Most Respected Amplifier Designers

[BruceD]

I may be a lone caller on this fellow--but I'd still rate my old boss

--inspite of all that feedback the Electro Research A75 was one helluva amp!

RIP old Mate

BruceD

 

[Trab]

Sometime in the late 80's I listened and even built some of the Hiraga designs. Although very simple, his designs rely mainly on semiconductors that were/are not easy to source and should be carefully matched with great precision. Most of the assembled kits or copies being sold used the so called "equivalent" parts that make it sound miserable and even unappropriated type of resistors.

I can't remember exactly the type but we build a class A amplifier using around 1 Farad capacity and enormous power transformers that sounded great (according to our standards of that time) with the ESL57 or some old Snell speakers. A good friend built one design using several car batteries - he used it with some old JBL's.

If you can read french, the articles describing his circuits are now available in the net.

Never built anything from Kaneda, however.

Thank's for that clarification. I'm not an audio electronic engineer, that said I have to look at second hand market. Do you know how can one distinguish the tube amplifier built by Hiraga himself ?
Last months my audio experience led me to the conclusion, that nowadays within digital you can easily find a real progress, and it is not so within amplifiers, CD's, turntables and speakers, and it is profitable when you turn your attention to second hand best designed amplifiers. It is a pleasure for me when new design benefit with old stuff. However it is true only if you like the old school open type of music presentation, focused rather on midrange, exact tone, and small niuances.

 

[bonzo75]

Thank's for that clarification. I'm not an audio electronic engineer, that said I have to look at second hand market. Do you know how can one distinguish the tube amplifier built by Hiraga himself ?

You will get all answers on hiraga and Kaneda on the Melaudia forum. Very friendly people who orient their systems around those electronics and philosophy

 

[Trab]

You will get all answers on hiraga and Kaneda on the Melaudia forum. Very friendly people who orient their systems around those electronics and philosophy

Thanks. I didn't know such forum exists.

 

[bonzo75]

What wattage amps are you looking For

Thanks. I didn't know such forum exists.

 

[microstrip]

Thank's for that clarification. I'm not an audio electronic engineer, that said I have to look at second hand market. Do you know how can one distinguish the tube amplifier built by Hiraga himself ?
Last months my audio experience led me to the conclusion, that nowadays within digital you can easily find a real progress, and it is not so within amplifiers, CD's, turntables and speakers, and it is profitable when you turn your attention to second hand best designed amplifiers. It is a pleasure for me when new design benefit with old stuff. However it is true only if you like the old school open type of music presentation, focused rather on midrange, exact tone, and small niuances.

Sorry I have no experience with commercial versions of his designs, just DIY solid state.

Buying vintage solid state is sometimes a dangerous adventure nowadays - most the old power semiconductors being sold are fakes and we risk that the unit has been serviced with such components. In this aspect tube equipment is much safer!

 

[Trab]

What wattage amps are you looking For

It would be nice to have around 15 Watt, my speakers are 96dB /6 Ohm. The best tube for me in Lampi dac is 45. This gives the right perspective for what I'm looking for. I appreciate any advice.

 

[bonzo75]

It would be nice to have around 15 Watt, my speakers are 96dB /6 Ohm. The best tube for me in Lampi dac for me is 45. This gives the right perspective for what I'm looking for. I appreciate any advice.

Which speakers are these? the NAF 2a3 which are parallel not single ended work great on devore orangutans. The silvercore 833c will be good at 20w with more drive. Not same nuance as lower watt tubes but more than kronzilla which is a great amp with much more drive. It depends how difficult your woofer is to move really.

 

[oldvinyl]

Dennis Had formerly of Cary Audio. His 845 and 300B based single-ended triode amps are classic designs. Several of those amps are still in production 25 or 30 years later.

 

[Projectman]

James Bongiorno:

http://www.tnt-audio.com/edcorner/january13.html

I own the SST Ambrosia 2000 Second Edition and SST Son of Ampzilla II amp. Best amp/preamp combo I have owned. Beats the ML 585 they replaced. Both SST products were designed by Mr. Bongiorno. After his death in 2016 Wyred4Sound bought the company. Thhe SST product line can be seen at http://SST.audio.

Some of James Bongiorno's early designs and his last achievements were:
Hadley Laboratories 622C Power Amplifier, contributing engineer
Marantz Model 15 Power Amplifier, contributing engineer
Dynaco Stereo 400 Power Amplifier, Designer
Dynaco AF-6 AM/FM Tuner, contributing engineer
SAE (Scientific Audio Engineering)
XXXIB Power Amplifier, Designer
IIIC/CM Power Amplifier, Designer
IVD/DM Power Amplfier, Designer
VIB Stereo Tuner, contributing engineer
IC Stereo Preamplifier, contributing engineer
GAS (The Great American Sound Co.) Chief Designer
Ampzilla Power Amplifier
Ampzilla II (World's first servo-controlled power amplifier)
Thaedra Preamplifier (World's first (and only) servo controlled preamp)
Thoebe Preamplifier
Son of Ampzilla Power Amplifier
Thalia Preamplifier
Grandson Power Amplfier
Sleeping Beauty Moving Coil Cartrdges
Sumo Electric Co. Ltd. Chief Designer
The Power, World's first 450 watt/channel fully balanced Bridge Power Amp
The Gold, World's first patented solid state Class A Power Amplifier
The Nine, World's first low cost solid state class A power amplifier
The Nine+, Ruggedized version
Electra Preamplifier
Charlie the Tuner, world's first premium low cost stereo tuner (The humor in the name is that US TV advertisements of the 80's had a cartoon tunafish named Charlie selling cans of his relatives . . . and the tuner had quite mixed reviews.)
The Half-power, stereo power amplifier
Andromeda, world's first low cost solid state class AB Balanced Power Amp
The Sumo I, Magnetic Phono Cartridge
The Sumo II, Moving coil Phono Cartridge
Harman-Kardon, Consultant, completely redesigned the Citation 23 Tuner
Crown Radio, Japan, 4 power amps, 2 preamps, a fully equalized (phase & amplitude) 3-way electronic crossover.
Spread Spectrum Technologies Inc.. Chief Designer
Ampzilla 2000, fully balanced monoblock power amplifier
Trinaural Processor

 

[Diasoft5]

ASR Audio Emitter amps from Friedrich Schäfer.
I own an Emitter II and I love it.

https://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/1006asr/index.html

 

[Simon Moon]

Bascom H. King - BHK

 

[Cellindo]

Ken Shindo was already mentionned ...

Not listed yet, Robert Koda from the company of the same name.

The Fusilier brothers from JMF Audio (in France)

 

[Simon Moon]

I may be a lone caller on this fellow--but I'd still rate my old boss

--inspite of all that feedback the Electro Research A75 was one helluva amp!

RIP old Mate

YES!

How can we not mention John Iverson!?

I used to work at a high end shop in the LA area (San Fernando Valley, specifically), and we carried Electro Kinetics. What an incredible amp the Eagle 7A was.

He used to come in the store pretty frequently, and he always had some, ah...let me say...interesting stories to impart.

 

[Simon Moon]

George Counnas has been making some pretty impressive tube amps at Zesto Audio.

 

[tony22]

I agree with many of those mentioned already, but one amp designer who I think doesn't get sufficient credit for rather excellent amps is Frank Van Alstine.

 

[marty]

I may be a lone caller on this fellow--but I'd still rate my old boss

--inspite of all that feedback the Electro Research A75 was one helluva amp!

RIP old Mate

BruceD

View attachment 61431

Not only will most people on this forum not recognize the name of this genius/madman, but I am probably one of the very few who actually visited him in that lab. I have stories that few would believe and if you worked for him, you probably have quite a few as well.

 

[Kingsrule]

Wasnt Paul Heath a dealer?

 

[BruceD]

YES!

How can we not mention John Iverson!?

I used to work at a high end shop in the LA area (San Fernando Valley, specifically), and we carried Electro Kinetics. What an incredible amp the Eagle 7A was.

He used to come in the store pretty frequently, and he always had some, ah...let me say...interesting stories to impart.

Bit hazy--not Mel Schillngs?

BruceD

 

[carl13]

YES!

How can we not mention John Iverson!?

I used to work at a high end shop in the LA area (San Fernando Valley, specifically), and we carried Electro Kinetics. What an incredible amp the Eagle 7A was.

He used to come in the store pretty frequently, and he always had some, ah...let me say...interesting stories to impart.

I had a Eagle 7A, and yes, it was an incredible amp.