My buddy Chad borrowed my Almarro A205A over the weekend so he could give it a listen in his cabin system up on Lake Chelan (Chad's already got the Almarro A205A MkII in his main system).
Almarro A205A Mk1 integrated amplifier
I've been using the Almarro A205A Mk1 integrated amplifier to power my vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers in my bedroom system to excellent effect (below).
Almarro A205A powering the vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers.
The little boxes you see on top of the my vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers (below) are the custom Spec RSP-AZ9EX Real Sound Processors that Yazaki-san made specially for my Vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers, and they are connected to my Corona's binding posts with lengths of Western Electric WE16GA tinned copper wire (more HERE).
Speaker cables are Duelund DCA16GA tinned-copper, and interconnects are my DIY Belden 8402 tinned-copper microphone cable interconnects, which makes for a really nice combination.
My Almarro is a little different than Chad's, as it has only one input instead of two like the MkII, and it has a pair of Mundorf PIO coupling caps replacing the stock coupling caps, which gives my Almarro a somewhat richer, warmer, and more musical overall balance which is really complementary to my vintage Altec 832A Corona's.
Almarro A205A
In fact, the little Almarro has been the most complimentary of any amplifier I have tried with my vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers, until now, which is the reason for this post.
The original Leben CS600 integrated amplifier.
When Chad departed with my single-ended-pentode Almarro A205A integrated amplifier, I pondered what amplifier I should put on the Corona's, and I thought I'd give my trusty Leben CS600 integrated amplifier a try since I've got the new Leben CS600X doing duty in my vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre audio-visual system.
I bought my Leben CS600 after reviewing it in February of 2007, and it has been one of the best audio purchase I've ever made, going on 13 years of happy and contented listening as I write this.
The only other amplifier in my "amplifier stable" that has been with me longer is the Almarro A205A, which has been with me since 2004, and it is another "keeper" like the Leben CS600.
The fact that I have had these two integrate amplifiers for so long as many other amplifiers have come and gone through my life and systems should tell you something: they are special products that really deliver the music, are reliable, and represent outstanding performance for their price.
Alas, the Almarro A205A hasn't been in production since 2004, but it is an affordable jewel, and if you ever see one for sale in the wild, buy it, you won't be sorry. Then pop in a couple of Mundorf PIO bypass caps in it in place of the stock ones, and sit back and enjoy life and the music!
Leben CS600 with its twin-triode 6CS7 input / driver vacuum tubes.
I know some of you are stressing about Leben's change of input / driver tubes away from the vintage NOS 6CS7 vacuum tubes due to their declining availability, and with no new production replacements for the 6CS7 available, it does feel a bit ominous.
There's really no need to be stressed yet though, for at the moment there are still plenty of NOS 6CS7 vacuum tubes available.
After my review of the CS600 and my subsequent purchase of it way back when, I explored a variety of different NOS 6CS7s, and as a backup I bought 5 quads of them to keep on hand for the future. I suggest you do the same, as well as pick up a number of the NOS 6CJ3 slow turn-on tubes used in the CS600.
It turns out that I've gone through a variety of different output tubes during the last 10 years, some due to failure, some due to experimentation, but with the Sophia Electric EL34-ST vacuum tubes holding steady since my review of them back in September of 2017 (review HERE).
Quad of Sophie Electric EL34-ST vacuum tubes for the Leben CS-600 integrated amplifier.
The Sophia's have been my favorite sounding output tubes in my Leben CS600 to date, and I have put a ton of hours on them over the last two years, and they are still going strong. They're very good vacuum tubes. Their only down side is that they are too tall to be able to use the Leben's top cover, although the benefit of seeing these beautiful EL34's with their blue glass ST bottle shape makes up for it.
I have had a NOS 6CJ3 slow turn-on tube that is used to extend tube life fail (the tube to the right of the Sophie Electric EL34-ST vacuum tubes in the photos above), which Leben calls a "dumper tube", but I've never had a 6CS7 input / driver tube fail.
In fact, the quad of Sylvania 6CS7 tubes I put into the CS600 over ten years ago now are still going strong with no sign of getting tired, which is actually pretty amazing. So my backup five quads of various NOS 6CS7 tubes will likely last longer than I will live.
Leben CS600 powering the Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers.
Like my Almarro A205A, the Leben CS600 has turned out to be a fantastic match to my vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers in my bedroom system, actually it is even a better match musically & sonically, plus it has the added benefit of additional inputs, and 16 Ohm transformer taps to optimize it to the 16 Ohm Altec drivers of the Corona's.
The additional inputs will come in handy as I continue to develop my Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers based bedroom system with additional sources.
Right now I'm streaming Jazz24 via my Mac computer through the Mhdt USB DAC, and the sound quality and musicality is really superb on the Corona's. Somewhat to my surprise, the CS600 sounds warmer and richer than the Almarro A205A MkI.
Given the CS600 is relatively smooth and neutral sounding amplifier I was a little bit afraid it might be too bright on the Altec's, but it turned out to be a match made in musical heaven. Smooth, rich, colorful, dynamic, and gorgeous overall musicality, pretty much sums up the Leben CS600 on my vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers.
Anyways, with all of you fellow Leben CS600 integrated amplifier owners out there, I thought you might enjoy a little long-term update about its reliability and performance.
However, I do urge you to get some extra quads of NOS 6CS7 input/driver tubes, and some spare NOS 6CJ3 slow turn-on tubes as well, just to be on the safe side. It sure would be sweet if there was a tube manufacturer out there that decided to build the 6CS7 vacuum tubes to supply Leben customers, but I wouldn't count on it, so stock up while you can.
Like me, you may be planning on listening to your Leben CS600 for the rest of your days, so stock up now on tubes.
As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!
