By John E. Johnson, Jr.
Secrets of Home Theater & Hifi, July 2001
deHavilland Aries-845 Single-Ended Pure Class A Triode Tube Monoblock Power Amplifiers
Introduction
As all tubophiles know, the single ended pure Class A triode produces a sound to die for. Unfortunately, triodes don't deliver much wattage. That is why tetrodes and pentodes were invented. To top it off, the very best quality comes from having just one triode in the output stage, not a bunch of them in parallel. The classis 300B is probably the best known triode, but it will deliver only about 10 watts or so.
Well, the 845 is another triode choice. It can produce several times what the 300B can. Of course it means you need a bigger power supply too, so using the 845 does not mean less expensive, it may actually mean more. But, you get the power that you just can't have with a 300B.
The Design
The Aries-845 has just three tubes, a 6SN7 as input, 6AV5 as driver, and the 845 as output. Tube amplifiers usually have simple circuits, and the 845 is no exception. But all that hand wiring from point-to-point , instead of using printed circuit boards everywhere, adds to the cost along with the power supply.
In Use
I was not really surprised at the sound. It is very warm, just as I would expect from a Class A triode. What I did not expect though, was the powerful bass. It was clean and deep, even tight. One of the criticisms of triodes has been a lack of bass, perhaps due to the low wattage they can deliver. Not so with the Aries 845. having 25 watts, along with huge transformers, makes a big difference.
The treble is a bit laid back, like triode amplifiers tend to do. Some people do not like this because it is not a flat response. The midrange is also lush, which makes up for the laid back highs. So, and amplifier like the 845 sounds wonderful with such things like voices.
For listening to chamber music in the evening, such as Vivaldi and Mozart, or to sweet vocals like Enya, the 845 truly excels. However, I found it also did fine with such things as Mary Chapin Carpenter, which is played at louder levels. This is something that a single 300B just won't do (unless you have speakers that are very sensitive).
Conclusion
having been used to the limitations of 300B triodes, but loving their sound, I was delighted to be able to audition the deHavilland 845 with its much higher power. The attributes of 300B's are there, but with added weight in the bass and dynamic range. You could easily spend this kind of money on a 300B amplifier, and you can spend a lot more as well. The deHavilland 845 is a major player and a must-audition.
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