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SET Asylum: REVIEW: Antique Sound Laboratory Limited 1006(845) Amplifier (Tube) by WildWest

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REVIEW: Antique Sound Laboratory Limited 1006(845) Amplifier (Tube)

69.136.113.132


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Model: 1006(845)
Category: Amplifier (Tube)
Suggested Retail Price: $2,999.00
Description: Mono SET amp with 845 output tube
Manufacturer URL: Antique Sound Laboratory Limited

Review by WildWest on January 21, 2004 at 20:07:11
IP Address: 69.136.113.132
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for the 1006(845)


As I went to post this review I noticed that the information in the header was dated. The model number of the new 1006 is the ASL AQ1006DT and the SRP is more in the range of 3,400 bucks.

I was in the market for a pair of mono block amps that was based on the S.E.T. circuit. My speakers were in the range of 95 db and I rather thought that even there it was just at the bottom edge of the ability to reveal that "S.E.T." magic so many swear by. How was I to know, I had never heard it but certainly there had to be something to all the talk and the circuit made sense to me. I was afraid of most S.E.T.s though because of my speakers being rated at 4 ohms with the Raven tweeter in them. I still like to get "slam" out of my speakers and I was used to a modified Dynaco ST 70 that would give me that. So an amp with a higher wattage output would certainly be the ticket. Enter the 845 tube...

Now here is some serious voltage under the hood and I really thought that this 22 watt output amp could drive my MTMs clean to the levels that I may want with certain types of music. I looked at what was available on the market and I really, REALLY wanted the Dehavilland's. But sadly I just couldn't pick enough cash off of the money tree to pull that off and even a demo pair someone had was out of my reach. I also wished George Wright had an amp like this but he was concerned about the very high voltage they run at. I hope he can get past that and develop something though.

Anyway, along comes good ole Brian at Venus Hi-Fi. He says, "WildWest do I have the deal for you". Well he sure did and it fell right into my price range. The mono blocks arrived shortly there after and I was like a kid at Christmas as you can imagine. To my horror one arrived with a shattered 845 tube but Brian jumped right on this and had me a new one shipped over night. (wadda pal) The new design DT from Antique Sound Labs has a nice built in digital bias meter which is rather handy. No more pulling out my meter to adjust the bias. I wish it could have been an analog meter but oh well. They also say they upgraded the chassis from steel to aluminum. Upgrade? I would have preferred the steel chassis. I think this was a downgrade myself and a way to merely jack up the price...Oh well, what do I know? I plugged the amps in and away I went. I honestly can say now I fully understand what a efficient speaker will do with a S.E.T. amp. My speakers literally changed in sound compared to the push pull configuration. And OMG! You guys should hear the Raven ribbons with this amp. (how anyone can listen to domes is beyond me) It takes a lot to make my jaw drop but these mono blocks really did well. The sound was very liquid and much more real. The depth and clarity got me to breathing heavy. This was really fun now!

Rolling some NOS 6sn7s in these amps really opened things up over the Chinese tubes. I have some "on sale" power cables coming soon from Brian but I have played at this game before and I don't expect much more than the kewlness factor to rise. I don't buy into the cable sound hype that is pushed by distributors and manufacturers to reap rip off profits. ESPECIALLY power cables, give me a break.

I am very happy with these mono blocks. The big bad glow of that huge 845 tube is something to behold in my rack. I haven't been real keen on the Chinese import stuff and my first contact a while back with people at Antique Sound Labs left a bad taste in my mouth for them. But having said that, these amps have done well for me and I can't say enough good things about Venus Hi-Fi. There are two caps in the signal path that I will change out to Auricaps one of these days but other than that I can't see anything else that needs to be done to these. The power and sound of the 845 tube works for me and if you need a higher power S.E.T. amp, I don't see how you could be unhappy with these at the price point.


Product Weakness: Cheap Chinese tubes and aluminum chassis
Product Strengths: Power and built in bias metering


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Antique Sound Labs AQ1006DT
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Wright Sound WPL 20
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Thorens TD 160 SME arm Shure V15vXMR cart
Speakers: Aria 5R MTM 1.5 inch wall cabinet with Raven R1 ribbon tweeters
Cables/Interconnects: puulleeaasseeee
Music Used (Genre/Selections): All types except rap crap
Room Comments/Treatments: corner bass traps, wall to wall carpet and overstuffed furniture
Time Period/Length of Audition: 3 months
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Antique Sound Laboratory Limited 1006(845) Amplifier (Tube) - WildWest 20:07:11 01/21/04 ( 14)