There's a lot of old wife's tales regarding tube amps... Also read that you should switch on and off and on, etc... Due to inrush current or something. So not really sure. Though this amp doesn't have any bias setting or power/standby switches, just one switch.
I'v never heard that one. It seems like it might do more harm than good. Did they have any evidence and/or measurements to back that up?
There's a lot of old wife's tales regarding tube amps... Also read that you should switch on and off and on, etc... Due to inrush current or something. So not really sure. Though this amp doesn't have any bias setting or power/standby switches, just one switch.
I'v never heard that one. It seems like it might do more harm than good. Did they have any evidence and/or measurements to back that up?
no i don't have anything concrete on it.... just some hearsay.... i don't know much about these vintage mystical gear
ok, so the MP-501 is currently on sale for 1099, 200$ off the price i got it for.
Here's why i got it. I was fascinated by tube amps, especially so after seeing and hearing Craig's amp. But i don't have any efficient speakers, after BSC most of my speakers are in the 82-84 db range. I also didn't wanted to get sucked into and disappointed by whimsical 2 watt tube amps that are good for this or that or mid-range only or vocal only or whatever.
So given that tube amps typically have low power especially in SET mode and didn't wanted to go to Push Pull, single ended parallel mode seemed to be a good option - though i still don't fully grasp what all this means. Also 50 watts of class A seems good enough for mid field listing for the type of speakers i have. based on the KT120, would have good bass output and control too. And anything that met these criteria seemed to be in multi '000 dollars, even in kit form.
so sort of took a blind leap onto the musical paradise mp-501 amp. there is a ton of reviews on the mp-301 amp, but hardly any on the mp-501. for 1300$ it is a good deal, for 1100 a great deal, considering it's a 60 pound amp and so far seems to be idiot proof - haven't blown anything (yet).
How it sounds? I tried it with the KT120 power tubes, and the 6SJ7 tubes as well as the 6SH7 tubes that Craig sent. Will also try with the tubes Tom sent once i get them. While it takes 4 driver tubes, they can be matched in pairs, so I can go with a pair of 6SJ7 and a pair of 6SH7, etc. The power tubes all need to be matched KT120 or KT150. There seems to be a subtle change, but since my aural memory is not great, they all sound good and very similar. The strength is of course in the mid range. Bass weight is good, but at times instead of feeling thing feels a bit overweight with a slight bloom to it (airy bass?), but this too i am going off memory and the amp only has about 10-12 hours of burn in and i have not yet tried A-B between tubes and solid state.
But so far i am liking it. Modern amps are so close to each other, SS are trying to get the tube sound and tubes are trying to get the neutral sound.... I am happy, the amp can drive my speakers, they play loud and they sound good...!
Wow! Double wow!! Just saw this thread. Single ended class A parallel KT120's @ 55 watts/channel with no feedback! That is one "cool" power amp! If not too heavy, you'll have to drag this thing along to Iowa next year for show and tell. Instead of a power outage, we can turn the lights out and listen to music by the glow of all those KT120's!!!
Comments
Here's why i got it. I was fascinated by tube amps, especially so after seeing and hearing Craig's amp. But i don't have any efficient speakers, after BSC most of my speakers are in the 82-84 db range. I also didn't wanted to get sucked into and disappointed by whimsical 2 watt tube amps that are good for this or that or mid-range only or vocal only or whatever.
So given that tube amps typically have low power especially in SET mode and didn't wanted to go to Push Pull, single ended parallel mode seemed to be a good option - though i still don't fully grasp what all this means. Also 50 watts of class A seems good enough for mid field listing for the type of speakers i have. based on the KT120, would have good bass output and control too. And anything that met these criteria seemed to be in multi '000 dollars, even in kit form.
so sort of took a blind leap onto the musical paradise mp-501 amp. there is a ton of reviews on the mp-301 amp, but hardly any on the mp-501. for 1300$ it is a good deal, for 1100 a great deal, considering it's a 60 pound amp and so far seems to be idiot proof - haven't blown anything (yet).
How it sounds? I tried it with the KT120 power tubes, and the 6SJ7 tubes as well as the 6SH7 tubes that Craig sent. Will also try with the tubes Tom sent once i get them. While it takes 4 driver tubes, they can be matched in pairs, so I can go with a pair of 6SJ7 and a pair of 6SH7, etc. The power tubes all need to be matched KT120 or KT150. There seems to be a subtle change, but since my aural memory is not great, they all sound good and very similar. The strength is of course in the mid range. Bass weight is good, but at times instead of feeling thing feels a bit overweight with a slight bloom to it (airy bass?), but this too i am going off memory and the amp only has about 10-12 hours of burn in and i have not yet tried A-B between tubes and solid state.
But so far i am liking it. Modern amps are so close to each other, SS are trying to get the tube sound and tubes are trying to get the neutral sound.... I am happy, the amp can drive my speakers, they play loud and they sound good...!
Wow! Double wow!! Just saw this thread. Single ended class A parallel KT120's @ 55 watts/channel with no feedback! That is one "cool" power amp! If not too heavy, you'll have to drag this thing along to Iowa next year for show and tell. Instead of a power outage, we can turn the lights out and listen to music by the glow of all those KT120's!!!