My new Amplifier... I'm so happy...

My new tube amp, (4 KT90, 4 x E88CC)

Sounds great, it's amazingly done.

It gets very hot but ... Man, if it sounds good!


2x50 Watt, produced by the beautiful KT90 tubes, make it clear that "full Tubes" amplifiers are capable of producing a sound that, simply, a solid state integrated cannot ...

Sure; Both tube amps and transistor / mosfet amps can sound great but they do it differently. I've had a hybrid (Musical Fidelity Nu Vista M3) for years that sounded really good.

I didn't want to replace it but, after having it repaired 3 times, I gave up: also because those repairs cost a lot, and I got myself a new toy; for the umpteenth time you could no longer hear the right channel.

It is a great pity that probably none of you know the Pegaso brand, but in this forum, of course, there are many fans of tube amplifiers, I guess you can imagine what kind of sound this beast is capable to produce.

Pegaso is an Italian company, it develops and produces everything in Italy. Not that developing and designing in Italy (or England, or Germany) and producing in China is not going well, God forbid, but here, however, we are talking about “High Craftsmanship” which, of course, also has a certain cost.

I don't think that an amplifier of this type and cost would justify production in China anyway ... they will produce ... oh, I don't know ... a hundred a year? 50? Two hundred?

Apart from all this ...

I can tell you that I stayed indoors all weekend, my wife was in the mountain house, so I had free range .

I listened to 20/25 CDs, from jazz to blues to classical to pop to rock… everything more!

Of course, it will have to burn in a little longer (as always with valves and NEW Amplifiers...) of course, but after about ten hours this Pegaso P50A did as the brand logo does: it started FLYING!

As it is perhaps easy to imagine, it gives the best with acoustic instruments: guitar, violin, piano, cello, double bass, etc., come out of my "Audio Sonica Stonefly" speakers so truthfully, so beautifully, that it has some unbelievable ... the brass are reproduced in such a natural way (I play the trumpet ... I know the sound ...) that it is almost difficult to believe your ears.

Not to mention the voices (both male and that of the female singers) ... mom ... it's stuff that music lovers... make their hearts beat faster.

With the most modern music, distorted electric guitar, hard rock (no Heavy… I don't listen to heavy metal so I don't know…) the final result is a very nice feeling of “presence”.

With each genre, the acoustic scene is real, 100% real. Dynamics from fear and, and is, I assume, even more amazing, the detail is no less than what the Nu Vista offered (hybrid: tube preamp section, transistor power section).


Obviously… 20 years is a long time, they haven't been passed in vain…. (Nu Vista was developed and produced about twenty years ago ...).

The power… well… obviously, the Nu Vista, with its 200W. per channel was another thing, but more than a quarter of the power I never let It go…. it really became TOO loud (and I listen, if I can, willingly at high volumes ...).

This Pegaso offers 50 WATT per channel. I mean… a quarter of what was on my HiFi Rack until last Friday. But even here, to really listen at very, very high volumes, I turn the volume knob to, let’s say, three quarters, but I assure you that it is NOT possible to go much further… or do this for a long time: the ears would crack and my neighbors could ... . Kill me (?)

Some say that tubes produce a warm, analog, mellow sound. I don't like this type of classification, maybe it is the same for my Pegaso P50A. I do not know.
I prefer to say that there are three types of sound: the BEAUTIFUL one, the LESS beautiful one, and the UGLY one.

Well… this amp produces a nice & BEAUTIFUL sound.

Aesthetically… OK, I've seen better ones but all in all, with its clean line, I don't mind. Indeed ... I can say that I like it, and also a lot! Maybe… Maybe INSIDE is even more beautiful than OUTSIDE! And I enjoy !!!

For the rest of my “Listening system”…

CD player: Yamaha CD-S3000 (I own a lot of sacd’s, and this YAMA reads them very well!)

Acoustic speakers: Audio Sonica Stonefly (Floor standing speakers, two and a half ways, 91 db efficiency)

Power filters, cables of the highest quality, spikes, HiFi rack from Solid Steel.


Normally, as regards the cost to set up a valid stereo system, it’s recommend the rule of 30/30/30/10 ...: 25/30% for the amplification, 25/30 for the speakers, 25/30 for the source and the rest in cables / accessories...

In cables & furniture, filters, spikes and singing company I spent a lot ... the amp costs almost as much as the speakers .... If I think that, now, the least valuable piece of my HiFi toy is the Yamaha CD-S3000, I would say that I can, for now, be satisfied ...


Well ... my music reproduction system is done, now… it’s ready and needs no improvement ...

(so I told my wife .... )


In the web I found a link on the site "monoandstereo.com”... I am attaching it, for convenience ... Mono & Stereo © 2021: Pegaso Audio P50A integrated amplifier review

Everything all right then? All perfect?

No ... in my opinion ... the attacks, behind the amp, are very nice but a little too close together.

If you use thick cables, with very large plugs (as I do ..) they just fit ... but there is a risk that they touch each other, thus making me insert a piece of plastic between them, so that the left and right plugs do not touch each other.

Not bad, however ... I have already ordered the XLR cables (so ... even my CD-S3000 I'll be able to finally use it in a "balanced" way ...


Here ... I wanted to share with you my happiness for my new purchase ...
Too bad, the brand is not very well known ... but if you are curious ... I invite you to my house for a serious listening: Italian food and wine offered !!!!

 

I just looked their website.
That is an impressive piece of gear.
Congrats & enjoy!

 

Nothing like a quality tube amp to accurately amplify the music without that 'slight smearing' I hear from SS amps. You may want to roll the preamp tubes. They are 6922. RCA 6922 with gold pins and stating 'Made in Germany' in black ink on the box are actually Siemens. Best sounding 6922 I ever heard.

 

Impressive review. Looks like a beautiful beast of an amp.

I'm using an Audio Analogue integrated amp now and really enjoying it. The Italians make some very nice audio equipment!!

 

My experience is the opposite. Tubes enhance the sound of some recordings through distortion.SS tend to more accurately replay what is on the actual recording.Hence the reason tubes can often sound more pleasant.

 

Congratulations on the new amp. I have owned a Nu Vista M3, and its a very very good component. If the Pegaso is able to produce the same level of sound quality you have an excellent component.

 

Nice looking piece of gear!!

 

Very nice!

 

congrats!

 

Huh?! you hear a "slight smearing" in SS amps and more "accurate" "no smearing" in tubes eh? What the...that's a 180 from what i usually hear on tubes vs SS. Hmm, how could that be?

Eitherway, life's too short, whatever makes you happy man.

 

For any Canucks viewing this thread, Pegaso integrated amps are being handled in Toronto by John Costanzo at My Kind of Music. Terrific amps.

 

Ah that's great news! I love it when someone is over the moon with a new piece of audio gear. I know how you feel. Beautiful looking (and sounding) tube amp! There's something special about the way a good tube amp puts real 'life' into the musical reproduction. The sonic 'life' for which there are no measurements, something special about the way tubes work, despite the "distortions" and "colorations" that come with it.

 

I think that your loudspeaker classifications are excellent. My ears approve.

 

Beautiful, and nice to see that the Italians are capable of wiring something right. My Ducati, no so much!

 

Nice to see new bits of kit from bespoke companies- glad you like she is a looker.

 

€6000
I would be surprised if you weren't happy.
That's more than my car cost.

 

Many tubes amps in stock form are not great. I use upgraded tube amps with best tubes. Makes a large difference and perhaps you never heard one.

 

Don’t we all love the scent of a new component ... lovely looking amp!

 

I know what you mean, for me tube amps aren't really so much about perfect accuracy, but they just sound more "real". It's why my serious system is all ss, and I use tubes in my fun system.

 

congrats man! wish i could hear it

 

I bought an Audio Analogue Puccini SE in 2002 ($1250 or something), sounded great driving my (still in use) Triangle Tituses. It worked well as a preamp when I built my (still in use) Bottlehead Paramount 300B amps for several years. Now hopefully it’s still giving a music lover nights of bliss.

Glad to read the spirit of AA is still going strong. Congrats on the new amp.

 

Italian craftmanship in audio products really stands out. Nice! The Unison Research integrated amps were a big hit a few years back, the first Italian amps to catch my eye.

 

Exactly why I would love, and would not love a tube amp. Great review, followed by a post(s) suggesting you "roll the tubes"... Jeez.

 

One giant PCB with all those tube sockets mounted to it. Hoo boy.