair of 2A3s today and have 'em in my hands in a couple-three days.
________________
* "She" because the 2A3 was the Queen of Triodes.
I would be sunned with the top down, too.
For the Tucker: the negative propaganda was strong (and there were some actual issues).
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[emphasis added]
That is very apt and totally wrong, all at once!
I think Elon Musk is more a chip off the old Preston Tucker block, though.
Cords look great (don't know about comfort, handling, etc but would very much like to drive one).
Cyber Trucks don't (at least not least to me). (Don't know about the same things but nor do I want to).
So, there is that.
I'd drive one of these, though:
Model
3LZ AWD
From: $119,545
Electrified All-Wheel Drive
8-speed dual clutch transmission
Standard
6.2L V8 DI engine
MRC01
Major Contributor
Those pics remind me of a tube headphone amp I owned many years ago, the Wheatfield Audio HA-2 by Pete Millett. It was intended to drive high impedance cans like the HD-600 so it had no output transformer.
When people use these amps, it's like driving a classic vintage car. You don't do it because it's the fastest, nor quietest, etc. You do it because it's a fun project to build, restore and maintain, and to preserve a fascinating piece of history with "character". That's different from more "modern" vintage solid state amps that may be over 40 years old. Some of that gear was so well engineered for its time that its performance still compares with modern equipment. It can be easier to service & repair than modern gear, and may still be practical if parts are still available.
When people use these amps, it's like driving a classic vintage car. You don't do it because it's the fastest, nor quietest, etc. You do it because it's a fun project to build, restore and maintain, and to preserve a fascinating piece of history with "character". That's different from more "modern" vintage solid state amps that may be over 40 years old. Some of that gear was so well engineered for its time that its performance still compares with modern equipment. It can be easier to service & repair than modern gear, and may still be practical if parts are still available.
Because of the extreme speakers I had in the 80's I tried countless amps, looking for the optimum. The claim "all amps sound the same" makes me just shake my head. The usual consumer class amps sounded just not good, you had to invest very serious money to get a really nice one, or build something your self. Something modern, like the better Ayiyma, Topping, Fosi or the like would have been absolute high end.
I still have some of my old amps and somehow regret how devalued they are from a sound perspective, compared to todays cheap and not so cheap Class D stuff. Even if they sound on par, the size and wheight is ridiculous high.
I love vintage stuff, but you got to see it's performance in a context, not through pink tainted glasses.
I still have some of my old amps and somehow regret how devalued they are from a sound perspective, compared to todays cheap and not so cheap Class D stuff. Even if they sound on par, the size and wheight is ridiculous high.
I love vintage stuff, but you got to see it's performance in a context, not through pink tainted glasses.
At a SINAD of 95, I am happy with my mid 1980's 6 NAD 2200's in my various configurations.
Kinda' weird to compare a Cyber Truck to a Cord.
Based on that logic (if any):
Just thought that I would continue.
Randomly. (or perhaps Chaotically).
Well, the Cord did not have any electrical engine. Maybe I thought there should be a transition.
(Actually I think that the shape of the Cyber Truck is awful and like the shape of the Cord & the Corvette)
(I had ZERO thoughts about electricity in regard to the cars)
How the transportation operates is not a thought that I have about transportation until it is not operating for me.
Then it comes down to "what is needed to make it go again". A horse has different needs than an ICE powered car which has different needs that a hybrid car (similar, but different) and an electric car has different needs than the others.
All I care about is what do I need to do to get it going again.
oleg87
Addicted to Fun and Learning
I would assume it's there to supplement the low-RPM torque for extra vroom rather than for efficiency or anything like that.
Older amp.
It amplifies
With no noise or distortion
It looks cool
Friends will say 'On yeah!' and get you to put on some rubbish music really loud.
Modern amp
It amplifies
With no noise or distortion
It looks like something you might keep your biscuits in
It's no fun
It amplifies
With no noise or distortion
It looks cool
Friends will say 'On yeah!' and get you to put on some rubbish music really loud.
Modern amp
It amplifies
With no noise or distortion
It looks like something you might keep your biscuits in
It's no fun
METERS? That could sway me.
That's a super cool idea.
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