Amps/Preamps for Rockport Aviors

Congratulations on the speakers they are really excellent.
 

We would recommend that you check out the T+A  line of electronics, they represent some of the finest sounding electronics on the market.

They are hard to find but well worth a look. They makes two more affordable integrated amplifiers in the R series and one flagship integrated the HV series PA 3000 at $19k.

The PA 3000 integrated was compared to $120k worth of CH precision electronics by Allan Taffel in the Absolute Sound. Mr. Taffel found that it hard to differentiate between the two! If you can compare a $120k worth of electronics to a $19k one and have trouble telling which is which it means the T+A integrated is an absolute steal and a way to get into the uber class of sound quality for a whole lot less and the separates are even in better than the HV integrated.

T+A is the largest electronics manufacturer in Germany all of their products are produced in house and they have been in business for over 30 years. 
They have a full time engineering staff of 14! 

The HV series of electronics employs a novel high voltage rail concept which runs solid state devices at very high voltages, which is why tubes sound so smooth,it is the lack of distortion due to increased transfer function and linearity which occurs at high voltages, the HV series uses this technique to build very smooth and musical solid state gear.

The PA 3000 offers 300 watts into an 8 ohm load and 500 watts into a 4 ohm load. and it appears nearly limitless in terms of drive.

Add to that a huge sound stage, and a tremendously airy and involving sound 

if you would like to hear our setup and you are in the East Coast give us a call.

Troy
Audio Doctor
877 428 2873

Stereo Exchange never sold T+A, T+A is known for offering a sound that is warm if you read the review in the Absolute Sound they site the HV's musicality and tube like qualities as well as its transparency and midrange accuracy. 

Again, Gru, we are trying to get people to pay attention to a brand which compares to crazy expensive stuff like CH precison, and D'Agastino, and Solution, yet costs considerably less in fact that is what Allan Taffel said in his review he titled the review "Swiss sound for less."

I have never have I seen in all my 40 years of reading TAS and Stereophile seen a review, which has compared a $20k amp to $120k worth of some of the most respected Swiss gear around and come to that conclusion!  Have you?  Their are many raves on many great pieces of gear, however, it is the price difference in how much their costs vs the best of the best gear, which makes the T+A gear worth crowing about!

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/ta-pa-3000-hv-and-mp-3000-hv/


I didn't make the review, Allan Taffel did, he said in the review that the $19k T+A integrated competes with $120k worth of CH gear!  The T+A gear is the real deal and is based on a company with a reputation for building incredible gear. The HV gear is relatively new came out in 2014 but due to the poor press showing of their first distributor nobody heard of the gear in the US. 
 
"How close is the sound? Let me start with the PA3000 HV. At $19,000, this 300-watt integrated amp costs about 15 percent of my reference CH Precision C1/2xA1 combo. Yet when I switch between them the most striking thing I hear is their utter similarity.  "

" The biggest difference between the T+A and the CH Precision is at the very top end, where the reference is more refined, though not any more extended. Bear in mind that even this difference, though audible as a touch of roughness, still falls into the subtle category. As evidence, consider that while trying my darndest to ferret out differences like this one, I frequently put down my pen and succumbed to the music. I listened to entire sides of even the most familiar albums. That’s an indication of how little these scant distinctions matter, and how miraculously close the PA3000’s sound and capacity to captivate come to the higher-buck Swiss Sound stalwarts "

They are coming on strong with raves on their products DAC 8 $4k dac compared to $20k dacs, and technologies and usually you will find that their gear competes with much, much, more expensive gear. 

If this man wants to hear solid state gear which really sounds like the best in tubes he should hear the T+A gear, if he is on our coast he should stop in if not he can hear the gear at other dealers.

I used to love tubes and still enjoy them, the T+A gear just sounds like the best of both worlds and it is incredible made and reasonably priced. 

So yes you caught me, again, trying to champion a brand and a product that many people don't know about, but should. 

Lets see how many products we champion that become critical darlings in the press, and generally our products are less expensive for their outstanding performance. 

Hello Larry,

I don't know if any of what I said about the T+A gear will resonate with you, but if any of this intrigues you and if you have any interest in hearing the T+A gear, their importer Rutherford Audio is also in Colorado, and they might be able to provide a demo for you and who knows maybe you can get a three way demo between all  three of these stellar brands.

The T+A sound is warm, very airy, big bass and dynamics, with remarkable clarity and speed, it is similar to the Pass sound which is also a bit warm, I think the T+A has a bit more air to the sound and sounds even more powerful and a bit faster and cleaner, as you are getting 300 watts into 8 ohm and 500 watts into 4, where the Pass Labs tend for most models to be around 100-200 watts. 

The Ayre gear is very clean but it is also a bit on the lean side in the midrange which may or may not suit your tastes. It would also depend on the cabling, and digital, it is very good gear,very well designed and built.

I think you will find the T+A gear will outperform the Pass and Ayre gear as the sound of the T+A gear sounds kind of like what if you merged the best qualities of both of these brands,  and the T+A gear will cost less for their highly rated integrated amplifier and similarly priced or a bit less then the other brands, for their high end separate amp and preamp.

Musicfix bought a T+A R 2500 integrated not from us by the way,as he is not on our coast, and compared it to the Pass integrated he was also auditioning, and he greatly preferred the T+A which he subsequently purchased. 

I will repeat we are not getting anything out of this, I was just reading the post and thought hey at least he is in Colorado, and maybe the importer can get him a demo.

If Stereo Exchange carried them it was a very  long time ago and not in recent history. The HV series of electronics is new as of 2014 and only started getting some notice in 2015 in Europe and no one in New York carried them, Innovative had the speakers and some of their older E series electronics years ago, so I think you are mixing up your dealers!

The HV stands for High Voltage and is the technique which T+A uses to mimic tube sound with solid state gear the HV series is their new flagship product and they are way better then the older gear which was good but not in this level.

No their sound is not tube like in that it is rolled off, or has an overall emphasis on a midrange, it is a smooth transparent sound and unlike Solution which pushes uber resolution over warmth. 

As per your opinion, what do you know you opinion is based on what exactly? Dave works full time at his shop and has 27 years experience. I am there on weekends and during testing sessions I go to CES and Cedia, I go to private listening sessions after hours in shows and have 40 years of professional experience, as well as designing speakers for years.

Again, you do no one justice by your relentless hounding. If you weren't such a pain we would invite you in to hear the T+A gear for yourself.

The fact that a $19k integrated stands up to $120k worth of the best Swiss gear should make you want to find out for yourself if you agree.

The fact that T+A gear competes with $120k CH Precision, $100k+ Solution and $60k D'agastino amps yet costs considerably less should be the reason why people should be talking about the brand.

By the way we tested the T+A against a $120k pair of legendary Krell Class A amplifiers, and the T+A killed that amp!

Gee what If I am right again, just like I was with the Personas, and we can point this gentleman to a line of electronics that he might really love and in this case we wouldn't be getting a thing out of it!

As per T+A vs Pass again ask Musifx who bought a $11k T+A integrated after comparing it directly to a comparably priced Pass labs product. 

Gasherbaum,

I am too sorry, we had to have Grpu come in and start his tit for tat attacking of us and our motives.

The whole point of my comment was for you to consider a brand of equipment that really does offer the best of both qualities of tubes with the best of solid state that you may not be aware of.

 As I mentioned before we have no skin in this game.

The T+A gear is really special and will work wonders on your Rockports.

The T+A gear  will give you much better bass control vs tubes, and  far greater dynamics. We love tubes as well, and for a demanding speaker 300-500 watts can't be a bad thing.

You will find that almost any good brand of electronics will work well with the Rockports, we have a customer with the Arakkis so we kind of know the house sound, It will also come down to the choice of cables, power conditioning, and of course your source components. 

Good luck in your search and call Rutherford Audio in Colorado if any of this gear interests you. 

Our customer in New York is driving his Arrakis with MBL and the combo sounds great. 

Andy Payor does usually recommend Gryphon which is one of the warm and full bodied solid state lines great stuff,

We have a client who has a set of their large amplifiers, it is a shame the brand is not obtainable in the States and therefore it is also a shame that Andy doesn't endorse a brand which more people can hear.