Κώστας Φ.
Truth hurts. Here's a teddy bear.
- Μηνύματα
- 8.978
- Reaction score
- 895
"For a mid-power tube integrated of superior sonics, think Almarro today. This Japanese brand has gained an enviable underground following for delivering very musical products for relatively little money. Their demure A205AII EL84 integrated has become quite legendary. While certain mods are rumored to make it better yet (don't they always), the $800 stock machine is quite the sensation for its asking price. It's also a perennial darling with the high-efficiency low budget crowd. When WLM's principal Hannes Frick volunteered in an e-mail aside how insanely good Almarro's A318B was on their speakers -- I own WLM's entry-level Diva Monitor and their Grand Viola Signature II top model was soon to be enroute for review -- I naturally took note.
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On the wooden face of it, Muramatsu-San's A318B is a humble though well-crafted affair. A number of available wood choices (White Ash, Cherry, matte black) surround the plain metal casing from all four sides. Two simple controls select from three inputs and adjust volume. The transformers sport plain black end caps but are otherwise nude and in plain sight. The tube complement is similarly spartan: one 6SL7 on the input, one 6SN7 as second-stage cathode follower, one pair of Soviet 6C33C output triodes. But the amp weighs 43 lbs and only costs $1,850. That's surely a high-value proposition. Stripped of non-essentials like remote control and an inbuilt bias meter -- the top-mounted bias pots want to see .20 volts on your own multi meter -- your money has been allocated to what matters. Call it the sound-producing stuff. With a valved single-ended and thus by definition class A circuit, that stuff is most often synonymous with the quality of the output transformers. And the A318B sports some big ones. Those, as we shall see, are just one reason for the amp's "B" designation - they are heftier and of wider bandwidth to improve drive and LF performance over the A318A in particular (by about 50% at 50Hz). Unless you open the amp up, you won't even realize that the middle transformer isn't the power transformer at all but 'just' a butch power supply choke. The mains transformer is inside and positively huge for its rated power application.
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The industrial-strength triple-nipple 6C33C is possibly best-known from BAT's launch of their first Circlotron amp and Vladimir Lamm's ultra-expensive monos.
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"So, the 6C33C is a high transconductance, indirectly heated triode with massive current capability and low internal resistance. It is not for ultra-high frequency use but fast enough for audio power amps. The 6C33C is electrically unstable because of its narrow gaps between the electrodes, making it challenging to use. Still, this triode has many very favorable features that, in the right hands, make it highly attractive."
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Far more listening has to take place to explore the limits of what these 18 watts can do with all the speakers I have on hand. It's clear already that present owners have it right - these watts are worth a lot more than their paper weight. They act significantly more powerful to sound huge, spacious and - well, hot, the complete antithesis of cool. Here's perhaps the most troublesome aspect. I've got Western Electric 300Bs, Emission Labs 45s, JJ 2A3-40s and own amps and had other through to stick all of them in to. None of them hold a candle to the far cheaper 6C33C in this amp. Perhaps some of Wavac's giant 833s do (as better they should for the money they command). That's a different discussion though. In the here and now on Planet Everyman, the Almarro does everything premium 300B, 2A3, 45 or 845 amps do I've heard or own - except better and more so. And with significantly more audible power and drive. This translates across the board, not just in the bass where you'd expect it though you'll still be dumbfounded. So that's why Vladimir Lamm is so stuck on the 6C33C? Stay tuned as the A318B makes my speaker rounds to identify its useful limits - and for me to get suitably down and critical once the initial shock of encountering this triode on steroids has worn off. (If it does wear off any time soon enough for this review .) Realsization? With a vengeance. And, it appears, not just for extreme niche cases of super specialized speakers nobody owns. A Red Wine Audio Signature 30 with tubes? Conclusion in due time."
6moons.com
