View Full Version : FS: (2) TAD-60 tube amps
Normanality
03-05-2007, 01:03 AM
FS: (2) TAD-60 Tube Amps each with (2) additional quad driver tubes. Conservatively rated at 9/10.
Unit #1 $old to HTrookie
Unit #2 $old to Htrookie
Purchased new July 2006. These gems offer an inexpensive entry into the world of tubes and offer a superb sound!
Both units have the SuperA 60wpc upgrade by Paul Grzybek of Tube Audio Design and offer Single Ended Sound Push-Pull Design, UL or Triode Mode, Class-A power.
I had no trouble pushing either Polk SDA 1C's or Carver AL III's with a single unit. I purchased a second unit to bi-amp my Innersound Electrostatics and they performed flawlessly. Unfortunately, I had to convert to high voltage sand amps because my 2nd floor audio room has poor ventilation and like most tube amps, these do generate heat! Otherwise, I'd still be running them.
Both units have 5 months remaining transferrable warranty. Paul is the real deal and a pleasure to work with!
Here is a discussion about the TAD-60 here: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41671
Here is the link to the current TAD-60: http://www.angelfire.com/biz/bizzyb/TAD-60.html
Here is biasing info on the TAD-60: http://www.angelfire.com/biz/bizzyb/TAD60BIAS.html
Unit #1 comes with TungSol 6550's installed plus a quad JJ's KT77s, a quad EH EL34s, multi-meter for biasing and tube covers.
Unit #2 comes with JJ's KT77s installed plus a quad of Electro-Harmonix Fat Bottle 6CA7s and a quad EH EL34s, multi-meter for biasing and tube covers.
I priced Unit #2 less because there is a slight discoloration on the top of one of the transformer covers. It is not noticeable except from close up.
These pictures are as follows:
Unit #1 front
Unit #1 back
Unit #1 accessories
Unit #2 front
Unit #2 accessories
Shipping is included and each unit has (2) boxes
F1nut
03-05-2007, 01:18 AM
Nice!!!
Joey_V
03-05-2007, 01:28 AM
This is really tempting me, seriously...
These are fantastic amps and Norm is first class all the way to deal with. This is a helluva deal Polkies! Jump on these - you won't be sorry! Biasing is super easy too! GREAT deal being offered here!
This is really tempting me, seriously...Local pick up & a screeeeeming deal. Its a no brainer Joey! They'll drive either your ML's or your Strata's.
Normanality
03-05-2007, 01:35 PM
If it ends up being a local deal, then of course I'll discount the total price to make it well worth picking them up. ;)
JimBRICK
03-05-2007, 02:03 PM
those are wild
anonymouse
03-05-2007, 02:17 PM
Norm is first class to deal with. Transact with confidence. I have heard these at his place and they are unreal. Jump on em.
Ricardo
03-05-2007, 02:26 PM
This is a great deal; I almost purchased a pair a couple of months ago from Paul.....if I wasn't working in other front these would be sold already.
madmax
03-05-2007, 02:28 PM
Deal of the century here guys. If you have even thought about getting into tubes this is your chance to do it right!
madmax
reeltrouble1
03-05-2007, 02:34 PM
I have been thinking about a tubed integrated but hmmmmm..................
RT1
McLoki
03-05-2007, 09:44 PM
Norm is first class to deal with. Transact with confidence.
+1 I got my 15's from Norm and he is a great guy to work with. I am sure items are as advertised or better. (I know my 15's were excellent)
Michael
dorokusai
03-05-2007, 09:49 PM
That's pretty cool, sweet deal.
schwarcw
03-05-2007, 11:43 PM
I can't believe these amps are still for sale!!! I heard a pair of these at Scompracer's house powering his Innersounds and they sounded fabulous! Lush, detailed with just the right touch of warmth. Not to mention these are gorgeous!
A couple of month's ago Rich gave me a demo with his TAD-60's, he played BIA "I want my MTV" at insane volume levels. These 60 watt amps will drive anything within reason.
Plus Norm is great to do business with. First class man all the way!
Good luck with the sale!
jfb4548
03-06-2007, 07:54 AM
Damn this place! I'd love to get one. Let me think out how. I'll get back to you soon!
BlueMDPicker
03-06-2007, 12:50 PM
Nice!
Since you went to the Sanders bass amp/crossover, what became of your Marchand (was it an XM44)?
SCompRacer has it now Mike.
Normanality
03-06-2007, 01:10 PM
Thanks for all the kudos guys....appreciated! Hopefully, these will find a home with a fellow Polker.
I sold the XM44 to Rich (SComp) and he's using it presently with his 2 TAD60's.
Joey_V
03-06-2007, 05:16 PM
Local pick up & a screeeeeming deal. Its a no brainer Joey! They'll drive either your ML's or your Strata's.
Seriously Victor... that's what I'm thinking...
You rave about them and someone on the Logan forum raved about them too... they gotta be good! I'm looking to see what I can do in my end...
Gotta see how much I can free up... still though, surprised it's still up.
Joey_V
03-06-2007, 05:19 PM
Ugh, the more I read this stuff, the more I think I'll be taking one... I'm going to sleep on it. Night night...
hearingimpared
03-06-2007, 05:25 PM
HMMMMmmmm I just purchased a Parasound amp to vertically bi-amp my 1.2TLs. . . before the purchase I was thinking of looking for a sweet tube amp for the high frequencies. . .
How do you think these will synergize with a Spectal DMC 10 preamp? Has anyone ever paired these with a SS preamp?
Ricardo
03-06-2007, 05:30 PM
You guys that are thinking about getting one......make up your minds, because there is only one left.
PM sent
reeltrouble1
03-06-2007, 05:48 PM
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..........
Good move Ricardo, if were not for the taxman they both would of been gone yesterday.
RT1
Nice snag Ricardo! Guess this means I can leave mine at home for the PF! J/K ;)
Normanality
03-06-2007, 08:29 PM
PM returned to HTrookie!
I'll post which unit remains later :)
Normanality
03-06-2007, 09:05 PM
Alrighty!
Unit #1 sold to Ricardo! Thanks!
Unit #2 still available.
SCompRacer
03-06-2007, 09:19 PM
HMMMMmmmm I just purchased a Parasound amp to vertically bi-amp my 1.2TLs. . . before the purchase I was thinking of looking for a sweet tube amp for the high frequencies. . .
How do you think these will synergize with a Spectal DMC 10 preamp? Has anyone ever paired these with a SS preamp?
I used a SS pre amp with a McAlister tube amp for a few months and it worked well. You are not bound by the tube pre/SS amp combo.
However, Norm and I felt we never got a good match bi-amping using SS amps and tube amps. We tried it with Carver AL-III's, AL-III +'s, Carver Silver Amazings (I temporarily rewired the Silver crossover to try it) and the InnerSound Eros MK II's. Others may have different experiences.
Congrats Ricardo! These are great amps. Lots of bang for the buck.
SCompRacer
03-06-2007, 09:24 PM
I sold the XM44 to Rich (SComp) and he's using it presently with his 2 TAD60's.
Was...:D Sand land now. Modded XA200 on the bass, InnerSound ESL amp on the panels. If all goes well in the next two weeks, a second ESL amp will replace the XA200.
However, Norm and I felt we never got a good match bi-amping using SS amps and tube amps. We tried it with Carver AL-III's, AL-III +'s, Carver Silver Amazings (I temporarily rewired the Silver crossover to try it) and the InnerSound Eros MK II's.+ 1 ^ with the all tube or all SS amp bi-amp method.
dorokusai
03-06-2007, 10:33 PM
That's never worked for me either.
reeltrouble1
03-07-2007, 08:19 AM
Everybody should make up there own mind and trying it would be a learning experience, I would just wonder about the speeds of the different amplifier's, if you had a riff which moved through the crossover ranges, using different amps, especially tube and sand could be a real problem. Throw into the mix musical pace and timing issues from the source, sounds like a reicipe for coherent disaster.
One of the best bi-amp set-ups I saw was a pair of hybrid Anthem with SDA, same amps, worked well together, seamlessly as one might expect.
RT1
Ricardo
03-09-2007, 06:45 PM
Norm,
Got them, biased them, hooked them up and I'm listening to tubed SDA's.
The bass from these (with the 6550's) is unbelievable!!!
Come on guys, you won't get a better deal than this; plenty of power, common ground, and beautiful.
Normanality
03-09-2007, 07:13 PM
Glad it arrived safely! It's the first time I triple boxed anything LOL :D
The 6550's are superb bass drivers! Enjoy!
hearingimpared
03-09-2007, 07:57 PM
jaw open, while wiping the drooollll.
Ricardo
03-10-2007, 04:23 PM
Ok guys; I've been listening to the SDA's with the TAD 60 all morning and I must say I am impressed. Not only the bass is breathtaking; there is a sweetness on the top range that makes you just love it. And this is with the 6550's, which are not the best for mid-upper range (so I hear). I have yet to set it up as SET and see how the VR-1's sound, but I just can't do it...it sounds sooooo good that I don't want to touch it :) :)
Norm is a wonderful seller; you won't be dissapointed here.
I am seriously (seriously) thinking on getting #2 for bi-amping and sell the Belles; they are that good.
Normanality
03-10-2007, 04:30 PM
Thanks Ricardo!
I really enjoyed these amps. If it wasn't for the nonexistent air circulation on the second floor of my house, I'd still be enjoying them.
I ran SET mode most of the time on one of the amps. I ran the bass in full UL mode on one amp with the volume turned back about 25% and then ran SET on the mids and highs off the other amp. The match was gorgeous.
Talk to fredv about tubes with the TAD. He's tried a bunch and has alot of good information!
Normanality
03-10-2007, 04:32 PM
Forgot to mention :rolleyes: I'm about to tear down my putie for a long overdue cleaning and drain-refill of the water cooling. I'll be offline probably until Monday but will check to see if there's any interest once back online.
Normanality
03-10-2007, 05:10 PM
Deal is done!
The second unit has also been bought by Ricardo!
Many Thanks!
Ricardo
03-10-2007, 05:18 PM
Thanks to you Norm.
It will be paid off by lower gas bills next winter ;)
SCompRacer
03-10-2007, 05:23 PM
Damn! Congrats Ricardo! To think I traded mine towards 1/2 of a sand amp.....
I liked the KT77's all round. EL-34's had a fat bass sound you might either love or hate. KT-88 or 6550's had a more true bass IMO. The EL-34 midrange is more precise, while the 88/6550 midrange is larger, but sort of a delightful smeared abstract. It is all about system synergy and personal taste.
Paul of Tube Audio Design is also a great guy to deal with and really into the music.
hearingimpared
03-10-2007, 07:39 PM
Damn! Congrats Ricardo! To think I traded mine towards 1/2 of a sand amp.....
I liked the KT77's all round. EL-34's had a fat bass sound you might either love or hate. KT-88 or 6550's had a more true bass IMO. The EL-34 midrange is more precise, while the 88/6550 midrange is larger, but sort of a delightful smeared abstract. It is all about system synergy and personal taste.
Paul of Tube Audio Design is also a great guy to deal with and really into the music.
You guys are so tickling that upgrade bug to switch to all tubes.
SCompRacer
03-10-2007, 08:08 PM
I'll be offline probably until Monday...
You shoulda told me last week, I coulda brought you out my old scuzzy (SCSI) dually Friday...but then you wouldn't have got anything done.:D
Ricardo
03-15-2007, 05:05 PM
Second TAD is here and playing; tomorrow I'm getting the Tylers, so will be biamping during the weekend.
Must say that Norm is TOP NOTCH. Highly recommended. Every little detail of this transaction was a pleasure.
Now to some quick impressions on the different types of tubes for these amps (paired with an Audio Research pre, BADA CDP, and SDA 3.1 TL's)
I started playing the first amp with 6550's, and I already posted my impressions (great bass, beautiful mids, ok highs).
I then played with the KT-77's, expecting to see an improvement in the upper ranges, but this was not the case; maybe these tubes have not been broken in, and I let them play for a couple of days but just could not stand the sound; it seemed as if a blanket was on top of the speakers. A no go with my system/ears.
Today when I got the second one I started with the Electro Harmonik 6CA7's, which as I understand are not broken in yet (and are on the cheap side).
OH MY GOD!; 6550's have the bass maybe a tad better, mids have that same sweetness, but highs sound so much better. It seems to me that this IS the tube. I need to let them burn in for a while, and I just hope that they get better or at least stay the same...
Thanks again Norm for a great transaction.
Its all about synergy & what works in your rig. I liked the KT-77's top to bottom, just didn't have as much bass as the 6550's. The EL-34's were ok imo. I didn't care for the 6CA7's at all but that was in my system when I still had the Von Schweikert VR-2's. Never tried them on the ESL's.
Like Norm and Rich I've decided to go with all InnerSound SS amps. My 2 TAD-60's are available if anyone feels they missed out on Norm's. email me if interested: peersool at hotmail dot com.
Normanality
03-15-2007, 09:42 PM
I'm glad you are enjoying those amps! They do look sweet in your rack:cool:
Interesting how different tubes sound on different speakers. The 6550 is definitely a full-bodied tube!
Halo, good luck with your sale!
schwarcw
03-16-2007, 12:37 AM
Ooooooh! Very nice Ricardo! Congratulations! Sounds like it will be a good weekend with the new amps and Tylers!!
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