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...
The amplifier that I would take to a desert island and live with forever, the only one I can imaging doing that with, would be the deHavilland 50 A's. Simply stunning KT 88 amps that run in Triode Mode and still give you 45 watts. These amps are worth buying speakers that could be easily powered by these.
Pass Labs Alpha 3 for me. I've used it with many a speaker and even bridged for a subwoofer amp at one point but it always is extremely musical, detailed, coherent and built to outlast the owner(s).
Right now I'm using it with Vandersteen Quatro Woods and it's a match that's hard to beat especially with the Vandersteen MP-5 crossovers.
Iv'e been blessed to have owned,enjoyed and sold a ton of really good gear over a 30 yr period.
The only Amp I will keep for life though is My Yamamoto A09,which is a 300b set.It took me forever to find one and the upgrades and the initial cost have me thinking I will keep it.I presently use it powering Zu Def 4's in my smaller 2nd system which is a excellent pairing for me.
Lots and lots of really outstanding gear out there nowadays and us audiophiles certainly get the upgrade itch from time to time.
" " WYETECH labs
211 ok if you like non existent service ,plus build quality poor poor cheap $70
output transformers " "
This was not a production unit. It was a prototype
built for test purposes. Peter was dishonest in not pointing this out and later
tried to sell it for many times the price he paid for it, passing it off as a genuine
production product.
AS FOR SERVICE ...
This unit had defective power transformers that were
replaced by me in both monoblocks for free. These transformers had to be
redesigned by my supplier and those new ones were the ones I replaced in his
units. That's why there called prototypes, to iron out any bugs in the design.
Be careful trusting everything you read on forums and
especially be wary of any product sale that seems too good to be true as in the
case of Peter trying to sell these amps for three times what he paid for them
and about half the price of the production units.
Oh, I take the "for life" literally. I’ve had my Atma-Sphere MA-2 power amps for 15 years and I expect them to stay a part of my system for as long as I have an audio system at this level. Someday I may downsize and no longer have a dedicated listening room, then things may change. But the change at that time will likely be for one of the smaller amps Ralph builds, not a different manufacturer’s amps.
oblgny - I feel your pain on the Pass amp! One sweet sounding amp. Unfortunately, I could not afford it at the time I heard it. They are still fetching a tidy sum used. Keep us posted when you find one.
I'm still breaking in a Primare A34.2 Class D amplifier mated to a B. A. T. VK3i tube preamplifier...150 watts into 8 ohms, "almost double that into 4." (Primare's response to my inquiry regarding the non-disclosure of its 4 ohm rating.) Primare's user manuals are startlingly Spartan - I also have their R32 phono stage. The amp was approximately $2k which, methinks was a decent investment overall.
I continue to rue the day I sold my Pass Labs X150.5 and used the funds to purchase a McIntosh MC275 Mark VI - which I had for all of 6-8 months. (Great little amp but I found that McIntosh's customer support leaves much to be desired.) The Pass has been my absolute benchmark/comparison amp - I can't think of another one in my experience that just gets everything right. I'm in the process of squirreling money away to get another unit sometime this year. (The used ones have increased by $1k...) Reno Hifi is the best source.
What's so good about the X150.5? 150/300 into 8/4 ohms, more power than I truly needed but always nice to know is there - an amp that imparts nothing in the sonics. I'm flogging myself with a spare generic power cord as I write this...
If anyone is interested in solid state, I am in the process of comparing four very good sounding amplifiers, at least two of which may fall into your category of "A Keeper for Life."
The Atma-sphere may sound fine and all,but I've known atleast two
different sets which have started on fire.They must sound well though
the crazy bastards had Ralph fixem and just bought a fire extinguisher.
This is an out and out lie. I'm sure we would know about this if it had really happened!
Hi John, my Atma monos never burnt and through several upgrades I HAVE STUCK WITH THEM FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS NOW. Those are for life, while everything else in my set up has changed.
A lot of great amps listed here. I have ended up with some that work for me with various speakers, each needing a certain kind of amp. A Bedini 25/25 for old Quads (though I’m looking to get a Music Reference RM-10), PS Audio 200C and Electron Kinetics Eagle 2A for bi-amping Magneplanar Tympani T-IV’s, either of them for ESS TranStatic I’s, and a Music Reference RM-200 Mk.2 for Eminent Technology LFT-8b’s (panels only, bass handled by a pair of GR Research OB/Dipole subs in place of the stock ET woofers). I hope to find an RM-9SE at a time when I also have the money to pay for it! I also have a pair of ET LFT-4’s I have yet to hook up, and have no idea what they need. Hopefully the RM200 will do.
I’m partial because I now sell them but the BHK 300 monoblocks (ps audio) are the culmination of Bascom kings life experience. I’m hearing things I never thought possible and can’t imagine an amp controlling a speaker better. I think they will eventually earn their place among the top performers and are reasonably priced as well. They have the TAD’s truly singing as I’ve never heard them before and I've yet to start with tube rolling and power conditioning.
If on a tight budget the little Primare I30 intergrated is a very nice,can't go wrong with amp.Warm,open,easy to live with,and you can afford to eat,and pay your tiny NSP bill.
The McIntosh MC352 has to be one of the best deals for anyone lucky enough to have purchased one in the last 10 years. Now, all McIntosh sells are very expensive high power 2 channel amps.
For life huh, both amps I listed here almost two years ago are gone. I now have a Berning ZH230 that is my current reference and I would only trade it for another Berning. My other keepers are a Decware ZMA and a Berning Micro ZOTL.
Hi braid I had a carver too it was a good amp for its time it ran very cool and carver had a good idea but it's not class a . If your want to graduate get a Krell fpb 600 unless you can't afford the electric then stick with the carver. You will hear the differencr with th base and the power with a Krell toght base with no distortion. I blew speakers with a carver
I also have just acquired a Citation XX. It's on it's way. We'll see how it measures up to my stable of LSR&D model 101 and 102s. Same vintage. But I wonder if Dr. Marshall Leach borrowed from Matti Otala in designing the LOW TIM circuit. Who was the chicken?
After nearly a year of auditioning a whole host of speakers to replace the one's I have, I kept hearing great musicality with (now don't have a heart attack when you read this), a McIntosh C50 pre amp/MC452 power amp combination. I recently spent a bundle on new speakers and sub woofers, and told my wife that maybe next year I'd aim for the McIntosh's, but found someone on Audiogon who offered me such a good price on a pair that were just a few months old, so I pulled the trigger and snagged those now. These components dramatically improved the soundstage and responsiveness of my current Totem Fire monitors.
I have the Harman Kardon Citation XX and the X-II Preamp. I'm the 2nd owner. It was a gift From Sidney Harmon to The North American Sales Manager from whom I acquired them from. I thought it was hype but after hooking them up I realized this was a keeper. I cannot find any material on it anywhere as to how many were made and in fact had never seen one till the day I fell into it.
The newest Aragon 8008(Indy Audio Labs)(DEALER DEMO)and just for the synergy of the pair, the Audible Illusions M3a (FACTORY REFURB)Preamp??? There may be better, BUT for the $3350.00 I paid for the pair it sounds like a MILLION coming out of my Magnepan 1.6's. SO NO MO AMPS & PRES FO ME.
I have two very different keepers for life. My Carver 4.0T amp and my aragon 8008BB. both are still operating and sound good with the right speakers.I am surprised that I did not see anyone else mention Aragon.
Pavpet sounds like she emptied the bank account before leaving you high and dry. What happened to your love affair with Wyetech? Is the amp all of a sudden junk or are they just not servicing it? Sorry to hear your bad experience but maybe you could provide more details than just saying the amps are stocked with cheap 70.00 transformers.
Ask this question again in 5 years to those who have a keeper. I have had a few keepers over the years, and yet find myself with another amp/speaker/CDP/etc in less than 5 years. It's just in my nature to want to hear as many components as possible in my lifetime. I can't keep it all, so that is the trade off.
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