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Affordable Valve Company
FAQ ( Frequently Asked Questions )
for "High End" Audio

Many of our customers ask similar questions.

It will be helpful to many people, if we have a "public" reply,
because some members of the public, probably have the similar questions,
and would like to know the answers to these questions.

Whenever somebody ask "Will your amplifier drive my smallish speaker ?",
I usually discover that they are using SMALLISH speaker (smaller than a fridge)
in a MEDIUM or HUGE room.
(Anything bigger than 10 feet by 10 feet is a MEDIUM to LARGE room)

Let me tell you a story, and see if the story sound familiar to you.

The customer's wife does not want huge ugly speakers.
Customer and wife walk into a shop, and says we want your BEST loudspeaker,
something that is SMALL and looks nice (i.e. has EXPENSIVE wood veneer).
( Hundreds of pounds of the price pays for the EXPENSIVE wood Veneer, )
( and NOT bigger LOUDER drive units. )

The salesman sells the customer a SMALL loudspeaker,
WITHOUT ASKING THE CUSTOMER ABOUT THE SIZE OF HIS ROOM.

The customer puts the SMALL speaker in his MEDIUM to LARGE room.
(Anything bigger than 10 feet by 10 feet is a MEDIUM to LARGE room)
Customer puts on a CD with 22 inch "Kick Bass Drums" or the 32 inch timpani (kettle drum).
and the SMALL speakers produces weak sounding bass,
that does NOT sound anything like these HUGE drums.

Let us be sensible.
How can 5 inch or 6 inch drive unit ACCURATELY REPRODUCE
22 inch "Kick Bass Drums" or the 32 inch timpani (kettle drum).

2 pieces of 5 inch drive units are SLIGHTLY bigger than one piece of 6 inch drive unit.

2 pieces of 6 inch drive units are SLIGHTLY bigger than one piece of 8 inch drive unit.

2 pieces of 6 inch drive units
is LESS THAN HALF THE SIZE of one piece of 12 inch drive unit,
when you calculate the MOVING AREA of the cone,
without the "useless metal frame, or part of the "useless" cone surround".
That is why the bass of 2 pieces of "typical" 6 inch drive units is so lousy, when compared
to serious "High End" speakers with 12 inch drive units

The customer goes back to the shop and complains.

The shopkeeper who has made hundreds of pounds profit (35% to 50% of the selling price)
on the sale of the speakers, does NOT want to lose his profit,
so the shop keeper comes up with an the most incredible unbelievable "cock and bull story"
of "the speakers are difficult to drive, you need bigger amplifiers."

What is even more incredible,
is the customer and most Hi Fi magazines believe the "cock and bull story" !

So the shopkeeper sell the customer
100 watts amplifier to drive SMALL 5 inch drive units (or SMALL 6 inch drive units).
( If you know anything about Hi Fi, you will know how absurd this sounds ! )

The problem is still there,
How can 5 inch or 6 inch drive unit ACCURATELY REPRODUCE
22 inch "Kick Bass Drums" or the 32 inch timpani (kettle drum).
and the customer complains again,
and the same thing happens , and the shopkeeper sell the customer
200 watts amplifier to drive SMALL 5 inch drive units (or SMALL 6 inch drive units).
( If you know anything about Hi Fi, you will know how absurd this sounds ! )

How many time can Hi Fi industry treat customers in such a shameful way,
before the customer realize that he has been conned, and give up on Hi Fi altogether,
and the Hi Fi industry collapses.

Email from customer

Dear Sirs,
I am considering purchasing a valve amplifier from yourselves and
would appreciate if you could answer a few questions for me particularly
regarding the different prices and specifications.
I am looking to develop an alternative system to my present transistor amp
based set up. It is as follows:
Talk thunder III cd player
Naim NAC102 / Hicap / NAP140
Dynaudio Contour 3 speakers
Kimber powder cords / cables / Russ Andrew mains conditioners
I am happy with the overall sound of the system which is smoother and less
forward then you might imagine bearing in mind nature of the kit involved.
However I have always liked the sweeter treble and greater image depth a
good valve amp can bring. The ultimate aim is for me to run two systems..

Q1 The EL34 Ultralinear Silver Amp is, I believe, priced at £700 - what is
the £600 version of this amp?

Q1 The £700 EL34 can be upgraded to the KT88 Triode connection. Is the
present cost of this upgrade £500 in total?

Q3 The KT88 Triode version seems to be available at £850 and £1000. What's
the difference?

Q4 My Speakers are fairly low sensitivity (about ... db I think). My previous
experience is that generally these two-way stand mount designs work better
with grippy transistor amps. Some valve amps can sometimes sound a bit slow
and woolly through this type of speaker. What are your thoughts on this?

Q5 Further to the above question I am considering buying a 3 way speaker to
work with the valve amp, perhaps the Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3 as a
minimum. A suggested upgrade path then being:

1. Buy EL34 silver
2. Buy sensitive 3 way speakers
3. Upgrade EL34 to KT88 triode.

Does this sound like a good approach?

Reply from Affordable Valve Company

Is the Dynaudio Contour 3 speakers
same as Dynaudio Contour 3.0 ?

Does it have 8 inch woofer + midrange + tweeter ?

Email from customer

To correct my earlier Email - I meant to say my speakers have a sensitivity
of approximately 87 db not ..... db!

Re Dynaudio Contour Speakers.
I don't have the product literature in front of me but I think it is a
MK III rather than 3.0 type. Anyway - they are a two-way rear ported ,stand
mounted design with what I think is an 8 inch woofer and soft dome type
tweeter, no mid range . I also have some Epos ES11 two way speakers that
are similar in terms of sensitivity (86 - 87 db) but a bit less detailed
and neutral then the Dynaudios but perhaps with a warmer mid range. I don't
think either are ideal partners for valve amps!

Hope this helps,

Reply from Affordable Valve Company

I think that your loudspeaker might be a Dynaco Contour 1.3 with 6 inch woofer + tweeter.

Assuming that your your speaker has 1 piece of 6 inch woofer..... this is my reply

It is everybody else fault, but mine ! (Part 1)

There are loudspeaker manufacturers producing
speakers with 1 piece of the "typical" SMALL 6 inch driver,
that cannot possibly reproduce a HUGE 22 inch Kick Bass drum or HUGE 32 inch Timpani,
saying that it is the fault of the amplifier, and his tiny speaker are "difficult to drive".

It would be nice if some manufacturers, shops, and magazines could admit that
"1 or 2 piece of the "typical" SMALL 6 inch driver CANNOT reproduce a HUGE 22 inch Kick bass drum or HUGE 32 inch timpani"

It is everybody else fault, but mine ! (Part 2)

There are some "push pull" valve amplifier manufacturer using
TINY output transformer that might produce 10 watts in the midrange,
but deep bass note will overload / saturate the core of the output transformer,
and you only get 1 or 2 watts of deep bass.
Please read old Hi Fi Choice measurement of a famous OLD brand of valve amplifiers
at 20 Hertz, that received rave reviews !

There is also a huge problem with the lousy bass of
the "typical" "Single Ended" valve amplifiers WITHOUT FEEDBACK.
"300B single ended" amplifiers might produce 8 watts in the midrange,
but it might only produce 4 watts of deep bass at 20 Hertz.

If you connect these amplifiers WITHOUT FEEDBACK into HUGE "High End" speakers,
you will find that the bass is lousy, and you will hear
the excuse that you are using the "wrong" kind of speakers,
and another excuse of "you need efficient speakers".

This is absolute nonsense. It is a "Law of Physic" that it impossible to build SMALL efficient speakers with excellent LOUD DEEP bass (unless you have a magnet the size of a football).
Other things being equal, the more efficient you make a speaker,
the less WELL DAMPENED CONTROLLED bass you get (unless you use a very heavy cone and a magnet the size of a football) !

Why can't some valve amplifier manufacturer , shops and magazines admit that their valve amplifier
produces 4 watts of deep bass with huge amount of distortion, and so the bass is lousy,
instead of sending the customer off on a wild goose case,
trying to find SMALL (i.e. smaller than a refrigerator) efficient speakers with good bass !

Probably the only range of CURRENT POPULAR COMMERCIAL (i.e. more than 50 speakers a year) of efficient speakers with DEEP BASS, are the famous Klipschorn which sells for USD 7,500 , which is about GBP £4,000 + the cost of shipping these huge speakers from America + the cost of building an extension to your house for these 52 inch x 31 inch x 28 inch speakers, which is a corner loaded horn with 15 inch woofer + 2 inch horn loaded midrange + 1 inch hold loaded tweeter with a VERY IMPRESSIVE frequency response of 33 Hertz to 17,000 Hertz +- 3 dB. Please remember that the bass response will NOT disappear / collapse / compress when you turn up the volume ! Small speakers can claim to go down to 33 Hertz at 1 watt about 87 db at 1 meter, but turn up the volume to 107 db and the bass will disappear / collapse / compress from small speakers !
( That is why loudspeaker manufacturers "typically" measure the frequency response at 1 watt , and not 100 watts ! If the manufacturer claims their speaker can cope with 100 watts, please ask them for a frequency response curve at 100 watts. If manufacturers cannot produce a frequency response curve at 100 watts, they should stop claiming their their small speaker can handle 100 watts. )

Before you suggest "baby" horn speakers with "single drive units" please remember that you need a horns mouth of 14 feet to 37 feet diameter to go down to 20 hertz. The 37 feet diameter will give better quality than 14 feet diameter mouth. Ask people selling "baby" horn for a "frequency response curve" and you will find their claims of 40 hertz to 22,000 hertz is NOT +- 3 decibels. Please look at the frequency response curve and you will find that the frequency response curve of most (but not all) "single driver" "baby" horns are totally unacceptable to SERIOUS Hi Fi enthusiast, who believe that one of the cornerstone of HIgh FIdelity and ACCURATE REPRODUCTION of sound is a FLAT frequency response curve.

"Woolly" sound from valve amplifiers.

"Woolly" sound only comes from "push pull" valve amplifiers with small output transformers or
"single ended" valve amplifier with small to medium size transformers.
You do NOT get "woolly" sound from WELL DESIGNED "push pull" valve amplifiers with big or HUGE transformers and LOW DISTORTION (using a SMALL amount of negative feedback)

"Grippy" transistor amplifiers.
For High End" , we should consider serious WELL DESIGNED "push pull" valve amplifiers with big or HUGE transformers and LOW DISTORTION (using a SMALL amount of negative feedback)
against "Grippy" transistor amplifiers.

Our HUGE output transformer and HUGE mains power transform + choke regulation of the power supply give HUGE POWERFUL bass into HUGE 12 inch woofer.

To get HUGE POWERFUL bass, you need HUGE POWER transformers
Our HUGE mains power transform weighs over 8 kilogram on its own. Then there is the choke / inductor regulation which is 1 Farad, which is the inductor "equivalent" of 1,000,000 micro Farad of capacitance.
Transistor amplifier manufacturers are so proud, if they have 80,000 micro Farad of capacitance.
(Please remember that mF written on capacitors actually means uF micro Farad)
We also have energy stored in capacitors charged up to hundreds of volts.

Our power supply is so "over the top" that if you leave the CD player player on,
and switch off the amplifier, you swill still get UNDISTORTED music playing for 6 seconds,
and you still get a bit of music for 10 second after you switch off the amplifier !

If you take away the HUGE POWERFUL bass, the sound become ?cleaner?,
and it is easier to understand the lyrics of the song.
So, transistor amplifier with less bass will sound more "grippy".
I will be extremely disappoint with "High End" transistor amplifiers with less bass
than our "High End" valve amplifier with HUGE potted transformer + HUGE mains power transformer + Choke regulation..

Power Handling for the Dynaco
It is good that the Dynaco has a large 3 inch voice coil.
This should increase the power handling in the mid range,
but NOT the bass, where Xmax is the limiting factor.

Xmax is how far the cone can move before distorting.

However, I believe (but I do not have any proof) the last time I saw a specification detail of Dynaco drivers the Xmax was quite "typical".

Please remember that some people might express +-3 millimetres Xmas as 6 millimetres Xmax.

If the Xmax of the Dynaco driver are "typical",
then the power handling of the Dynaco for the loudest deep bass note is also "typical".

Please email Dynaco ask ask them how much is their Xmax , and how they calculate their Xmax.

Try our GBP £750 "EL34 Triode Connection - Lim Signature"

In general, you have our money back guarantee (less £30, within 30 days)
that MOST (but not all) people will think that your bookshelves speaker will sound better with our amplifier.

But there is a limit to how good "2 way" speakers with 6 inch driver in SMALL boxes can sound,
regardless of the amplification, turntable, CD player, silver wire, Himalayan volume control, snake oil

Hilariously priced "2 way" Athena AS-F1 managed to achieve amazing results
because they use a box which is twice as big ,
with a 8 inch driver which is 70% bigger than 6 inch driver,
(when you calculate the moving area, without the "useless" metal frame, and part of the "useless" cone surround")
Athena AS-F1 got around the problem of "marrying" an 8 inch bass / midrange
to the 1 inch tweeter by crossing over at 2 kilohertz,
which is much lower than the "typical" 3 kilohertz to 4 kilohertz.
It MIGHT be possible (but I have no proof) that the Xmax of the Athena tweeter might be more than usual, but I am only guessing
Do NOT attempt to cross over the "typical" 1 inch tweeter at 2 kiloHertz !
Nice to see a manufacturer obeying the "Laws of Physic" with "Research and Development"
rather than insulting my intelligence with marketing hype.

Please pay a little bit more and audition our GBP £ 750 "EL34 Triode Connection - Lim Signature" and you will be shock at the HUGE difference. Whether on not you like the huge difference is another matter ! But about 90% of customers like the huge difference.

If you must have small speakers, please consider GBP 1300 "baby" Veritas

We prefer large floor standing speakers, but if you must have small speakers please consider a one month home trail on the "baby" of the well reviewed "Energy Veritas" range. The bigger V2.8 , V2.4i and V2.3i have received rave reviews.

Please do an internet search for Stereophile review of Veritas V2.8 which show how different American "High End" is compared to English "High End"

Please do an internet search for Veritas V2.4i
GBP £ 3200 (or we will match the lowest English price) Veritas V2.4i is a floor stander
with 3 pieces of 6 inch woofer, each woofer has with TWO voice coils and TWO magnetic gaps
+ 2 inch aluminium dome midrange + 1 inch aluminium dome midrange.

We prefer large floor standing speakers, but if you must have small speakers, please ask for a one month home trail on the GBP £ 1300 (or we will match the lowest English price) "baby" Veritas V2.2i is a stand mount with 6 inch woofer with TWO voice coils and TWO magnetic gaps + 2 inch aluminium dome midrange + 1 inch aluminium dome midrange.

There will probably be large differences in sound between the Dynaudio 1.3 versus the GBP £ 1300 "baby" Veritas V2.2i WHEN DRIVEN BY A VALVE AMPLIFIER , because they are 2 totally different design ! How different is the bass of the Dynaudio 3 inch Voice coil versus Veritas 2 voice coils + 2 magnetic gaps. How different is midrange of the 6 inch bass/midrange of the Dynaudio versus the 2 inch aluminium dome midrange of the Veritas V2.2i WHEN DRIVEN BY A VALVE AMPLIFIER.
The GBP 1300 question is
which "style" of sound does the customer prefer.
That is why we offer 1 month home trials (less £30, within 30 days)

Question

Dear Mr Lim

I have read your website with interest. I have been building a large
extension to my house which will enable me to change my hifi system to
include some large loudspeakers! I have recently acquired a pair of Klipsch
Belles, (it seems to me that you may know these serious horn loaded
loudspeakers, very sensitive (103dB/w!!) but with large 15" bass drivers?).
It's true that (just occasionally) I do like to have my music played very
LOUD (and my neighbours are suitably far away!).

I would like to match with a suitable valve amp, as I know that a solid
state amp will be very disappointing (even if I spent more money than I
have..). Would you recommend the "high end" with it's giant output
transformers for assurance of bass performance, or will the sensitivity of
the speakers mean that one of your smaller amps would be okay?

I thought that I had noted (somewhere) on the website a mention that you
supply high quality loudspeaker cables at good pricing - did I dream this as
I cannot find it now?

There is some information about single ended amps on the site, but there
does not seem to be anything offered now - is that correct?

In the end, I am not really clear on the pricelist, can you clarify?

Thank you in advance,

Answer

Many people know my views on "single driver" ?smallish? horn speakers.
Why am I being sympathetic towards HUGE HUGE HUGE "3 way" horn speakers ?
The simple answer is "+- 3 decibels" !
Please read my answer to the PREVIOUS (not this FAQ) article
and you will understand my cryptic remark.

Should you spend an extra GBP £300 for the HUGE "potted" transformers ? There isn't a simple "yes or no" answer to this question.

One solution is for you to pay a deposit on ONE expensive amplifier,
and we will lend you TWO amplifiers with different size output transformers,
and let you make up your own mind.

How far away are you sitting from the speakers ? If you have large speakers in a large extension,
you might sit far away from the speakers.

This has a huge influence on the power requirements !

Somebody sitting 15 feet away from the speakers,
will need 9 times more power
than somebody sitting 5 feet away from the speakers (IGNORING REFLECTIONS OF SOUND FROM THE FLOOR, WALLS AND CEILING )
( 15 feet is 3 time more than 5 feet. )
( The extra power needed is 3 x 3 = 9 )

Are you playing Vinyl records or CD ? There is a limit on how much deep bass you can put on a vinyl record.

Many European phono stages are built to IEC standards,
which add a deep bass "rumble" filter to the RIAA equalization.

Most people will know that these deep bass filter is designed to
reduce "rumble" (low frequency noise) from ancient turntable.

Some people will know that these deep bass filter is designed to reduce "cone flap", where
the cone of speaker will flap about haplessly in "bass reflex" cabinets with HUGE "bass reflex ports"
(and not the nonsensical 1 inch diameter "bass reflex port" of modern "typical" small speaker with lousy bass.)

Few people will know that these deep bass filters is designed to stop deep bass from over loading small transformers of old valve amplifiers !
In the olden days, if you were very rich, you might own a "high end" stereo radiogram, with output transformers that are 10 time smaller than our "standard" transformers !
Many expensive "over hyped" monoblocks valve amplifiers have small transformers that
might produce 12 watts in the midrange, but CANNOT produce 10 watts of deep bass !
Large amount of deep bass will overload these smallish output transformers.

Unfortunately, CD players are less considerate than record players.
CDs by Ms Jackson or Ms Toni Braxton have huge amount of deep bass.
Polydor's CD of Karajan interpretation of Beethoven have huge amount of deep bass (if you are using HUGE "High End" speakers).
Needless to say, a CD with a modern recording of Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries" will have huge amount of loud deep bass !
( Why do certain Hi Fi reviewers say "these small speakers , with lousy bass, are ideal for Classical music !" )

The loud deep bass of modern CD will overload / saturate small output transformers,
creating huge amount of 3rd harmonic distortion + some 2nd harmonic distortion, etc
that make EVERYTHING (including the midrange and treble) sound "woolly".

Even if you have small speakers that CANNOT reproduce deep bass, it is still an advantage to have huge output transformers to avoid "woolly" 3rd harmonic + 2nd harmonic distortion from overloaded / saturated output transformers.

I believe (but I have no proof) that the Chinese designer (living in China) of the output transformer is probably one of the BEST "living & not semi retired" output transformer designer in China, and probably the world !

Before I get heckling from the "Single Ended" people, I would like to point out that
you CANNOT use "drop through" "half shrouded" output transformers
for SERIOUS "Single Ended" transformers because of the "air gap".

I am disappointed that some (but not all) ?high?end? "Single Ended" amplifiers
use "drop through" "half shrouded" output transformers ?

If you think I am joking, please go to
http://www.sowter.co.uk/stylet.htm
which says

This (style T , half shrouded , "drop through") package style is
available for Mains and Push-Pull sizes L - S
but not for Chokes or SE Output transformers which require a gapped core.
This is because removal of the lower frame while mounting on your chassis
could upset the gap adjustment which is set in our factory.

I would also like to point out to the "push pull" "experts" who WRONGLY say
that you MUST have "double bobbin" for best high frequency balance
that a WELL DESIGNED "single bobbin"
with a SIMILAR NUMBER OF INTERLEAVED SECTION
has lower leakage inductance + excellent balance of leakage inductance
+ if you are really fussy, you could compensate for the difference in stray capacitance
with one small cheap external capacitor.
But because the reduced stray inductance is so low,
and that pole has been pushed up the frequency rage,
you might not need the small external capacitor !

The internet is full of experts who have read a one page article in a magazine,
and becomes an "expert" overnight, telling probably the BEST transformer designer
(living in China) and I how to design transformers !

The Chinese designers (living in China) and I are obsessed with HUGE output transformers !
That is why our affordable "standard" output transformers looks like the same size as "typical" GBP £3000 valve amplifiers.
Our HUGE "high end" "potted" output transformer looks MUCH BIGGER than the "typical" output transformers of GBP £3000 valve amplifiers or GBP £10,000 valve amplifier. (Yeah, GBP £10,000 valve amplifiers might look impressive from the front, but look at the rear , and you you will find that the "typical" output transformers is more like our affordable "standard" transformer !) Please audition our "high end" amplifier against these GBP £10,000 valve amplifier and there is a 90% chance that you will prefer our HUGE "high end" "potted" transformers.

Whilst we are on the point of "overloaded / saturated" output transformers.....

(Please read Mr Morgan Jones excellent book called "Valve Amplifiers") Mains power transformers need to be about 10 times more powerful than simple calculation reveal,
(because the "typical" mains power transformer are idle for most of the time)
or the main power transformer will overload / saturate 100 or 120 times a second,
and makes the sound less natural , less life lifelike.

It is small audible difference, and the increase in the cost of a bigger mains power
transformer is a cost effective solution. This is coming from a somebody who say,
do not waste money on overpriced over hyped cables, because I cannot hear the difference. !
That is why our "standard" mains power transformers on our GBP £600 valve amplifiers
are bigger than the "typical" GBP £3000 valve amplifiers.

LOUD DEEP bass from 15 inch woofers !

Our "standard" output transformers on our £410 + £30 valve / tube amplifier looks as big as the "typical" GBP £3,000 valve / tube amplifier. (As I said, the Chinese designers (living in China) and I are obsessed with HUGE output transformers !)
The bass of these "standard" transformers are more than adequate for the "typical" 6 inch woofers.
(However, it is still worthwhile for owners of 6 inch woofers to buy the HUGE potted transformers for improved midrange.)
To the casual listener, the bass of the HUGE "potted" transformers sounds a bit less than the cheaper "standard" output transformers, because the HUGE "potted" transformers produces less 3rd Harmonic distortion + 2nd harmonic distortion, and sound so "clean" !

Connect some HUGE "High End" speakers with MODERN "High End" woofers in HUGE boxes or 12 inch "High End" woofers in HUGE boxes to the HUGE "potted" PUSH PULL transformer, put on the demo songs on "Sound Check II" CD and wow .................
USE CD PLAYERS, WHICH HAVE BETTER LOUD DEEP DISTORTION FREE , RESONANCE FREE BASS THAN RECORDS !

Surprisingly, LOUD DEEP bass comes from rather unexpected sources.
Absolutely none from "disco music"
Insane amounts of LOUD DEEP bass from Ms Jackson and Ms Toni Braxton
Fair amount of LOUD deep bass from "folk" music like Ms Mary Black, James Taylor, stomping of feet on the floor boards of the Dubliner and the Queen.
For Classical music, try Polydor's CD of Karajan interpretation of Karajan "Beethoven", and any classical CD with Double Bass and Timpani. Please ignore certain Hi Fi Reviewers silly remarks like "These small speakers are ideal for Classical music !"
If you have really SERIOUS HIGH END HUGE HUGE HUGE speakers, like your 15 inch woofer,
try the Church Organ. I reckon our "10 inch High End" is 50% to 70% as good as the real thing.
6 inch woofer in SMALL boxes are like 1% of the real Church Organ !
If you have 6 inch speakers in SMALL boxes, do not waste your time trying these experiments !

Do not waste your time trying these experiments,
if you have "single driver" horn in ?smallish? boxes (when compared to Klipschorn and Klipsch Belle 15 inch woofer in 36 inch by 30 inch by 19 inch box and weighs 125 pounds or 56 kilogram )
I really do not know why customers complain that our GBP 2500 "10 inch - High End" speakers are too big for them !

USE CD PLAYERS, WHICH HAVE BETTER LOUD DEEP DISTORTION FREE, RESONANCE FREE BASS THAN RECORDS !

You probably have one of the "top 5" best Horn speaker (in current production) in the world,
with a HUGE 15 inch woofer.
I think you should do it justice to the 15 inch woofer
and spend an extra GBP £300 on the HUGE "potted" transformers !

Click here to go back to the MAIN PAGE

QUESTION = I have a pair of 4ohm? claravox 4 way speakers worth £15,000, a kef 202c centre speaker and 4 surround speakers, my pioneer vsa-sx10i 7.1 amp cant cope during certain scenes like the drum/dance in house of flying daggers, it overheats and shuts down (i like it loud). Is it possible to bi-amp the front speakers with your valve amps or is this just silly?

ANSWER = Most "High End" enthusiast will be surprised that
you are using an "Audio Visual" amplifier to drive GBP 15000 speakers.

Claravox has 2 or 4 pieces of 8 inch woofer.

2 or 4 pieces of 8 inch woofer is not as big or powerful as most people think.

12 inch woofers are 3 times larger than 8 inch woofers (when you calculate the moving area, ignoring the "useless" metal frame, and part of the "useless" cone surround.)

I am surprised that your Claravox speakers sell for GBP 15000.

"High End" Drive units and "High End" crossover only cost a few hundred pounds.

Please compare the GBP £15000 price with our eBay listing for our reasonably priced "high end" speakers with 12 inch woofer in one big box + ANOTHER smaller box containing 6 inch midrange + dome tweeter + SMALL ribbon super tweeter.

Our eBay listing shows our cabinets has expensive "fashionable" CURVED surfaces with the ultimate "posh" PIANO FINISH , with many layers to lacquer to give a DEEP gloss finish. PIANO FINISH is so expensive that you seldom see it on speakers or furniture.

Our 12 inch woofer should be adequate for 20 feet x 12 feet rooms.

The midrange is in a separate box to prevent the air pressure from powerful bass notes from affect the midrange (Some manufacturers use a flimsily cardboard tube or flimsily plastic enclosure to ?stop? bass note reaching the midrange.)

We even have a
SMALL (better to reach very high frequency, with a more even dispersion of sound)
"fashionable" RIBBON SUPER TWEETER ( to reach 20 kilohertz and beyond, to satisfy some DVD Audio enthusiast who want speakers to go beyond 20 kilohertz. )

Our HUGE HUGE transformers and "push Pull" operation will EASILY drive big 12 inch woofer
or 2 or 4 pieces of pieces of 8 inch woofer.

Our customer use our HUGE HUGE transformers to drive

the REALLY incredibly "difficult to drive" Yamaha NS-1000M studio monitors with 12 inch woofer + 3.5 inch exotic BERYLLIUM metal dome midrange + 1 inch exotic BERYLLIUM metal dome tweeter (very revealing and ruthlessly exposes "Class B: crossover distortion)

15 inch Electrovoice (usually make studio and professional speakers) (if you have to ask the price, you cannot afford it)

GBP £ 8000 J M Lab Mezzo Utopia (his previous amplifier was 1000 watts transistor monoblocks )

old B&W 802 with 2 pieces of 8 inch woofers (the latest version of B&W 802 sells for GBP 6000)

According to my ears, our "ultimate high end" Yamaha NS-1000M driven by our affordable GBP 600 "ultra linear" amplifier sound MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER than a few thousand pounds of 2 "bi amp" transistor power amplifier + power supply made by a famous name, driving 2 pieces of 8 inch woofer + ribbon tweeter.

Our affordable GBP £600 "ultra linear" valve amplifier was 3 times better at tricking me that my favorite singer was in the room.

Skeptical ? Please consider this ....... Most transistor amplifiers produces HUGE amount of "Class B crossover distortion" at low levels (from 1 milliwatt to 1 watt) (Maximum power from human voice is 20 times less than 1 watt). Transistor amplifier manufacturer must tackle this AUDIBLE "Class B crossover distortion" problem.

"Bi amp" , hybrid amplifier with 2 small valves , active crossover driving "Class B" transistor amplifiers
does NOT solve the problem of AUDIBLE "Class B crossover distortion." Neither does digital amplifiers which usually assumes that transistors switches on and off, immediately and "cleanly" (You do not call this problem "Class B crossover distortion") .

You can use 2 of valve amplifier to bi-amp,
if you want to spend more money than you need to.

If your surround speakers are the "typical" small 5 inch or 6 inch speakers,
you will be better off buying a pair of our sensibly price "High End" speaker with 10 inch or 12 inch woofers for the rear speakers. Some serious "High End" studios uses 5 pieces of B&W 802. All serious Hi Fi enthusiast will prefer to have 2 identical speakers for the left speaker and the right speaker. This logic should be extended to have identical speakers for the front speakers, rears speakers and centre speakers.

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE that one of our "triode Connected" amplifiers with HUGE HUGE amplifier will sound MUCH MUCH BETTER than "bi amp-ing" with 2 of the most expensive transistor amplifier (class B or Class A).

The "heart" of a "typical" transistor power amplifier is a GBP £ 2 power transistor made in China, Korean , Malaysia, etc. The "Heart" of our valve amplifier is a GBP £ 100 or GBP £ 40 or GBP £ 15 valve / tube. Which do you think sound better ? GBP £ 2 power transistor made in China, Korea, Malaysia sound or our GBP 100 or GBP £ 40 or GBP £ 15 valve / tube ?

Question from Russian Hi-Fi Enthusiast on 24 January 2006 = >Dear Sirs,
>I am very much interested in buying one of your
>GBP1,450 "KT88 Triode Connection - High End"
>amplifier. Could you please kindly let em know
>about the following:

Question =1. Is the money back refund applicable in my case,
>less shipment costs, naturally, as I am from
>St-Petersburg, Russia?

Answer = Yes, all customers throughout the world can borrow our amplifier and speakers for one month home trial,
but international customers will have to pay for the expensive shipping cost.

-------------------------------------------

>2. Will my NAIM SBL loudspeakers be compatible
>enough to your GBP1,450 "KT88 Triode Connection -
>High End" amplifier to see the difference? I
>currently use them together with NAIM CDX/NAC
>72/HiCap/NAP 180. I do NOT consider NAIM SBL
>loudspeakers to be a state of the art but, however,
>I would like to audition one your gears in such a
>combination to make a decesion.

Yes, all of our valve / tube amplifiers will be compatible with NAIM SBL loudspeakers.
But to be frank, you will get a better sound, by buying better speakers, that can be very cheap !
Instead of spending all of the GBP £1450 on the amplifier,
you should spend some of the GBP £1450 on valve / tube speakers
and and some of the GBP £1450 on one of our cheaper valve/tube amplifier.

Loudspeakers makes a HUGE HUGE HUGE DIFFERENCE to the sound.

Please read very important information at http://www.affordablevalvecompany.com/buy_adv.htm

There has been a lot of interesting comments about some Naim loudspeakers.
For example, one hifi reviewer who normally mention a bit of measurements,
was saying a lot about the measurements of some Naim loudspeakers.
Unless you are reading a 30-year-old Hi Fi magazine,
Naim do not have the best reputation for loudspeakers.

Our GBP £650 MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG three way" speakers
EASILY beat our
VERY FAMOUS Quad ESL 57 electrostatic speakers
+ VERY FAMOUS OLD Kef Concerto speakers with 13 inch by 9 inch woofer + five inch mid range + tweeter
and also beat our
VERY FAMOUS, VERY EXPENSIVE Yamaha NS-1000M with 12 inch woofer + 3.5 inch VERY EXPENSIVE BERYLLIUM METAL DOME MID RANGE + one inch VERY EXPENSIVE BERYLLIUM METAL DOME tweeter.

Because of this, we are 100 percent happy to offer you
moneyback guarantee (but you have to pay for the shipping, within 30 days) that

WELL DESIGNED (that need not be expensive) GBP £180 Sony CD player CDP-CX355 (which can be loaded up with 300 CD)

+ our WELL DESIGNED (that need not be expensive) GBP £650 MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG '3 way' speakers with 10 inch woofer + six inch mid range + tweeter

+ our WELL DESIGNED (that need not be expensive) and GBP £850 MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG "EL 34 TRIODE CONNECTION valve / tube amplifier

will SOUND 100 TIMES BETTER THAN

Naim SBL speakers
+ the most expensive Naim amplifier
+ the most expensive Naim CD players.
+ the most expensive Naim Power Supply
+ the most expensive Naim cables
+ the most expensive "snake oil" + "Witch Doctor Magic"

--------------
WELL DESIGNED (that need is not be expensive) coated paper cone with a FLAT FREQUENCY RESPONSE should be able to trick you into believing that your favourite singer is in your living room.

Unfortunately, some people do not know how to designed coated paper cones,
and some badly designed coated paper cones have TERRIBLE FREQUENCY RESPONSE.

It does not matter how much the loudspeakers cost,
if the loudspeakers have terrible frequency response,
they are terrible speakers.

--------------------------------

>3. Do you have an opportunity to ship it to Russia?
>If yes, how much will shipment costs be in this
>case?

I apologise, but the shipping cost is GBP £127,
but we can give you a good discount,
so the total price is still quite cheap.

------------------------------------

>4. I would suggest a bank transfer to pay for the
>amp and shipment costs. Would it be OK for you?

Yes, that is okay.

--------------------------------

>Thank you.
>I look forward to hearing from you soon.

----------------

Thank you for your interest in our product.
eBay's computer tend to chop off the bottom of long emails. If the bottom of my long reply is missing, please look at the bottom of the REVISED listing. Thank you. --------

Question from eBay member in April 2006 = hi, after a bit of advise im looking to give valves another go , i currently have a bow technologies zz1 integrated love the sound but a bit under powered , tried valves in the past Audion sterling monos , but to clean and clinical , my speakers are kef reference 4 ohm 89 sens , source is meridian 500 -566 trans -dac which of your current amps would better the bow

Answer = Thank you for your interest in our products.

First of all, I am sorry to hear that the Hi Fi Industry has managed to get thousands and thousands of pounds out of you, without delivering the musical satisfaction that you paid for. By now, you are probably rather wary of the Hi Fi industry and 'spiced up' reviews in Hi Fi magazines and dealers in Internet Forums (pretending to be innocent members of the public).

The best advice I can give to customers with lots of money, and want the best sound is ...... There are THOUSANDS of people trying to get your money WITHOUT GIVING THE BEST QUALITY GOODS / VALUE / SATISFACTION IN RETURN.
THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF (AND YOUR WALLET) IS TO LEARN ABOUT THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF HI FI, EVEN THOUGH IT IS COMPLICATED AND GIVES YOU A HEADACHE. If you could not be bothered to learn about the TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF HI FI (or second hand cars), and WRONGLY put your trust in dealers and 'spiced up' reviews in Hi Fi magazines and dealers in Internet Forum (pretending to be innocent members of the public), YOUR WALLET WILL BE QUICKLY EMPTIED BY THE HI FI INDUSTRY, AND YOU WILL STILL END UP WITH A 'SO SO' HI FI SYSTEM, THAT YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH.

As I explain over the telephone, if you had a MONEY REFUNDED (less packing & courier cost) 1 MONTH HOME TRAIL, YOU WOULD HAVE SAVE THOUSAND AND THOUSANDS OF POUNDS.
Most dealers dare NOT offer MONEY REFUNDED 1 month home trail because many 'High End' products are o.k but does NOT justify their absurd price of thousands of pounds.

We offer MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less packing and shipping cost, within 30 days) that our claims for the excellent quality of the sound + excellent build quality + excellent reliability is true. If our competitors products are so good, why are our competitors scared to offer a similar MONEY BACK GUARANTEE ? There have been so much nonsensical 'spiced up' reviews in Hi Fi magazines, why can't the Hi Fi reviewers / magazines put their money where their mouth / pen is and offer MONEY BACK GUARANTEE, if customers are disappointed with the ?fantastic? products in 'spiced up' reviews.

The other way that I can persuade to trust me (but not everybody in the Hi Fi industry) is to ask you to look at our excellent eBay feedback at http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=affordablevalvecompany

I also spoke to the eBay member over the telephone and obtained more information about his Hi Fi system.
The customer room is 14 feet by 14 feet. His speakers has 2 pieces of 6 inch speaker.

I agree with you that your Hi Fi system is under powered.
But, the problem is NOT your 75 watts amplifier.
The problem is the 6 inch speakers.

Please remember that 14 feet by 14 feet room is as big as 20 feet by 10 feet room.

1 pieces of 6 inch speakers + tweeter is DEFINITELY NOT powerful enough for 20 feet rooms (unless you sit very close (e.g. 5 feet) from the speakers).

2 pieces of 6 inch speakers is more powerful, and MIGHT be powerful enough for Hi Fi enthusiast who listen to music at a moderate / soft volume (and sit very close to the speakers).
But, based on your email, 2 pieces of 6 inch speakers is NOT powerful enough for you. ----- Please remember that
MOST SPECIFICATION ARE MISLEADING AND / OR WRONG. Many speaker with one or 2 pieces of 6 inch speaker WRONGLY claims to handle UNBELIEVABLE HUGE amount of power, even 100 watts. These claims are nonsensical. Please email the loudspeakers manufacturer with a simple question. How much distortion for a deep bass note e.g. 40 Hertz for a 20 watts ? The answer will probably be an unbearable 50% distortion or worst ! So, you will NOT get a proper reply from the speaker manufacturers, who makes the absurd claim that their speakers can handle 100 watts ! ---- If you look at the specification of GBP 8500 speakers with HUGE 15 inch woofer + 6 inch midrange + tweeter, you will find that the HUGE 15 inch speaker produces 1 percent distortion at 40 Hertz at about 1 watt .......... If HUGE 15 inch speaker produce 1 percent distortion at 40 Hertz at 1 watt, how much distortion do you think that 6 SMALL inch speakers will produce at 1 watt, 10 watts, 100 watts ?
THE DISTORTION IS SO BAD, THAT MOST LOUDSPEAKERS MANUFACTURER WILL NOT EVEN REPLY TO A SENSIBLE QUESTION LIKE ... "Your speaker claim to handle 100 watts. Please tell me how much distortion at 40 Hertz + 80 Hertz for 100 watts" -----
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You describe your Audion pre / power as 'too clean and clinical'. I would probably describe it as 'Where is the bass ?' If you take away the POWERFUL bass from a Hi Fi system, it will sound clean (to some people, not to me), clinical (to some people, not to me), and faster (which is a Hi Fi reviewer fancy prose for lousy bass) (POWERFUL bass notes lingers, and 'slows' down the music).
---------
THE MOST EXPENSIVE PART OF A 'HIGH END' (which is NOT the same as a High price) VALVE AMPLIFIER ARE THE GBP 150 BIG OUTPUT TRANSFORMER OR GBP 250 HUGE 'POTTED' OUTPUT TRANSFORMERS. Valves only cost GBP 15 to GBP 100 each. Most 'power' transistors only cost GBP 2 (bipolar) to GBP 5 (MOSFET).
(Just because somebody sell 300B valves (that are worth GBP 100) for silly prices, it does NOT mean that the 300B valves are worth that kind of money. If you believe that high prices means high quality, I can sell you our HUGE POTTED transformers for GBP 2500. Wow, our HUGE POTTED GBP 2500 output transformers must be the best in the world, because it sell for GBP 2500. )
YOU NEED BIG TRANSFORMERS FOR BASS, LOUD MUSIC, LOW DISTORTION ON HUMAN VOICES (WHEN THERE IS A LOUD BASS DRUM, AT THE SAME TIME)

Most of the Audion valve amplifiers have much smaller output transformers than our amplifier. If you look at our eBay listing of our GBP 1400 amplifier, you will see that our HUGE EXPENSIVE BEST QUALITY POTTED is so big, that it make the BIG KT88 valves look small. (It is like standing beside a 6 foot tall man !). Please ask yourself, is there any room in the stylish slim chassis of the Audion to fit in a LARGE output transformers + LARGE mains power transformer ?.
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less packing and shipping cost, within 30 days) that our eBay listing for GBP 750 EL34 Triode Connection - Chinatown (non magnetic stainless steel chassis + larger mains power transformer) (or limited stock with back painted steel chassis + SLIGHTLY small power mains power transformer for GBP 650) will sound 100 times better than your GBP 4000 Audion KT88 monoblock + preamplifier because ...... our transformers are bigger and better (more inductance for deeper bass, less core saturation for loud bass, less distortion when there is a human voice and loud bass drums AT THE SAME TIME), much better bass because of our bigger transformers, more realistic human voice due to our 'triode connection' rather than the 'ultra linear connection' of the GBP 4000 Audion, sweeter , less irritating treble, because of our triode connection' rather than the 'ultra linear connection of your GBP 4000 Audion Pre power..
--------------
Bow technologies web site said that they like the sound of valves / tubes a lot,
and in 1994, they tried to build solid state amplifier based on valve / tube circuits,
and this evolved into the ZZ-One.
They said that the sound was very good, etc, but they did NOT say that their transistor amplifier sounds like valves / tube.
------
There are some Hi Fi reviewers who CANNOT hear the difference between a WELL DESIGNED (that need not be expensive) KT88 or EL34 valve / tube amplifier or 300B triode push pull,
who makes absurd 'spiced up' claims that some transistor amplifier sound like valve / tube amplifier.
Just because there are some Hi Fi reviewers who cannot hear the difference between GBP 2 'power' 'bipolar' transistor and GBP 5 MOSFET 'power transistor versus GBP 40 KT88 valves + GBP 250 HUGE POTTED output transformers, it does NOT mean that what they say is true. It just mean that these Hi Fi reviewers should give up writing Hi Fi reviews, and misleading the public. EVEN THE WIVES (WHO ARE NOT NORMALLY INTERESTED IN HI FI) OF MANY (but not all) OF MY CUSTOMERS CAN HEAR THE HUGE HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRANSISTOR AND VALVES AMPLIFIERS (AND THE WIVES PREFER OUR VALVE AMPLIFIERS)
----------------

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO MAKE GBP 2 BIPOLAR POWER TRANSISTORS OR GBP 5 MOSFET POWER TRANSISTORS SOUND LIKE WELL DESIGNED (that need not be expensive)
GBP 100 300B Triodes in Push Pull amplifier (with GBP 250 HUGE POTTED high quality transformers) or GBP 40 KT88 Triode Connected valves in push pull amplifiers (with GBP 250 HUGE POTTED high quality output transformers) or GBP 15 EL34 Triode Connected valves / tubes in push pull amplifiers (with GBP 250 HUGE POTTED high quality output transformers.
---------
The main reason for this is that if you look at the valve characteristic curves of a GBP 100 300B valve / tube or GBP 40 KT88 Triode Connected valve / tube, compared with the characteristic of a GBP 2 bipolar power transistors or GBP 5 MOSFET power transistor, you will find that the transistor (bipolar or MOSFET) curves are UNEVENLY SPACED (meaning HIGH DISTORTION BEFORE APPLYING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK) and ALMOST HORIZONTAL (meaning VERY HIGH OUTPUT IMPEDANCE WITHOUT NEGATIVE FEEDBACK).
In direct contrast, the valve characteristic curve of 300B triode or KT88 Triode connection are almost vertical (meaning a VERY LOW 1000 ohms output resistance (BEFORE FEEDBACK)) and the curves are VERY EVENLY SPACED (meaning LOW DISTORTION BEFORE FEEDBACK).
Transistor amplifiers have to use HUGE HUGE HUGE amount of negative feedback (e.g. emitter followers for the output stages and / or loop feedback ) to lower distortion and output impedance. This trick audio engineers SIMPLISTIC BASIC INCOMPLETE MEASUREMENTS, but unfortunately it does NOT trick golden ears of Hi Fi enthusiast.
---- A man shouting as loudly as possible produces 20 TIMES LESS THAN 1 watt. Most sane people listen at less than 1 watt of amplifier power. When are Audio Engineer going to measure 'Class B' crossover distortion of most transistor amplifier at 1 watt, one tenth of a watt, one thousandth of 1 watt (for dying echoes in concert hall), instead of churning out IRRELEVANT MEASUREMENTS AT 50 WATTS. I challenge Audio engineers to find a loudspeaker that produces less than 50 percent of distortion at 40 Hertz to 80 Hertz at 50 watts. What is the point of measuring amplifiers at 50 watts, when 6 inch or 15 inch speakers CANNOT cope with 50 watts of deep bass (40 Hertz to 80 Hertz) and produce HUGE AMOUNT OF DISTORTION, ----

If you read the review of Bow Technologies amplifiers, you will find that reviewers can 'pad out' the reviews with all sort of fancy prose WITHOUT GIVING UP THE BASIC INFORMATION THAT YOU WANT. Many people think that CD player + transistor amplifier + metal cones / domes produces a 'bright' sound (too much treble). The reviewer doe NOT say if the amplifier solves this problem and makes the treble less irritating (or more irritating.) --- The most important sound on the CD of your favourite singer is the voice of your favourite singer. Most reviewers do NOT say 'how good (or bad) are transistor amplifier at trick you into believing that your favourite singer is in your living room'. WE GUARANTEE THAT OUR GBP 750 TRIODE CONNECTED AMPLIFIER + OUR GBP 650 MODIFIED IN ENGLAND SPEAKERS WITH DEDICATED MIDRANGE + LIVE RECORDING OR 30% OF STUDIO RECORDINGS WILL TRICK YOU INTO BELIEVING THAT THE SINGER IS IN YOUR ROOM. The reviewer of the GBP 2700 transistor amplifier say thing like 'It doesn't have the sheer transparency or delivery speed of the valves amps here (p90/92) but you are certainly not missing any information.' I have partly agree with the reviewer of your GBP 2700, but I disagree about 'not missing any information'. Class B crossover distortion 'mask' echoes, etc, and it is BLATANTLY OBVIOUS TO ME that our hum free valve amplifiers reveals 100 times more details than class B transistor amplifiers. For example, some Studio engineers adds an echo reverberation to singers voice to try and improve the singers voice ! ! You seldom hear these ARTIFICIAL echoes / reverberation, when using Class B transistor amplifiers, but it is BLATANTLY OBVIOUS with our WELL DESIGNED hum free (from listening positron) valve amplifiers. And no, the echo / reverberation is NOT invented by our valve amplifiers.
if our valve amplifier 'invented' the echo / reverberation, you will hear the echo reverberations on human voices AND musical instruments. It is quite common to hear echo / reverberation on human voices, but it is VERY UNUSUAL to hear echo / reverberation on musical instruments RECORDED IN STUDIOS (except for some drums kits). IT IS AMAZING THAT HI FI REVIEWERS DO NOT NOTICE THINGS LIKE THESE ECHOES / REVERBERATION,
THAT ARE BLATANTLY OBVIOUS TO ME AND SOME OF MY CUSTOMERS

This is coming from a guy who says "stop going on and on about cables"
because the difference between cables is so small,
that I am not sure if there really is a difference or it is my imagination !

So, if I say there is a HUGE difference,
you will hear the difference !

Another reviewer of the more expensive version, like GBP 3000 power amplifier and GBP 3500 preamplifier said the GBP 6500 pre / power 'still did not have that homogenous quality that a a really good thermionic (valve tube) amplifier seem to posses. Although the reviewer was talking about 'soak up some of the emotion in her voices' , the reviewer still did NOT say that the GBP 6500 pre / power tricked him into believing that the singer was in his living room. It is interesting to note that the same review also described how unreliable our competitors KT88 and 6550 valves were, WHICH MIGHT BE PARTLY CAUSED BY THE VALVE AMPLIFIER THAT HE WAS USING. Many Audio Engineers know how to design valve (or transistor) amplifiers that works (but are unreliable). MANY DESIGNERS DO NOT KNOW HOW TO MAKE VALVE AMPLIFIERS THAT ARE RELIABLE ! If you do a search on the internet, some brands of VERY EXPENSIVE valve / tubes amplifiers have a terrible reputation for reliability. There are some expsnese amplifers where the designer has put the electrolyiscv caoaitor (which do not like getting hot) in the SAME box (with inadeuqte ventilation) with the valves (which gets hot) + mains power transfroemr (which gets hot). There are VERY EXPENSIVE valve amplifiers, where the designer has asked for the BIG HOT RESISTORS (needed for the inferior 'automatic bias' valve / tube amplifiers) TO BE GLUED ONTO THE PCB (printed circuit board) , so the PCB get too hot and is damaged. This is one of the many reasons why we do NOT use the inferior 'automatic bias'. The superior COMBINED KNOWLEDGE of the Chinese designers (living in China) and I (living in England) produce PROBABLY THE MOST RELIABLE VALVE / TUBE AMPLIFIERS IN THE WORLD WITH VERY VERY VERY RELIABLE SUPERIOR CHINESE KT88 VALVES OR SUPERIOR CHINESE EL34 VALVES, THAT ARE SO RELIABLE, WE GUARANTEE THEM FOR 2 YEARS (when you buy the amplifier) (Only 1 year guarantee for spare replacement valves). Most of our competitor valves / tubes are guaranteed for 90 days. HOW CAN DEALERS IN INTERNET FORUMS (disguised as innocent member of the pubic claim that their 90 days guarantee valves are better than our 2 years guarantee valves ?
Which valves do you think are better made ?

The 'screen grid' voltage limit of EL34 valves and KT88 valves are MUCH MUCH HIGHER than 6550 valves / tubes . Because of this, we only use EL34 and KT88 valves. We do NOT use 6550 valves / tubes.

You asked a 'direct question' 'which of your current amps would better the bow'
So I will give you a 'direct answer' is MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less packing and shipping cost, within 30 days) our GBP 750 EL34 Triode connection - Chinatown will sound 100 times better than your GBP 2700 transistor amplifier because

1. The 'heart' of our amplifier are GBP 15 valve / tubes + GBP 150 BIG output transformer (much much bigger, and better for bass, distortion, core saturation than your previous GBP 4000 preamplifier + KT88 monoblocks).
The 'heart' of you GBP 2700 transistor amplifier are PROBABLY GBP 2 or GBP 3 bipolar transistor. If you can take the lid off the amplifier, and tell me the numbers written on the power transistors, I will tell you the exact price.

2. treble is much 'sweeter' and cymbals will sound like a BEAUTIFUL musical instrument (on high quality tweeters (on on eBay GBP 650 speakers) with sophisticated crossover e.g. 12 decibel crossover with British notch filter tuned to the resonance frequency of the tweeter using a total of 2 capacitors + 2 inductors + resistor. ) LOUD cymbals will usually OVERLOAD tweeter with inferior simplistic 6 db per octave crossover with 1 simple capacitors, so cymbals will always sound overloaded and distorted.

3. Irritating Sibilance (when a woman say 'his', it sounds like 'hissssssssk') will be reduces by 50% or even more.

4. Human voices will be 10 times more realistic (If you are using WELL DESIGNED high quality 'dedicated' midrange in '3 way speakers, like our eBay GBP 650 speakers),

5. Bass will be 10 times better ((If you are using WELL DESIGNED high quality 'dedicated' 10 inch woofer in '3 way speakers, like our eBay GBP 650 speakers)
(The bass from your speaker with 2 pieces of 6 inch speakers CANNOT beat our WELL DESIGNED, BIGGER + MORE POWERFUL 10 inch woofer)

6. You can play music 2 or 3 times louder (if you are using WELL DESIGNED high quality 'dedicated' 10 inch woofer, like our eBay GBP 650 speakers) (Our WELL DESIGNED 10 inch woofer is BIGGER + MORE POWERFUL than your 2 pieces of 6 inch speakers.).

Since you are used to expensive equipment, you probably think that I am puling your leg, that our eBay GBP 750 EL34 Triode Connection - Chinatown )with non magnetic stainless steel Chassis + 8 kilogram mains power transform) + our eBay GBP 650 eBay speaker with superb quality 'dedicated' 10 inch woofer + 6 inch superb quality 'dedicated' midrange + superb quality tweeter will EASILY EASILY EASILY sound 100 times better than your equipment that cost 5 times more, I would like to remind you of our MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less packing and shipping cost, within 30 days). PLEASE LOOK AT OUR EBAY FEED BACK LIKE

If our eBay GBP 750 amplifier is too cheap for you, please take out a 1 month home trial on our
eBay listing of GBP 1100 Ultra High End 300B Parallel Single Ended amplifier WITH NEGATIVE FEEDBACK (with twice the number of GBP 100 300B triode valve + GBP 250 HUGE POTTED transformers) to give EXCELLENT POWERFUL BASS + hum free (from listening position) and
eBay listing of GBP 1100 Ultra High End 300B push pull vale amplifier or GBP 1400 KT88 Triode Connection - Lim Aik Leong Signature with GBP 250 HUGE POTTED output TRANSFORMERS + HUGE 8 kilogram mains power transformer, that make the output transformers on GBP 3000 valve tube amplifiers look like little toys.

If our eBay GBP 650 'High End' speakers are too cheap for you, please look at our eBay listing for our 'Ultra High End' GBP 2000 or GBP 2900 speakers with 12 inch woofer in one BIG box + 6 inch speakers + 1.5 inch dome tweeter + SMALL EXOTIC RIBBON SUPER TWEETER in ANOTHER box.

The sides of these BEAUTIFUL speakers have a wood (veneer probably) PIANO FINISH (That will out class a REAL piano). The front of these BEAUTIFUL speakers have a VERY HIGH GLOSS BLACK PIANO FINISH (that will outclass a REAL piano). Any one of our eBay GBP 650 to GBP 1400 20 watts + 20 watts valves amplifier will EASILY DRIVES the HUGE POWERFUL SPEAKERS to VERY LOUD 'WILD PARTY' LEVEL.
The limitation on how loud our 20 watt + 20 watts valve / tube amplifier (with BIG / HUGE TRANSFORMERS) is NOT the 20 watts.

The limitation is 1 or 2 pieces TINY 6 nch speakers,
that CANNOT HANDLE 10 watts of bass, with low distortion.

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