Pointe Sixty

The Sixty has been an icon, a milestone in Pointe’s history, as the first attempt to reposition the brand as a producer of high-end amplifiers.

There were two reasons why the Sixty had to be created. First, Tibor wanted to show off what an amplifier he can make if there are no financial constrains to limit his engineering ideas. Second, satisfied owners of earlier Pointe models demanded an upgrade option, so there seemed to open some space for an up-market Pointe amplifier.

The Sixty is indeed a huge leap forward, compared with earlier Pointe models, in sheer power output, in an abundance of clever features, and, most of all, in musical abilities.

The KT88 power tubes put out 60 Watts per channel (hence the name) in ultralinear mode. The Sixty, however, was easily switchable to triode mode with the push of a button. In triode mode, however, power output is halved, but this power rating of 30 Watts per channel from a triode amplifier still qualifies it among the more powerful devices.

Other features included full remote control and an abundance of line-in and line-out options (the latter including both fixed and variable level outputs, to be connected to recording devices or external power amps, e.g. an active subwoofer).

But the most unique feature of the Sixty was its tubes’ manual bias calibration via a foolproof metering and adjustment system. Each power tube had its own dedicated adjustment potentiometer in front of it, and a central, 5-LED meter that was inspired by guitar tuners: when the central, green LED was lit, bias was perfect. If LEDs to the right or the left of the central LED were on, the pot had to be turned in the direction the LEDs were indicating.

The key to the sound quality was in the output transformers. These were special, double-C core transformers, the achievements of decades of Tibor’s experience in transformer technology. The Sixty’s output transformers featured new and innovative solutions in their construction, winding patterns and applied materials. An especially rigid housing, the application of handpicked, high-end grade components, the highly oversized power transformer all contributed to the sound quality.

One serious acknowledgement of the Sixty’s exceptional sound quality was in 2011, when TT Recycled, a Serbian turntable specialist (later renamed as Soulines) selected a Pointe Sixty and a Pointe Analogia SE to demo their gear at the Belgrade High-End Show. The highly acclaimed loudspeaker manufacturer, Soltanus Audio, specialising in refined electrostatic systems also used a Sixty in their showroom for demo purposes.

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