NAT Audio's Magma is one beastly tube amplifier

We've seen all sorts of fanciful tube amplifiers over the years, but none have intimidated us quite like NAT Audio's Magma. This brute is the self-proclaimed "most powerful single-ended tube amplifier on the market," and it can churn out 160-watts at 4- and 8-ohms with a frequency response of 10Hz to 100kHz. Additionally, this thing weighs in at 88-pounds, measures 11.8- x 25.2- x 14.2-inches and relies on a 6N1P-EV, a 6N30P-DR and a Eimac 450TH tube to get the job done. If you're craving more specs on this Class A monster, we've got 'em: an input impedance of 100-kohms, input sensitivity of 2.7V RMS for full power output, gain of 22.5 dB at 8-ohms and a pricetag of $55,000 per pair. Check out a few more angles after the jump, won'tcha?

[Via AudioJunkies, thanks Lukas]

[Will H. @ Nov 15th 2007 7:42AM]

I don't know what it is or what it does, but it looks beastly and therefore I want one.

[Brandon Bohlen @ Nov 15th 2007 8:00AM]

If you like this thing, check out these massive copper monstrosities:
www.electronluv.com
oh shit the site is disabled, well here are a couple articles about the man, his tube amps and his 6foot tall copper horns
http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/josh/josh.html
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/westernelectric/300b.html

[Jim @ Nov 15th 2007 7:59AM]

55K, holy crap

[strider_mt2k @ Nov 15th 2007 7:59AM]

I love the radiation shield.

Nono honey, leave those overalls ON.

[lnx8 @ Nov 15th 2007 8:09AM]

Thanks for sharing those links man. True art right there!

[strider_mt2k @ Nov 15th 2007 8:01AM]

Seriously, this thing could survive the next war, and in the meantime you can make Jiffy Pop Popcorn over the thing.

Don't touch Jimmy, Jimmy...Jimmy!

Oh dear.

[lnx8 @ Nov 15th 2007 8:03AM]

55k... Christ!!! I'll stick with my earphones for now!

[zargon @ Nov 15th 2007 8:09AM]

It is a amp, not speakers. You still would need to pair it with something like Wilson Audio speakers that can run upwards of $100k for the pair.

[lnx8 @ Nov 15th 2007 8:15AM]

I know yeah, but what I meant was that due to price, I might as well stick with earphones. Would cost waaaaaaaaaaaay too much £££££££ to get them and speakers together.

[Nestor C. @ Nov 15th 2007 8:24AM]

Why is this filed under "portable audio"?

[Glenn @ Nov 15th 2007 8:31AM]

My question, too. :D

[L.Cyphre @ Nov 15th 2007 8:32AM]

You can still move it without a forklift truck, barely.
Also, Audiophiles.

[Nestor C. @ Nov 15th 2007 8:50AM]

They corrected it now :)

[Shane @ Nov 15th 2007 9:00AM]

Heh. Now here's some beastly audio amplification...

http://www.oldradio.com/archives/hardware/Gates/1T.htm

[koolatron @ Nov 15th 2007 9:53AM]

Wow, what a monstrosity.

The Eimac 450TH is a power transmitting tube, used for RF applications. Its frequency response in the relatively narrow audio band is... well, let's just say it's not good. My guess is that the NAT Audio folks sought the biggest, ugliest single-ended triode tube they could and built the biggest, ugliest-sounding amp they could. The design challenges involved in getting a SET to sound good (or even acceptable) at those power levels are not trivial, and I don't think that NAT Audio has surmounted them.

[Shane @ Nov 15th 2007 10:20AM]

Actually, while it may be more commonly used in RF applications, the 450TH (and many other power tubes) can be used for audio amplification as well.

Datasheet:
http://datasheets.electron-tube.net/sheets/088/4/450TH.pdf

I'm waiting for someone to produce an amplifier based on the 4CX20000A. It would look pretty impressive but I'm guessing the blowers might be a bit noisy...

http://www.g8wrb.org/data/Eimac/4CX20000A.pdf

[Jeremy Moses @ Nov 15th 2007 10:40AM]

But is it tube rectified!? Har har, I kill me.

The heater on that big tube draws 12 amps (thanks for the link Shane) - that's bloody ridiculous, even by tube standards.

Though $55K seems a bargain for a 160W of single-ended class A of tubey goodness.

[Shane @ Nov 15th 2007 10:57AM]

I guess a bargain is relative...I pay less than that for a 25,000 watt FM transmitter (even when configured for class A operation)!

I bet it does sound extremely sweet when paired with the right speakers, however...

[Wolfticket @ Nov 15th 2007 11:15AM]

I bet that when to turn that thing up the street laps outside get dimmer.

[Superevil @ Nov 15th 2007 11:33AM]

I'll take half a dozen. Can I gold plate them as well?

[murray @ Nov 15th 2007 1:26PM]

An audiofool and his money is easily parted.

[HeavyD @ Nov 15th 2007 2:58PM]

When I was in the military I worked on 40kW RF transmitters. The final amp stage used a tube with 12kV plate voltage and 300A filament current. Now we just need to get some speakers.....

[J Ozer @ Nov 15th 2007 9:43PM]

For those of you not familiar with tube amps, this amp is special because it is the largest "SINGLE ENDED" amp available. Single ended amps use only one tube for amplification, as opposed to multiple amplifier tubes cooperating. Many a audiophiles feel this provides a superior sound compared to push-pull (multi-tube) amplifiers. The downside of single ended amps is that they use huge amounts of power, produce huge amounts of heat, and are in general are not very high powered, as they are limited to the power of one tube (usually less than 30W).

[jimmyfinch @ Nov 16th 2007 8:56PM]

Also, the lack of distortion at the top the sine wave when approaching the max rated output allows a tube amplifier to sound like a solid state amplifier of three times the rating.

In other words a 30 Watt tube amp output is comparable to a 90 Watt solid state amp.

[J Ozer @ Nov 16th 2007 10:05PM]

Actually, that is completely untrue. A tube amp does distort at the extremes of its sine wave if overdrive, in fact, earlier than a solid state amp. The difference is that tube amp distortion CAN sound good (for guitar amps, not hifi amps). Since solid state amps sound terrible in distortion, you cannot turn them up as far, meaning that a 100W solid state amp may only sound good up to 60W of power, whereas a tube amp can go all the way up to 100W while still sounding good (for a guitar amp). For hifi amps, such as this one, you don't want distortion, tube or no, so a tube amp and solid state amp will be usable up to about the same point (60-70%) of their max power output or so. This means a 100W hifi amp is of the same "loudness" as a 100W solid state amp.

That said, different manufacturers quote different power ratings for their equipment. One company might quote the power of an amp as the absolute peak power, while another might measure the loudest it can get before distortion. The latter figure is a much more useful measure for a hifi amp, however, many less reputable companies like the beef of the specs of their amps by quoting the max rating. Since tube amps tend to be more expensive and have audiophile-savvy buyers, their specs tend to be of the more accurate kind. A 100W before distortion amp is much more powerful than a 100W max power amp.

[Charles @ Nov 21st 2007 9:54AM]

pardon my ignorance..but why would this be better than the 1400 watt pyle amp i have in my vehicle? is there something special about tubes that allows them to sound better at higher wattages?