Tube power amps

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mchn13
mchn13
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I recently started got a quad cortex and love it! First (modeler) ive really got inspired by, and love the functionality of the thing. I have two different band projects and need something to work with at home, and this covers so much for me. And it just plain sounds killer.
Sounds way better plugged into my 5150 poweramp than the seymour duncan 700 though.. buti need one rig to be stereo, so need a stereo poweramp.

Want to know opinions or experiences with the synergy 50/50, and the fryette 50/50 poweramps. I like the single rackspace size, but how do they stack up to a mesa 50/50 or 290? Thanks for any info.
 
A Mesa 50/50 or 2:50? I’ve had the 50/50 (meh at best). The Fryette 2/50/2 I had was great, I should’ve kept it. But my rackmount ElectraDyne has been serving well as a power amp for my Synergy setup at home. I will likely move back to a straight power amp, and it will be a Fryette. For portability, I’d recommend taking a look at their LXII, which can be run in 50W stereo or in 100W bridged mono. The Synergy 5050 can’t do bridged. The LXII does have a couple design choices that work in your favor or not, depending. One volume knob - helpful for most stereo needs, but not always. And the Depth and Presence controls are small pots on the top of the unit, not the face. More of a “set and forget” thing, but then you can switch them both in/out with a front panel button. They did this do it can be easily used between a “flat response” setup, ie: modelers, and a traditional setup with both controls enabled. Honestly, Fryette has a few options - any of which would probably serve you well.
 
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I’ve been trying a bunch of power amps with my Axefx. Fryette 2/50/2 , 2/90/2 and the LxII. I would recommend the LXII. 2/90/2 was a bit scooped for me I didn’t love it, 2/50/2 was very good but I usually prefer the sound of 6L6s which was the case with the LXII. I also found it to have about the same amount of headroom as the 2/50/2 in mono , but in a smaller 1 space rack format.

Ultimately I did not keep any of the Fryettes. At the moment I have a KSR PA50 and a Mesa 2:90. If you don’t need a stereo power amp I highly recommend the KSR. The Mesa is a different flavor it has a BiG sound with more lowend and less midrange. The Mesa 2:90 will also have more lowend and more headroom compared to the Fryette LXII. So long story short it depends on what your needs are and taste in tone. These are all good choices IMO
 
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the4thlast1 said:
I’ve been trying a bunch of power amps with my Axefx. Fryette 2/50/2 , 2/90/2 and the LxII. I would recommend the LXII. 2/90/2 was a bit scooped for me I didn’t love it, 2/50/2 was very good but I usually prefer the sound of 6L6s which was the case with the LXII. I also found it to have about the same amount of headroom as the 2/50/2 in mono , but in a smaller 1 space rack format.

Ultimately I did not keep any of the Fryettes. At the moment I have a KSR PA50 and a Mesa 2:90. If you don’t need a stereo power amp I highly recommend the KSR. The Mesa is a different flavor it has a BiG sound with more lowend and less midrange. The Mesa 2:90 will also have more lowend and more headroom compared to the Fryette LXII. So long story short it depends on what your needs are and taste in tone. These are all good choices IMO
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Did the KSR ever come in a rack format? I had wanted to try one before I got the 2/50/2.
 
the4thlast1 said:
I’ve been trying a bunch of power amps with my Axefx. Fryette 2/50/2 , 2/90/2 and the LxII. I would recommend the LXII. 2/90/2 was a bit scooped for me I didn’t love it, 2/50/2 was very good but I usually prefer the sound of 6L6s which was the case with the LXII. I also found it to have about the same amount of headroom as the 2/50/2 in mono , but in a smaller 1 space rack format.

Ultimately I did not keep any of the Fryettes. At the moment I have a KSR PA50 and a Mesa 2:90. If you don’t need a stereo power amp I highly recommend the KSR. The Mesa is a different flavor it has a BiG sound with more lowend and less midrange. The Mesa 2:90 will also have more lowend and more headroom compared to the Fryette LXII. So long story short it depends on what your needs are and taste in tone. These are all good choices IMO
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See; i want the small format and 6l6’s, but im replacing my tremoverb and my rev g so i may need to get a 2:90… 🤷‍♂️

But sounds great pluggento my 5150 power section and i know it and the mesas are pretty different tone-wise with the power sections.
 
The Peavey Classic 50/50 is a good one, but runs el84's (8 of them!!). I've got a Carvin TS100 right now that I really like, and it can run either el34's or 6L6's.
 
The LXII is a great unit and can punch well above its form factor. Biggest downside is the top-adjusted presence and depth controls, but Steve is kinda right - once you find where you like them, you don't usually tend to tweak them too much. Still, wish they were knobs on the front like his Syn5050 design.
 
The peavey power amps are gonna be 30years plus in age at this point. And have some of the controls on the back . Those are the reasons I haven’t bought one to try out but they might sound great, I don’t know. KSR is coming out with a rack poweramp soon too which is worth mentioning.
 
thegame said:
What's this now?
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He mentioned it during the Tone Talk episode he was on, but he also wants to make a preamp to go with it. No ETA last I checked.

Would love to see it happen, though. The world desperately needs proper tube power amps. Too few companies are making them today. Who is making all tube stereo rackmount power amps these days?

Fryette/Synergy (lumping these together since it's Fryette that's designing the Synergy power amps)
Engl
...that random Mooer 20 watt thing
......and I think that's it? Having trouble thinking who is still making one off the top of my head.

KSR's stereo power amp would be amazing whenever he releases it. I've been trying to push Bruce Egnater to design one again, but he sold his only prototype to Michael Toren, and I don't think he has any plans to make one these days. He's so busy with his classes, and his latest version of his IE4 re-release was a bit of a shitshow due to the chassis fiasco.
 
Code001 said:
The LXII is a great unit and can punch well above its form factor. Biggest downside is the top-adjusted presence and depth controls, but Steve is kinda right - once you find where you like them, you don't usually tend to tweak them too much. Still, wish they were knobs on the front like his Syn5050 design.
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Im really looking at those two; the lxII and the syn. Would still be small enough to carry in a small rack case with the QC. It sucks. I had high hopes for the powerstage but it just sounded flat compared to the peaveys’ poweramp. The QC sounded crushing through that thing.
 
You can't beat the KSR PA50 with a Quad Cortex.
I run my QC through a PA50 that I re-biased with KT77s.
Sounds just like the power section of my Engl Invader 2.
 
mchn13 said:
Im really looking at those two; the lxII and the syn. Would still be small enough to carry in a small rack case with the QC. It sucks. I had high hopes for the powerstage but it just sounded flat compared to the peaveys’ poweramp. The QC sounded crushing through that thing.
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Enjoy this quick spam to help you try to decide between the two:



 
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