By Steve Graham As promised in the preview, a prototype of the EL84 amplifier based on the Tubelab.com circuit board is now built and playing music. It went together with only one hitch. An intermittent resistor was giving me fits…but once diagnosed and replaced, it was all smooth sailing. I gave it at least 100 hours of break in before some serious listening commenced. The Finalé Audio F-7189 II had been returned, so my Dynaco ST35 clone was used as a reference to quantify the Tubelab’s performance. No, the Tubelab isn’t a Black Friday deal that would smoke the Finalé. At about one fifth the price of the Finalé, that can’t be expected. But the Tubelab is still darn good. Listening to the Tubelab (TL): Compared to the ST35 clone, the TL sounds a little fuller in the bass. It doesn’t seem to slow it down though, it still has good pace and drive. The system was the same used in the Finalé F-7189 II review, see link immediately above. In the highs, neither the ST35 nor the TL has the pellucid clarity of the Finalé. But through the midrange, the TL beats the ST35 clone. The TL has [...]
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