"Why is there a huge variation in the price of valve amplifiers?"
You can very roughly segment the audio industry into two areas:
Designed and manufactured in the UK by highly skilled engineers using top of the line components. Somewhat of a cottage industry making superb products however, amplifier prices can range from a few thousand to many tens of thousands.
Designed in the UK by well known audio brands and manufactured overseas. The audio companies spend money on development, manufacturing, shipping and marketing. Their products are sold sometimes through distribution companies, and through retail hifi shops. - All of this expense adds to the retail price of the equipment.
A retail hifi shop is not likely to sell very large volumes of high end equipment but still needs to cover its overheads such as rent and wages and so they have to mark up the price they buy in audio equipment by a large margin to cover these costs.
We purchase direct from the manufacturer in bulk (fifty units at a time). This means we can ship the components economically. We don't have a retail outlet, we have no demo rooms or large overheads. We sell direct to the end customer through our website. This is why we believe we can offer the best quality at the lowest possible price.
"What about backup if things go wrong?"
Again to keep our overheads down we don't employ full time engineers. Instead we commission engineers as and when we need them, our customers can come back to us and we will get the amplifier repaired. Thankfully the equipment we sell is very reliable and we don't need them very often. We have engineers who know our amplifiers well and can repair them quickly and economically.
We also offer our customers a full circuit diagram of the amplifier they have purchased. The amplifiers contain no printed circuit boards and constructed using only point to point wiring. So our customers should be able to take the amplifier to any competent electrical engineer for repair.
Many of our customers also enjoy tweeking or upgrading, so for example upgrading the capacitors. These amplifiers lend themselves to this, they have excellent build quality, the circuit is laid out with lots of room and is very easy to access.
"Should I replace the valves with better ones?"
The quality of the valves can make a large difference in the sound of an amplifier. Separo build quality amplifiers and they have selected and supply a very good set of valves for the amplifier. We have compared the standard valves with Svetlana valves and found there to be very little difference.
However, we encourage you to experiment with different makes of valves and different bias settings. This is a way of fine tuning the sound to suit your personal tastes. Unlike our competitors amplifiers, Separo amplifiers have bias adjustment screws and measurement sockets on the sides so all biasing can be done simply and safely without removing the back of the amplifier or sending it back to the supplier.
”What guarantee do you offer?”
We offer the following:
14 day no quibble money back guarantee (excluding postage)
90 day return to base warranty on all parts.
1 year Separo, return to Separo warranty on all parts.
See our warranty/guarantee page for more information.
”What volume pot does it use?”
Separo uses Blue Alps Volume pots which are very reliable and very good quality.
”Can I change the type of valves from EL34 to KT88’s?”
No, you can’t put KT88 valves in an EL34 valve amplifier unless you modify the circuitry. This is due to the different voltages applied to different types of valves. You can, however, change the valves that come with the amplifier to a different make of valve, as long as the valve is the same type, for example you can put Svetlana EL34 valves in your Separo E34i amplifier. Remember you need to re-bias the amplifier if you change any of the power valves.
”How do the EL34 valves compare with the KT88 amplifiers?”
The EL34 valve is a general purpose valve and used in a wide range of applications from radios to guitar amplifiers. It produces a warm soft sound which makes voices and acoustic music sound very natural and realistic.
The KT88 valve was designed specifically for hifi amplifiers and produces a more powerful and slightly punchier sound. If you listen to loud music or want a sound slightly more sharper (not as harsh as a transistor amplifier) then this may be what would be more suitable for you.
The KT88 produces around 25% more power than the EL34. The KT88 valves are more expensive than EL34 valves.
If you are looking for a traditional valve sound which is warm, natural, detailed in the mid tones then the EL34 valve may suit you better.
”How does the single ended amplifier compare to the Ultra Linear Amplifier?”
The single ended amplifier design tends to be regarded as the better design giving a smoother more detailed sound than the ultra linear or push pull design. The limitation of single ended designs is that the tend not to produce very much power and our amplifiers produces less than 12 watts per channel. This is quite critical if your speakers are not very sensitive or are difficult to drive.
The ultra linear or push pull design produces an excellent sound quality but with the advantage that is uses two power valves per channel and thus produces a lot more power, our ultra linear amplifiers produce 40 or 50 watts per channel. This means the amplifiers are a lot more flexible and less fussy as to what speakers you couple them to.
”Do you supply spare parts?” Yes we supply a selection of valves and main components such as mains transformers.
”What input and output connections to the amplifiers have?”
All of our amplifiers have either two or four sets of input terminals. All of the amplifiers have both 4 Ohm and 8 Ohm speaker binding posts.
None of our amplifiers have direct input for turntables, you need a phono pre-amplifier reasonable ones are available at a cost of £50 to £250.
None of our amplifiers have headphone sockets.
”Can I pick the amplifier up to save on delivery costs?”
Call us. We don't have a shop or demo facilities hence we can offer amplifiers at such a low price so we don't encourage people to pick up amplifiers directly.
”How loud are Separo valve amplifiers?”
The loudness will ultimately depend on how sensitive your speakers are, more sensitive speakers produce more sound from a lower input voltage.
We feel that all of our amplifiers produce plenty of volume for the average listener and when coupled with reasonable sensitive speakers i.e. > 87db.
If you listen to loud base heavy music with not so sensitive speakers and like to rattle the windows, then we would suggest our ultra linear valve amplifier range would be the ones to focus on as these produce more power.
”The amplifiers are specified as 230V, what effect will this have?”
UK voltage can fluctuate by up to 10%. When we first looked at importing Separo amps I had a number of discussions with Separo and they reassured me that it isn’t a problem. The voltage running through the valves is controlled by adjusting the bias on the amp, which we do before we send the valves out. Also the electrical components and transformers manufactured and used by Separo have enough tolerance to cater for this variation in voltage.
”What do valves do?”
A valve is made up of a heated "cathode" wich boils off electrons into a vacuum; they pass through a grid, which controls the electron current; the electrons then strike
the anode (plate) and are absorbed. By designing the cathode, grid(s) and plate properly, the tube will make a small AC signal voltage into a larger
AC voltage, thus amplifying it.
