Will Altec Model 19's benefit from lower powered tube amp?

From my own experience with Altec 19, the 15" actually needs some power to express itself. Crossovers need to be well adjusted. At very low volume, the Model 19 just didn't sound good. High efficiency is one thing but only a few watts pushing 3 drivers tend to make the whole thing either boring or honk and tiring after a while. Either too loud or not enough. As often, the room space and acoustics are maybe the most important thing.
 
From my own experience with Altec 19, the 15" actually needs some power to express itself. Crossovers need to be well adjusted. At very low volume, the Model 19 just didn't sound good. High efficiency is one thing but only a few watts pushing 3 drivers tend to make the whole thing either boring or honk and tiring after a while. Either too loud or not enough. As often, the room space and acoustics are maybe the most important thing.
I bought an Elekit TU-8600R amp (300B SET x 9 wpc) that should arrive next Wednesday. I'm hoping it's a synergistic match, but if not, I will sell it and possibly try something else. What amps did you use that you did like when you had 19s?
 
I've been on ampquest too but still in the sorting phase.

There was a nice looking Blair Chapman 10w 6L6 amp for sale on here, maybe still is but at the sub $700 price, it might be a nice way to dip into lower watt amps, without going full flea, or spending a pile. The 6L6GC is one of my favorite tubes. I prefer it to kT88. 6550, el34, in the amps I've heard them in. If I could get by with 10w, with current speakers, likely I would have purchased it already.

I'm sure someone has said Oliver Sayes already. I've heard good things about the 45, 46 and 421a.

I'm on the fence about a Pass XA25 and have read good things about that amp and heard from an owner who recently had some of the tube amps listed above and suggested that the Pass amp bested them all.. (grain of salt).

Recently I've been fascinated with Fisher SA100, 300, up to the 50a and alleged apex 55a which have up to 35ish watts and with the Dave Gillespie mods, are supposed to run cooler, have 'better' specs/ performance and a few more wpc. One of those just may be the ticket, if you're not sold on sub 10w.
 
I bought an Elekit TU-8600R amp (300B SET x 9 wpc) that should arrive next Wednesday. I'm hoping it's a synergistic match, but if not, I will sell it and possibly try something else. What amps did you use that you did like when you had 19s?
I had Marantz 8B/ EL 34 that drove them ok, about 30w. I prefered EL84 monoblocks, around 12/15 watts but i think it was a minimum. Early class A Sugden A21 at 20w was good, too. Keep in mind i never pushed the volume too loud wher the amps limits could be obvious.
I tried italian brand Tektron, an 2A3/45 integrated, low wattage and very good irons but it felt it was thriving to deliver. I had no real powerful amp at hand back then but i'm pretty sure these speakers feel more at ease with generous current and power, wether its valves or solid state. I'm sure plenty of people disagree and love what they hear with low wattage amp, which is what matters most, right ?
 
My Elekit TU-879S 6V6 also sounded great with the Model 19's. Sounds great with all the altecs actually.
 
Funny thing is that my Altec A5s (1505 multicells) sounded good with 300b SE amps, although some solo singers got a lot larger than life, while my Altec 604-8Gs vould benefit from more power from pp kt88 monoblocks. The 604s where to muddled in the bass with 300B SEs. I would assume that the 19s would also benefit from higher power (30-50w).
 
I've found the bass to be a bit muddy and lacking with the Elekit TU-8600R (300B) compared to the 125 wpc push pull Music Reference RM9 MK2. Both amps sound excellent... just different strengths/weaknesses. I agree with @IceRover that the 19's will probably benefit from a moderate powered amp with 30-50 wpc.
 
Have you ever considered 845 monos ? 97% of the 300b magic with the bass of a solid state, top end never in your face. I have had lots of the gear listed above , Marantz 9's, 8B, McIntosh MC30, 40, 60, MC225 and MC240. Leben, Levinson (original ML2 monos), Heath WM5, various Fisher, Scott, Layfayette, Line Magnetic, Ayer, Exposure, Audio Research, Conrad Johnson and more... If the ML2's would have been more stable fewer breakdowns, I'd still own them.

Of everything I have tried, the McIntosh MC 30's or MC60's and my current (last 6 years) Dehavilland Aries 845monos are my faves. ~20watts of real Class A with a nice big fat 845 tube on each. If you are after solid state, Pass Aleph monos would be a great choice too.

The 845 Aries has enough clean power to drive you out of the room, with all kinds of timbre and dimensionality, bass slam etc. It's not the watts , it's the clean headroom that matters

IMHO
 
Have you ever considered 845 monos ? 97% of the 300b magic with the bass of a solid state, top end never in your face. I have had lots of the gear listed above , Marantz 9's, 8B, McIntosh MC30, 40, 60, MC225 and MC240. Leben, Levinson (original ML2 monos), Heath WM5, various Fisher, Scott, Layfayette, Line Magnetic, Ayer, Exposure, Audio Research, Conrad Johnson and more... If the ML2's would have been more stable fewer breakdowns, I'd still own them.

Of everything I have tried, the McIntosh MC 30's or MC60's and my current (last 6 years) Dehavilland Aries 845monos are my faves. ~20watts of real Class A with a nice big fat 845 tube on each. If you are after solid state, Pass Aleph monos would be a great choice too.

The 845 Aries has enough clean power to drive you out of the room, with all kinds of timbre and dimensionality, bass slam etc. It's not the watts , it's the clean headroom that matters

IMHO
I have not tried 845's... they do sound intriguing... however, I tend to shy away from monoblocks due to a likely irrational fear that there's more that can go wrong having two components vs. only one (stereo amp).
 
I would be very interested to hear how the Fisher SA-100 and some of the other similar vintage amps mentioned would fair on the model 19s. I bet they would be excellent.
 
I would be very interested to hear how the Fisher SA-100 and some of the other similar vintage amps mentioned would fair on the model 19s. I bet they would be excellent.
Yah... it would be interesting to compare it to the considerably more expensive Leben cs300xs. Assuming the two are comparable from a sound quality perspective, the vintage amp may have dependability issues that have to be considered.

There are so many amps I'd like to try, but there's always a risk of taking a big loss when you try to resell them. It seems like used amps aren't really moving well on Audiomart from what I can tell. Demand/supply imbalance?
 
I have audio buddies with cool gear. We have done gear swaps before. None of us have vintage gear. I guess I have some Altec's I'm in the process of rehabbing. But no vintage amps.

I need to heed Paul's advice and make some friends with vintage gear. It's a thin premise for a friendship, but I'm in! I have the Leben, now I need to find the guy that has the fisher!
 
now I need to find the guy that has the fisher!
From the late 80s to early 90s, I collected PP EL84 and PP EL34 amps. At one point I owned six classic PP EL84 amps. By the time I started unloading, the Eico HF86 and Fisher SA100 were easy to let go. It was harder for me to part with the Acro 20/20, Dynakit ST35 (which I reacquired for nostalgia), Leak 20 and Pilot SA232. The ST35 would probably be the easiest to find nowadays.

Happy hunting!
 
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I was close to pulling the trigger on a 20/20 locally a few weeks ago, but the amount of work to sort out one of those seemed substantial compared to similar products.
 
I was close to pulling the trigger on a 20/20 locally a few weeks ago, but the amount of work to sort out one of those seemed substantial compared to similar products.
Yes the PC boards on Acrosound amps were already charred and brittle when I serviced a few in the early 90s. Dynakit PCBs weren't as much of a problem then. At least replacement boards for Dynas are available now from many sources. Not sure about Acro PCBs.

Given its operating points, the Acro 20/20 should've been hard wired just like the Leak 20 and Pilot SA232.

Beautiful post @je2a3 your blog is a wonderful resource to the audio community!
Thanks! Just sharing my audio journey. :)
 
I have never tried my Model 19s with single-ended tubes,
but they sound better with a Hafler DH-200 than ultralinear push-pull 6L6GCs.
 
Another swing and a miss. About a month ago, I got a good deal on Coincident Frankenstein II's that came with new issue WE 300B's and Psvane WE 300B replicas. Then I found a pair of Mullard CV378 rectifiers, which improved the sound further. The sound was very good, but it felt like something was missing... so I pulled out the SET amps and replaced them with an inexpensive Jolida 100 wpc hybrid integrated and immediately noticed significant improvement in dynamics and slam that drew me to the 19's to begin with. I was fortunate to quickly sell the Franks to a local audiophile friend at break even... and I'm back to researching my next amp.

Currently leaning towards recent versions of McIntosh MC 275 or possibly vintage MC60's. I am intrigued by 845/211 set amps, but there are so few to choose from, aside from Chinese brands that I'm skeptical of. I've also considered class A solid state amps or Herron M1A ss mono amps, but every time I try solid state I regret it and go back to tubes. I know several here recommended vintage amps with push/pull EL84's, but I've read EL84 amps tend to be bass shy... and I'm hesitant to buy a vintage amp without being able to trust it was refurbished properly to last another 6-10 years. I'll post my findings when I get the next amp.
 
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