Icon Audio Stereo 20 SE Valve Amplifier

Now discontinued/unavailable.

£999.95

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Product information

Icon Audio Stereo 20 SE (single ended) is a delightfully simple 20 watt pure single ended valve amplifier that offers a wonderfully 'golden sound'. Many yearn for the idea of a simple single ended valve amplifier (using only one output valve), believing that the absence of a phase splitter and push-pull output stage will bring them closer to the elusive inner detail of music reproduction.

It is true that single ended amplifiers have a magical sound of their own and the Stereo 20 SE is no exception! Three years in the making - two years designing and another year listening and tweaking, Icon Audio believe the 20 SE has a truly Golden Sound.

How did Icon do it?

Some common problems of single ended designs were addressed:

- Low power output (usually 9 watts max)
- Poor bass (due to transformer saturation)
- Hum and noise (no push-pull noise cancelling)

As a solution, Icon chose the superb GEC KT88, an efficient valve that works well with simple power supplies. The KT88s easy driving qualities make it easy to design a simple high quality low noise driver. And because the transformers are not saturated the bass response is excellent. All these things add up to keep the purchase cost and running costs down, not the quality. The driver stage is the venerable 6SN7, probably the best sounding Hi Fi driver valve.

Single Ended amplifiers are very sensitive to the power supply, and sound better with a valve rectifier. Icon used the Western Electric 275 valve rectifier (centre) a large choke in a traditional Pi configuration. This gives very low source impedance with a huge reserve of power available for large transients without clipping.

How does it sound?

Along with excellent bass response, the sound is silky smooth and dynamic. The large custom wound transformers are able to deliver very deep bass notes and smooth clean treble. With a very smooth and detailed sound stage, the design works well to bring out the colour and texture of older recordings and whilst not overemphasizing the harshness of many modern digital recordings.

This design makes it a very easy amplifiier to live with that still has plenty of power to control modern speakers. A new feature of the Stereo 20 SE is the ability to reduce the sensitivity to work with pre amplifiers if required. This is not done by the usual attenuation which increases noise and reduces quality, but genuinely changes the sensitivity of the input.

Rock solid design

The brand new gold and black design features solid alloy legs and knobs. The trademark Icon stainless steel and Plexiglas valve cover creates a stunning visual impression. On the scales at 20Kg this amplifier is no lightweight in quality or performance and should give many years of excellent service.

Specifications

- Comprehensive manual supplied
- Full instructions for valve change included
- All hand wired point to point
- No printed circuit board to colour sound
- Japanese Blue ALPS volume pot.
- Class A, all Triode front end
- 2x KT88/6550 precisely matched for best performance
- 2x 6SN7 driver valves
- 2x 20w RMS continuous per channel
- Signal to noise level -90db
- Freq response better than 20hz-20kHz +0 – 0.5db
- Total harmonic distortion typically less than 0.1% 1khz
- Suitable for 4 to 16ohm loudspeakers
- Japanese steel EI transformers with low oxygen copper
- Attractive valve cover included in the price
- High quality 2W metal film, & wire-wound resistors
- Blue LED mains indicator
- Polypropylene audio capacitors (Jensen option)
- Silver TEFLON audio cable
- Custom hand wound output transformers
- Ceramic valve holders for minimum leakage
- Centre tapped heater circuit for minimum hum
- Soft start device incorporated
- Gold plated Input & speaker terminals
- Three line inputs with Gold plated terminals
- 350mv input sensitivity (integrated mode)
- 1000mv (1v) sensitivity (Power amplifier mode)
- 230/240volts 150watts typicly, 250w max. 2A AS fuse
- C E, ROHS, WEEE compliant
- 400W, 400D, 250H, 20kg (remember to allow space for connections and ventilation)