Our pursuit for making better amplifiers often leads us to places that no one has been before! Here is such an example.
The magnificent 1950’s Russian GU81 transmitting valve has superb audio qualities and is tremendously robust. We were so inspired by our prototype design we decided to have a limited edition production in response to customer requests.
The MB 81 has seemingly unlimited vigour and drive and is capable of reproducing large orchestral works and rock music in a vivid 3D soundstage in vivid warm natural colour.
The result is probably the most amazing amplifier we have ever made in terms of getting 250 watts of “Icon” sound! Reaffirmed by Hi Fi World no less.
Following our work with other big triodes, we wanted to build an amplifier that would deliver plenty of power to drive the largest inefficient speakers with ease in pure triode mode, in very large rooms. For example although large speakers are generally efficient their complex crossovers can have lots of capacitors and inductors which present a difficult load for an amplifier, especially if it is running with less than ideal power. It is a curious thing that speaker companies say very little about the amplifiers that their speakers are designed for, yet the intimate synergy between the two is crucial to “make or break” a good sound system.
