Icon Audio MB 845i PP Triode 80 Watt Valve Monoblocks
Very good.
For over 80 years this fabulous valve has reigned supreme in the field of audio. Designed by RCA with only slide rules, no computers at that time! Never bettered* and still in production it is an absolute for those that like a big warm detailed sound. The 845s Achilles heel is the demands it makes on the amplifier built around it. Others make the mistake of making the amplifier to complex, resulting in a loss of fine detail and strangling its ability to sing. It needs a huge power supply to breathe properly. Our massive power and unique LDT output transformers allow the 845 to be as refined or as brutal as you wish. David Shaw has kept his design simple and big. With Vaughn Williams it will ascend to breathe taking heights, with Hendrix it will give you greasy hot buttered riffs like you never heard before. In our experience the 845 has been a very reliable long lived performer. At 66kg (145lbs pr) they are not for everyone! When we first released the MB845s in the UK they were greeted with great acclaim by the Hi Fi press and customers, for power and value, but above all their unique sound quality. They have become a reference valve amplifier for Hi Fi World magazine. For some people only a large triode valve like the 845 can give the golden warm tone which is so pleasing, with its feeling of air and space and sense of realism. Our MB845 MK I has truly become a legend in the UK, but Hi Fi fans were soon asking if there was more we could do to improve the performance.
