2. amps-preamps
  3. 191032-147348

Amps that don’t impersonate space heaters.

There have been some epically hot periods in metropolitan Chicago this summer. I have had a long running affair with a pair of Avantgarde Uno s2’s and don’t really require a great deal of power. I have two dissimilar but equally compelling amps (a Pass 30.5 and a BAT vk-56) both prodigeous producers of heat creating a sauna like environment in my library/listening room the HVAC system not withstanding. What, if anything, have you boys and girls found that might replicate the qualities of my beloved amps minus the potential for 3rd degree burns and heat prostration?
Cheers and good fortune to you all. 

williamjohnston

Showing 1 response by chenry

chenry's avatar
chenry
239 posts
 

Class A done well has special qualities that seem to come at a price. Only tubes seem to extract a similar price, thermally. I can suggest a couple of options:

Combine a tube section preamp with a well-designed Class D (e.g., a ProJect Pre Box RS2 Digital and a NAD C298).

Use a modern GaN FET amp: Peachtree’s Carina GaN for example.

Use a hybrid amp with partial class A topology, NuPrime IDA-8 is compact and is a Class A- Class D hybrid which has been a successful model in that company’s lineup.

Your horns should do well with any of them.

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