What amplifers are you using with your Altec gear?

[tomt]

most recent was with a bogen ct 100. $5us at a church sale.

mono, with a cd (sony?) input.

pair 515's, 811/808 ...

[Old Guy]

Everyone will likely cringe, but an old Harmon Kardon 630. Works, gets as loud as I need.

[magnarc]

Bottlehead Paramount 300B with GPA 604 8HII in 9 cu ft BR cabinets (similar to Stonehenge V).

How do you find this combo?

[jdm]

How do you find this combo?

This is the only amp I have used with these speakers. It sounds good to me in my 11.4 ft x 18 ft room. It can play as loud as I would ever want in this room without noticeable distortion.
The choice of 12at7 in the driver stage has a noticeable affect on the sound. The 300B's not so much but I do prefer the EML (solid plate) over the others I have tried.

[juniper]

I have tried a few amps and combos with my Altec 604 8g's and 19's.... the room I listen in is very bright it fails the "clap test" miserably so take this with a grain... although mostly mid fi, and low fi, many have some regard as far as their sound. To list a few, onkyo m504 p304, phase linear 700b and 4000 pre, Yamaha mx 1000u and matching pre, and through cd variable outputs, pioneer sx 1250, jvc ax 1100, technics sa 700, maverick audio d1, Panasonic saxr chip amps, jvc ax-r 551, pilot sa 260 sp 210.... the last four types are my favorites in reverse order.... I could name a few more but I must say Altecs are very picky about amps, recordings and spaces..... Also, my listening preferences aren't for everyone, I don't care for laid back sound, and hate brightness and grainy sound and love balance or as much as I can get top to bottom and love imaging and to hear a lot of a recording...

[amandarae]

Just want to report what I experienced after posting some amps I use for my Altecs here several weeks ago....I just pickup console amp from a yard sale (Silvertone PP6V6 with original tubes) for $35 and it is worth every penny! I will change all electrolytics later on but still sound great with Altec 416 and JMLC horns. Only complaint I have is that it creates a thump during power off. I probaly need to solder a 0.001 uF 1kV ceramic cap in between neutral and hot (no GND on this old amp)to solve the problem. But for $35, its a winner! There's another tube amp that I borrowed and sound very good on Altecs. I am searching for it and will report once I got hold of one. Don't wanna go to a bidding war on Ebay

[drummerwill]

I have had Altec speakers for over 10 years now , A7's with Multicell 803 horns ( sold them) , a pair of Altec 604-8k's ( sold the 8k's ) in MLTL's, a pair of Valencia's (still own those) and a pair of GPA 604-8III's in a bit larger MLTL cab.

I use mostly SET amps either DIY 845 or DIY 2a3 SET's, but I sometimes use a DIY IT coupled 45PP amp or a pair of Rebuilt Wurlitzer IT coupled 45PP amps.

Always DHT powered amps !

[LowOhms]

Tubes !! Low powered, single ended for A7-800 ( 515B and 802s / 811s ).

Self - designed, KISS, two stages, direct coupled - similar to a Loftin White....my favorite tube topology. "Less is more."

Half a 6SL7WGT directly coupled to a triode-connected 6AQ5, into a Magnequest DS-050 output transformer.

All power supply iron / magnetics are under ten Ohms in DCR ( chokes and high voltage power transformer ).

LowOhms

[zelgall]

Just want to report what I experienced after posting some amps I use for my Altecs here several weeks ago....I just pickup console amp from a yard sale (Silvertone PP6V6 with original tubes) for $35 and it is worth every penny! I will change all electrolytics later on but still sound great with Altec 416 and JMLC horns. Only complaint I have is that it creates a thump during power off. I probaly need to solder a 0.001 uF 1kV ceramic cap in between neutral and hot (no GND on this old amp)to solve the problem. But for $35, its a winner! There's another tube amp that I borrowed and sound very good on Altecs. I am searching for it and will report once I got hold of one. Don't wanna go to a bidding war on Ebay

That sounds like Walmart pricing, nice one.
Try a 100K to 200K resistor across the filter caps. It'll bleed off the residual voltage and eliminate the shut down thump.

[amandarae]

That sounds like Walmart pricing, nice one.
Try a 100K to 200K resistor across the filter caps. It'll bleed off the residual voltage and eliminate the shut down thump.

Thank you for the suggestion! I will install one once I have the chance to play with the amp again. Thanks once more!

Abe