Tube Power Amp Reviews

Editor: I would like to thank Bob Deutsch and John Atkinson for taking so much of their time with this product [May 2001, p.125]. I designed the Gemini so that it would work with any new or NOS (new old stock) 2A3 and 45 tube. I used over 60 different 45s and 50 different 2A3s in the design process of this amplifier. The possibilities are endless. I am so glad that they were able to get the same results that I have. I would also like to thank Neil Muncy for his help.

Bob received one of the very first Geminis that I had made. I and the other customers were using them on Avantgarde speakers, so I assumed Bob would not have a problem. After Neil and I spoke I went over Neil's paper in the Journal of the AES and made up a pair of Geminis with the changes he suggested. These changes did not affect the sound or the noise in my system, so these changes were incorporated into the product.

The tube is actually much healthier than is stated in the review. I had sent Bob the Majestic 245s (the 245, 345, and 445 are globe editions of the 45 tube). These were probably made in the 1930s. Not the best idea I had, though they are a sight to look at. The Silvertone tubes I rushed out after the failure of the one Majestic had not been tested since 1992. I made sure the Sylvanias were tested fully before they were sent up north. They can last as long as five years in standard use.

Again, I would like to thank Bob, John, and Neil for all of their help. I would also like to thank Stereophile for offering me this review in their magazine. I am very happy that all involved heard this product as it was intended to be heard.—J. Gordon Rankin, Chief Scientist and Owner, Wavelength Audio