The Sweet Sound Of A Valve Amplifier

Valve amplifiers,like record players are coming back into fashion and with their wonderful warm and rich sound and great looks it is easy to see and hear why.

Valves......these ancient sealed glass technologies were used to power amps and more back in the 1950's and 1960's and then largely fell out of fashion again during the past 20 years or so.Such is the current demand that new valves are actually being manufactured again while discovered caches of original valves can fetch high prices.

The reasons for the resurgence in popularity include:valve amps look stunning,they provide a retro feel,they're a talking point at parties,most importantly,they sound great!By sound great,we mean valve-based amps valve amps offer exquisite midrange and treble performance.They also excel in detail,clarity and transparency.

A commonly asked question is how much power do you need as many valve amplifiers have lower power ratings but surprisingly deliver in spades.18 to 30 watts will be sufficient for 99% of people and their neighbours.Efficient speakers don't need a lot of power.A lot of people are confused by exorbitant claims of cheap music systems being hundreds of watts.They are at unlistenable distortion.....the manufacturers are "playing" with numbers.The wattages we are speaking of here are at ultra-low distortion and real hifi amplifiers of this power will easily fill a room with sound.Of course,you may wish to have a higher power amplifier and we have high-end valve amplifiers up to 300 watts per channel.Why would you need this much power?Simply because it's not about volume,it's about dynamic range and headroom at your listening level.The extra power helps deliver a much more lifelike musical experience.

We have a range of valve amplifiers from brands such as Unison Research,Cayin and even High-end McIntosh from the USA on display and demo in our showrooms.When we are playing a valve amplifier in the shop we always receive compliments from customers as to the sweetness of the sound.