Amplifiers:A Keeper for Life. Do you know of one ?
Just wondering, with this audio merry-go-round of buying and selling, if anyone has an amp that will be a keeper for life. I haven't yet but came verrrry close once...
That is a good question. One purpose would be to identify some of the best amps available for consideration. What would be even more interesting to me is to identify the best amp you have owned and what three other amps you owned or compared them to; to provide some context and weight to a judgement. It is different to say Amp X is the best amp I heard, and the other amps you are familiar with are Arcam, Rotel, or NAD (nothing wrong with thes, but...) versus having owned/or having worthwhile familiarity with CAT, Atmasphere, or Lamm (or others of that ilk). To some extent, these types of contextualized judgements help assess the strength or relevance of the judgement, a type of listener IQ (don't in anyway mean to sound snobbish about this). Additionally, when anyone says that an amp blows everything out of the water, or incomparable to anything else, I immediately grow weary.
I didnt think another amp would enter my thoughts again. In my system the old but sturdy Krells have made me a happy man. I find myself much happier than with the Ayre V-1XE and the Parasound JC-1s which ruled before them. Then I spent a moment, then an hour, and then a day with the Mcintosh 1201s. Now I find my mind wandering..... Were are my morals? ;)
I, we(?) all know what you mean. I got the itch and bought a few amps (3) while I've had my CAT JL2s, I sold all three and kept the CATs, so maybe, just maybe...
Well, I've had my Conrad Johnson CA200 and see no reason that I won't keep it 25-years like my Bryston before it. Since I'll be 60 in a couple of weeks, then it could very well be my last amp.
Very little has changed since I started collecting records in the late 1950. Two-channel has refined a bunch, but it's still two-channel. So far as I'm concerned, "surround" and multi-channel have failed as music media. (Technically, good surround is now possible I know, but seldom happens in reality).
Still, technology, in general is marching on at an astounding rate. My Korg 1-bit, 5.6MHz hard drive recorder, for example, amazes me, but I'm still running it through the same analog amp and speakers.
Maybe, just maybe, a break through will occur that allows a true, complete concert hall experience in my living room. If it requires a new amp, then I'll likely upgrade. Still, I'm not counting on it. I'm not wed to this amp, but I'm unlikely to change.
Up the thread I see lots of people proclaiming lots of amps as the "ultimate". I'm not that young. My amp is damn good, but I'm not fool enough to proclaim it "the best" and everyone should have one.
Cyber 211 & 800 !!!! Have tried to replace my 800s for the past 2 years. I have heard lots and lots of amps in different price range. NO luck so far. The only one I do like is 211 but unfortunately it doesn't have enough juice to drive my Quatros.......shaissssssssee. At this point I simply stop chasing my own tail and just enjoy music. Tonight, I gave my room/system a test drive. Well..........that was 6 hours ago and I just came back (it is midnight now). I guess you could say it was pretty involving and satisfying experience.
Yeah Mrjstark, when you can sit down and listen for six-hours without listener fatigue, you've got a pretty good system and probably don't "need" a new amp. That's where I am with my system also.
probably my Supratek Burgundy amps - 4 chassis - 100wpc 6c33 output tubes. Running in balanced mode I can bypass the 1st gain stage(6922) - transparency is amazing ;)
My buddy has been running a Threshold 400A since he purchased it new back in the late '70's (powering modified Dahlquist DQ-10's). He runs it every day, and the only problem has been the replacement of the power switch (really a circuit breaker). We both think that it still sounds great and qualifies as a keeper for life.
My father still has the SAE Mark XXXI he bought in 1976. Everything else in his system has changed, but that amp still sounds just fine driving a pair of B&W 804Ns. Since he's now 83 years old and has no intentions of buying another amp, I think this one will qualify.
Yes David, it is a sign. I agree with you that in good system you can easily loose track of time. When one stops concentrating on components it usualy means that - you did alright.
It does not happened often that you get a bulls eye synergy wise but when it happends - it is very very SPECIAL....!!!
I am happy that your quest for music is at that point as well.
I've tried very hard to find an amp that would let me sell my CAT JL2, SS, many tube amps, and unfortunately I have not found anything close to the CATs (many amps that sounded wonderful in their own right, and easy amps to live with). This is unfortuante since the run hot as hell, consume a lot of power, are expensive to retube, and weigh 180lbs - all things I hate, but the sound in my system with the CATs is incomparable (it has always been clearly superior, not a hairsplitting difference), so getting rid of it is just very unlikely to happen.
There are no amplifiers for life. There is though, people not very opened to changes on they're systems :-). Once they start listening to different pieces of equipment, they will realize that High end is like a fine wine, there is always a better one ...
Cventura, I think your reasoning is very sound, only I woudn't say better, I would rather say "different", because after you've reached a certain level, close to the state of the art, you'll certainly find differences in the overall rendering of music, but to find something really "better", that is closer to the live experience of music, is going to be quite difficult. Your new amp might be better, for example, in rendering soundstage depth, but the highs, which you loved yo much in your old piece of gear just don't sound as fresh and sweet any more as you were used to, etc. etc. Our audiophile ears are fickle. What might at first seem the king of the hill, with intensive listening will just turn out as a new set of compromises, and if you've just been to a live concert, will fall terribly short of the real thing anyway in one way or another. Whatever, much much earlier in this thread I swore by the Jadis 200, which I loved. I've now exchanged it for the Atma MA2.MK.III, which does not have the Jadis' seductive and euphonic midrange,is much more neutral, much more refined in the ppp mode of classical music, with the ability of incredible fast and powerful dynamic swings. It does ppp to ffff with the right kind of music completely effortlessly and I'm completely enthralled with it. However I miss the Jadis midrange, even though I know, that it is nothing but an euphonic cheat, however a very clever and seductive one. one.So to these here ears, the Atma does a lot of things, no, most things, "better", but not all....
My combo of Krell KCT and 400cx connected via CAST I've had for over 5 years and have no inclination to change. They are now finally broken in and are warm and full, no tube or solid state system has bettered their combined sound and I have listened to many in the years since they joined my system.
Tvad, I think that love for music and searching for the best possible equipment that we can afford to reproduce it, can reinforce each other. However, YES & NO is my answer to your statement. It really depends on the individual, don't You think.
I don't know Tvad,...... don't you love music???? Aren't you moved while listening? Don't you ever get emotional or sentimental while in the moment?
I am sure you do.
In that case......you also appreciate music as art & music is your medium that put you in that state. If that is so......no worries, you love music - period.
I plan to keep my McCormack DNA-500 for life... really. Well, or until I replace it with something better - whichever comes first.
Seriously, I love this amp and right now everything else I own is more likely to be replaced sooner. But then, I haven't heard everything and there will undoubtedly be something I like better at some point. All part of this strange and wonderful hobby.
Pubul57 - I really didn't compete the Phi 300.1 "versus" other contenders per se. I knew when I auditioned it that it was right for my ears in my system, and have enjoyed it so much I haven't really felt the need to change from it, unless ordering a second one so I can mono them counts as changing.... I have had a VAC Ren Sig MKII for some time so I was pretty familiar and very happy with the "VAC sound" and working with Kevin is a delight, so this was just a logical step for me that I have been glad I made since the first moment...
FWIW my previous 2 amps were Dodd 120's and Moscode 401HR
Keeper for life? Who knows, but I really don't think about amps anymore..... :-)
My Music Reference RM9, Counterpoint SA-220, Quicksilver Silver 60s and Pathos Classic One II may see a few others share the rack over the next couple of decades but they're not going anywhere.
Pubul57 - I also did not do a VAC vs "the world" contest. My prior amp was a McCormack DNA-500, which I still have and which will eventually go into a 2nd system, hopefully. I listened to a wide range of both solid state and tube amps ranging from inexpensive to very expensive and decided to go with the VAC Phi 300.1 for my system. I also know Kevin, have owned his products before, and like and appreciate both his gear and the caring, professional manner in which he does business. He is one of the "good guys". My amplifier quest is over for the foreseeable future. Fortuitously, my new speakers have a tremendous synergy with my VAC gear, so I smile every day.
McCormack DNA 0.5 Rev.B spec'd,matched and monoblocked by Cris and Steve...ok, ok, so the faceplates are a slight shade apart and the really cool blue lights don't match(one is kinda purple, but Steve said it wouldn't affect performance and I believe him) can't ask an amp to do more than they do..and there a few upgrades left to do....which is the beauty of owning McCormacks ...they can only get better
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
