super newbie on the prowl for guidence

[riot260]

Currently running 101+ S/N Klipsch horns thru a Denon 4306. Plays very loud and very clear 7x130watts @0.05 thd standard operation or while in pure direct mode of 2x170watts@ 0.008 thd into 8 ohms. Warren Haynes' acoustic stuff will give you goose bumps.

Looking for change.................. looking for the warmth, depths nuances and sublties I hear is associated with the TUBE/HORN COMBO. From the Thanksgiving weekend scouring the net I have come to the conclusion since my speakers are 101+s/n I need the 2A3 mono block pair. But no point stopping there if there is a mod or two to make that drastic cost effective improvement. Have a couple of tube books on their way.

I'm all for poping some matched tubes in a fancy case sling some silver and wait for the magic. But realistically I am back on a budget of about and even G. to try pulling a DIYtube amp along the way. Guess I need to audition some tube systems but where?

I'd like to be able to use the Denon as my stereo preamp L R into a pair of 2A3 monoblocks at low wattage for the Magic that accompanies the warm glow.

Maybe down the road run all preouts thru monoblocs and have a 7.1 monobloc theatre. With the 1000watt downconversion subamp on the way I need to prepared.

Thanks to all who put up with my newbie rambling........thanks

Recommendations are greatly apprciated. Planning on a kit to keep the cost down. I started putting my own kit together and it quickly surpassed the cost of the kits listed and never got as far as caps or resistors.

Horns rule! Tubes dominate!

[Caucasian Blackplate]

I don't think you can go wrong starting with a SEX amp.  In its stock form, it won't have the low frequency extension or control that a Paramount has, but you will get a very different presentation of your music compared to the Denon.  Also, your speakers are sufficiently sensitive that you probably should not consider any DHT (45, 2A3, 300B, etc) amp that have AC on the filaments, as hum will likely be audible. 

If you can scrounge the cash, 300B Paramounts will really do what you're looking for, but the SEX amp is a good stepping stone with solid resale value in case you wish to upgrade.

-PB

[Grainger49]

Being an old salesman, meaning I wanted to spend all your cash, I was going to point you to the Paramounts or the upcoming Stereomour. Paul has a good point, the SEX amp would drive you out of your house with 100+ dBW speakers.

The SEX will give you the essence of SET amps.  The Stereomour will be a 2A3 amp and the Paramounts are 300B/2A3 amps.  Seriously the Paramounts are the most versatile as you get the flavor of two different SET tubes (both not included) for the price.  

In addition the Paramount has very good iron stock.  This is not to knock the Bottlehead stock iron.  It is exceptional for kits put together for a price.  The upgrade iron for all the amps opens new doors to you.  

So I haven't made any strong recommendations just reiterated the choices you knew.  A SEX with the cap/iron/C4S upgrades will be below $1000 and amazing.  It is only a guess but stock Stereomour will be under the $1000 and the Paramount is $1500 with one pair of 300B tubes.

I thought I had cured the zero bounce, thanks Len.

[Len]

.  It is only a guess but stock Stereomour will be under the $10000 and the Paramount is $1500 with one pair of 300B tubes.

Wow, ten grand. I want one.

[jrebman]

10 grand? Well, there goes that idea :-).

-- Jim

[Len]

10 grand? Well, there goes that idea :-).

-- Jim

Yeah, well, I think 10000 was a typo. So hold on to that idea :-)

[Grainger49]

Look back, I corrected it.  I was on my wife's laptop, I hate computers-they hate me, and hadn't gotten my first coffee down.  Plus there is a little myopia in the mornings that corrects itself after a couple of hours.

You are getting there too Doc!  I think Len has arrived.

[Len]

I think Len has arrived.

Huh, what? Did you say something? Speak up. These youngsters always mumble... Can't tell if they're talking or not...

[riot260]

Thanks for the input. I'll look at the S.E.X. amp again. Are the iron/cap mods listed as an option I could chose when ordering or something I would have to buy separately? And where would I find these upgrades. Thanks for the great response.

[Caucasian Blackplate]

The upgrade option for the SEX amp consists of iron, caps, and C4S boards.  When you order your SEX amp, you can also order the caps and C4S boards from Doc at that time.  The transformers/plate chokes come from Magnequest, and they are hand wound and not produced until they are ordered, so I would expect that you will end up waiting some time for those to be produced. 

-PB

[Grainger49]

Mikey's iron is worth the wait.  Paul meant that but I had to say it.  I upgraded the iron in my Paramours and it made a very dramatic difference.  I believe the MQ iron in the SEX is as dramatic.

[Rick58]

I just wanted to add that the integrated amp/receiver as preamp works well, in case you were wondering. I used my Audio Analogue Puccini SE integrated amp as a preamp for a while with a pair of Paramounts. Definitely an upgrade in sonics! (even) over the well-regarded Puccini SE.

[Paully]

I have 101 db speakers with the Paramounts and I don't notice any problems with hum at the listening position.  I personally would either go for the paramounts and buy the Foreplay III when funds were available or I would wait for the Stereomour and buy the FPIII at the same time since that should run about 1G or a bit more.  But I know I would just buy the Paramounts and get a FPIII when I could since you have a preamp that you can use in the meantime.