Dared VP80 6L6 Amplifier

The Dared VP-80 is one hell of a tube tank! Weighing in at around 55 lbs, this is a very nicely put together amplifier and the chromed handles are a nice touch. Its got a great profile, long but shallow, and all tubes everywhere. Its meant to be a 6L6 or KT88 amp, but I've placed Tung Sol KT120 tubes here. The 12AX7 were all upgraded by the previous owner and seem quite good.

All is all this is a superb amplifer. It sounds very, very good in every way, much like the Jim Nichols 6BG6 amplifier I used to own. The VP-80 images well, better in fact than many of the single ended amps I've heard. And that I guess is my highest praise for a push pull amplifier like this one. What a surprise from a Chinese circuit board amplifier! This kind of sound and 40 watts of tube power per channel...whats not to love? My only complaint with this amplifier are the RCA connectors and the switch knobs. This is a top of the line Dared amp after all, so you'd think they would budget $10 more for some nice connectors, and add some space betwen them. If you have heavy RCA cables they will not fit here. A few more dollars for a nice machined volume and selector knob would have been a nice touch too. These are unbeleivably cheap plastic. But sound wise, there is nothing missing here at all.

The KT120 tubes are awesome looking!

I wish the RCA connectors were better quality. Strange to see Dared scrimp in a place like this on an otherwise magnificent amplifier.