100W+ solid-state amps known for beautiful mids


Quad 909 back in the day had a reputation for the best mids running up to $5000. I've used it in the past and I would definitely say that the mids were the highlight on that amp. It wasn't overly coloured, a hint of warmth, but it had a purity and sweetness to its mids. Unfortunately, mostly everything else was okay at best, kind of rolled off at both ends and congested stage-wise.

I'm looking for that same purity and sweetness without sacrificing the rest of the sonic traits. What have been your guys' contenders for 100W+ solid state power amps with the best mids?
128x128hedonism
@millercarbon. 

    Yup.
acoustic, electric, the acoustic, is stellar.
electric, Dave mustaine, and most metal is crunchy, evil, and almost flawless!

  +1
@fstein 

What is wrong with the Pass you now have?

It's an excellent amplifier and I've really enjoyed my time with it so far, but it's not flawless.

1. It's a very high performer, it's got a very spacious soundstage, wide deep and tall, with excellent layering and separation. It has large vivid and palpable imaging. The bass is huge and lots of fun. But at the end of the day, it's slightly too coloured for me, and despite the warmth, the mids still lack some of that sweetness and purity that the Quad had. There's still some dryness to the PASS X250.5's mids.

2. It has quite low input impedance at 12k ohms. That means there's some bass roll off with the tube preamp that I have currently. I could ameliorate that with a higher uF value output capacitor, but I would like to avoid soldering and I'm worried what a higher value cap would do to the sound. Buying a new amp is just easier, one with higher input impedance this time.

3. It takes quite a while for it to warm up and reach peak performance. I don't like waiting around that long, especially when I've had a long day at work and just want to kick back and listen to some music. I'd also rather not leave it on 24/7 because it's an older unit and I don't want the capacitors to dry out (plus the energy bills add up over time!)
Can I ask what pre amp you are using ?
I have been using a Supratek Cabernet pre with a Belles SA30 class A power amp rated at 50w
my speakers are 87db in sensitivity, but don’t go below 85db so easy to drive for my amp, and it can play much louder than I care to listen too.
The mid’s are exceptional and the high’s are beautiful, the bass for me is good, but I would guess that your amp would be better in that department. Do you need 100w + in power,? A lot of good class A amps are at 30w and for 3db louder you need 10 times the power I think!
Good luck in you search.