Favorite amp for VOT?

**Steve Schell** · October 1st, 2010, 11:28 PM

Hi guys, great to see some old friends on this thread. I'm not running VOTs, but am intimately familiar with them and I am running a fully horn loaded compression driver system.

My main amp most of the time for years now has been a home brew battery biased transformer coupled 26 - 45 - 45 amp. Smokin' the DHT, SE Koolaid (mixed metaphor?) has brought me endless hours of listening joy, interrupted only by the inability to really rock the house on demos due to the 1.6 watts of clean output.

For about three months now I have been seduced by the most unlikely amp, a 1960 vintage Allen organ two channel 6L6 ultralinear amp. I lucked into both the stereo amp and a pair of mono amps that use the same basic circuit. The rumor is that they use the Acrosound TO-300 output transformer, though no one seems to know for sure. They have recently been gone through by a technician who really knows his stuff. Anyway, all the magic SE DHT stuff seems to be there, the "you are there" believability, spooky dimensionality, natural presentation of fine details, etc. Plus, the available power seems unlimited. So it seems a really well balanced ultralinear push pull amp can get you there after all. Some friends and I recently listened to some Sheffield direct to disc cuts at good volume and I just couldn't wish for anything more.

These Allen organ tube amps are really something; keep an eye out for them.

**BoydB** · October 2nd, 2010, 01:55 PM

Steve Schell wrote..

"For about three months now I have been seduced by the most unlikely amp, a 1960 vintage Allen organ two channel 6L6 ultralinear amp. I lucked into both the stereo amp and a pair of mono amps that use the same basic circuit. The rumor is that they use the Acrosound TO-300 output transformer, though no one seems to know for sure. They have recently been gone through by a technician who really knows his stuff. Anyway, all the magic SE DHT stuff seems to be there, the "you are there" believability, spooky dimensionality, natural presentation of fine details, etc. Plus, the available power seems unlimited. So it seems a really well balanced ultralinear push pull amp can get you there after all. Some friends and I recently listened to some Sheffield direct to disc cuts at good volume and I just couldn't wish for anything more.

These Allen organ tube amps are really something; keep an eye out for them."

Boy Steve, I agree in spades regarding the Allen organ amps with the 6L6's. I have a pair of Allen organ monoblocks which use a quad of 6L6's each for 60 watts. Most of the audio world's talk about the Allen amps centers around the model 75, which I think used a pair of 6550's. Mine are earlier models than the 75, probably from the late 50's. They do not have the Acrosound output transformers, they use "Airdesign" transformers, and this beautifully describes their sound. They are arguably the most musical amps I've ever owned.

Here is a not so good pic of one of my Allen model 60 monoblocks, it is in the lower center of this photo. The output tubes are 6BG6's, in essence identical to the 6L6 with a different pinout and plate caps. My apologies to the members of this board for the wimpy speakers in the background

**Derry** · October 3rd, 2010, 08:33 PM

I pulled my VOTs out of the HT room and set up a separate music room using my aged Fisher 400 tube receiver,, always loved them on my Dynaco ST70 but it is long gone,,

they sound great at about 1/3 volume with the old vinyl spinning,,

Derry

**endeeinn** · October 3rd, 2010, 09:00 PM

At the risk of committing heresy my tri-amped system is powered by 3 Yamaha B-2 amplifiers with VFET output transistors that provide (in my opinion) that warm tube sound. In addition to a high damping factor they also provide dynamics/headroom that most tube amps can?t. They drive a pair of JBL Sub-1500?s, a pair of 416-16Z?s in 825?s and a pair of 288-8L?s on 311-90?s.

**Panomaniac** · October 3rd, 2010, 09:46 PM

BoydB - are you sure you have big enough speakers? How many families sub rent from you for living space? :CAT:

**BoydB** · October 4th, 2010, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by Panomaniac

BoydB - are you sure you have big enough speakers? How many families sub rent from you for living space? :CAT:

By 'families' do you mean 'front loaded', 'rear loaded' etc?

Unfortunately in recent years my horn hobby has been severely dampened (!) by the increasing care required by two elderly parents.

**Panomaniac** · October 4th, 2010, 08:53 PM

That's true. Each could serve as a two room apartment.

**valhallax** · October 3rd, 2010, 10:17 PM

just picked up an adcom gfa 5800... a nelson pass design with the first 20 watts, class a amplification. 250/ channel at 8 ohms. thinking i might try it on my mids. 515b loaded 210 cabs.. is this a good idea? i really dont know much about amps. i am currently running anniversary series altec amps

**MikeInNH** · October 4th, 2010, 10:00 AM

Crown amps NOT being hi-fi...

Crown use to make their Studio Reference amp (don't know if they still do)..But when it came out it was getting rave reviews by many as being the BEST Solid-State Amp you could buy...no matter what the cost...And at the time they were competing with amps costing 3-5 times as much.

I've always liked the Crown sound....Super Clean...Very wide dynamic range....Great for playing Hard-Rock or Mozart. Playing classical music on with my Crown PL-4 and my Altec 15's was about as good as it gets...Nothing I ever heard could top it...I really hated removing the Pl-4 when I got home theater...But didn't have the room for another amp and pre-amp along with my PL-4. I also have problem with the right channel which I need to get fixed...Still want to keep the amp....I might have a room someday where I can hook it up with a new set of speakers (probably home built variation of the 15's or maybe even the 604's.