Amps amps amps

Too long between drinks, again!

Over the past few months, I’ve somehow fallen back into the tube world after swearing them off and even selling my Modwright preamp. But here we are…

Rediscovering Tubes

I came across a local seller offering an amp I vaguely knew by reputation—the Grant G100AS, built in the 1980s by Roy Grant. Sporting a pair of 12AU7 and 12AX7 tubes, plus a quad of KT77, it delivers a solid 50 watts per channel.

Strictly utilitarian in design, this was clearly built by an engineer rather than a marketing man—but the sound was sublime, even with its 30-year-old tubes.

I had it refreshed by a local tech (who happens to know these amps well and even owns one himself). Now it carries choice Mundorf capacitors, brand new Gold Lion KT77s, and NOS Telefunken and Westinghouse small tubes. The sound is still settling, but I’m expecting big things.

New Australian Tube Amps

I’ve also discovered a new player in the Australian amp scene—Ben Johnson of Nano Audio Technology (not the sprinter!). He builds beautiful single-ended tube amps, and after hearing what he can do, we’ve decided to collaborate and demonstrate Contrast Audio speakers with his creations.

Soon I’ll have one—or maybe two—of his amps on hand to see how the immediacy and natural tones of Contrast Audio pair with 8 or 4.5 watts of creamy single-ended goodness.

A Beloved VFET Returns

In other news, my beloved Yamaha B-2, which catastrophically failed last year, has been restored even better than new. It’s now fitted with fresh “A” spec VFETs and brand-new transistors on the driver boards, on top of an already extensive rebuild.

I’m deeply enamoured with the sound of VFET amps—but even this legend has had its crown challenged by the KT77 Grant amp…