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RE: Why aren't OTL tube amps more popular?

Posted by 6bq5 (A) on January 1, 2022 at 09:43:01

In Reply to: Why aren't OTL tube amps more popular? posted by LtMandella on December 31, 2021 at 10:16:42:

I think that there are a few issues that plague OTL amps - some anecdotes from history, and others from different design goals/manufacturer's goals-

OTL Amps typically are happier with higher impendence speakers, which is the to opposite of where speaker designers have been heading to take advantage of SS amps and to get more power for the speaker from SS amps-

There are also some old stories that circulated about run-away amps and amps oscillating - sometimes taking speakers out... Not all of these stories are true- or the fault of the amp-

There is also the issue that an OTL AMP is not as tolerant of poor design or poor execution - There have been some OTL Amps that were more 'approachable' - the Counterpoint SA-4 was probably the the best commercial OTL product in it's day - but it was on the more expensive side of the scale- less than the NYAL Multi-chassis OTL amps - but more than other offerings at similar power...

There is also the issue of the tubes mostly used in the '50s-early '80s for OTLs were TV tubes - Horizontal or Vertical amp tubes - that did not get picked up by the Russians, Yugoslavians or Chinese manufacturers...

Happy Listening

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