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?
Chord Electronics SPM 1050 or 1200C (both in MkII versions) - Chord provide amplification to the Royal Opera House, Convent Garden - not heard the new "Ultra" series but, many on the second-hand market as Chord fans upgrade to "Ultra". Should work well with ATC's.
Thanks for your wonderful suggestions guys, keep 'em coming!
To maybe help me narrow my search, I'd like to add that a tube preamp is a must in my personal system, and since the majority of tube preamps are single-ended and output-capacitor coupled, I'd like to specify that ideally, the power amp should have high input impedance and have RCA inputs!
For reference, my current system consists of: Rockna Wavelight R2R DAC Vacuum Tube Audio SP14 6SN7 linestage PASS labs X250.5 power Amp ATC SCM19 v2 speakers
KRELL K-300i is very smooth, detailed, and very powerful. Class A for 90 watts. The CODA #8 Version 1 is not as smooth or powerful but is also a sweet performer. I use both and like them equally.
I smiled at the recommendation of the Yamaha VFET amp since a VFET is a solid state triode device.
On another thought I'd worry about an amp that is always sweet since that implies it's colored significantly. The amount of sweetness should vary with the source.
The Pass Labs X150.8 has beautiful mids. I sold an Audio Research VT80SE as it was almost a wash, with SS not needing new tubes every two years. I have pretty flat impedance speakers. I wouldnt match either with anything with wild swings. Theyre not their best in those situations.
i had the Modwright KWA 100SE it was pretty good with the mids and had an amazing bass character. I wouldnt say its as sweet as the Pass but it did orher things which endeared it to me. It was also half the weight of the Pass amp.
While I have never owned one, the LFD amps, while expensive, I think are a true value and produce everything you are talking about. I have listened to a couple of different versions of these amps with different power ratings but all had that certain something in the mids and highs.
Coda has been around for over 35 years making excellent U.S made Audio ,known way back as Threshold -Stasis with Nelson Pass ,all his engineering team with 3 choices of wpc, even amount of pure class A ,great 10 year warranty ,very fairly priced and very musical and well balanced. Less monies then Pass Labs and every bit as good.
Audio Research 100.2 was a nice amp. I wouldn’t say it sounded like tubes but many referenced it to the VT100 of the day. I owned one and it did sound great but needed a couple days being on to really shine, which I kept mine on unless I knew it be a length of time not listening. Very nice amp.
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