this is a very nice thread, full of wise audio enthusiasts and without the craps. I haven't heard all amps stated, and as someone here said, i would never say "absolute best there is" but "my preference", and i would add "maybe absolute best i have heard" as i cannot honestly state on what i haven't heard!! What i know for sure, is that sometime going to hyper priced stuff can be very disappointing, as quality/price ratio falls dramatically, and is thus far from fulfilling expectations. I hold from a sound engineer that so called high end gear go for over 100% profit margins! I have no whatsoever doubts about that, as these manufacturers build on their prospective client's passion and irrationality that go with it, as maybe any passion can be irrational, except that even ultra high end gear can cost twice a Ferrari without having one tenth of comparable technology cost in it, and such audio gear will sell for half price after a few years, while a crazy investment in a Rembrandt will never be lost, unless destroyed by fire or whatever. So....!!! Yes, we are real fools and the audio manufacturers know that for sure, and so do their fellow reviewers. Most of us here have that sound virus, and i try to keep that in mind, while i am happy to keep that virus too, as having a passion is having a more interesting life, i believe. If i want and can let go of my money in audio gear, i just do it, but i still try to remain both very cautious and open, and ultimately avoid what's worse for us; deception in our investment's sound. I tend to go the tubes' way, it has less power for sure, but to me life's emotions and vibrations are in the tubes, in general. I probably have not experienced enough solid state, and i guess that would be ClassA with zero or very little feedback designs most of the time. Tube wise, the Wavacs are close to perfect and magical tools. Japanese hand built, with best available components and the sound spirit they are famous for (it is the search for "the absolute" Japanese spirit which brought back tube gear to the world, which ears had been corrupted and put to sleep with marketing of cheap electronics, ironically Japanese too!!) but you don't have to go their top of the line to get exquisite sound, unless the power factor is vital to you, but then you must be rich. All tube stuff mentioned here are undoubtedly among the best there is, but i would add in line with the cost factor i mentioned above, much less costlier gear: Coincident 300B Frankenstein MkII. These paired with their Coincident preamp, a good source and well matched efficient speakers, give a sound matched only by well over 100K gear. If you add the great but not cheap Takatsuki 300B tube to them, you may just touch heaven.
I have experienced those for long time now in my secondary system, and i
actually continue to switch it on and be stirred to tears for years on,
in complete amazement, each time. Just as close to being as good as my main system, which costs 25 times more, for 5% better sound!!! It is just smaller scale, but with all the refinement that only go with smaller stuff, and we are only playing music at home, not at a concert, are we??
All other SS gear mentioned, Gryphon, Pass, Vitus etc, remain the best, individually very highly recommendable, but varies as per the audio setup in which they play. It is as simple as that to me. In the end, i doubt anyone can go wrong with any of these. Can anyone really and reasonably say which is best? Many a system, from cheap to ultra, can be made to sound "best". Match it, place it, cable it, tweak it, burn it, rethink it, redo it all over again, give time and a good dose of audio education and knowledge to it, and get rewarded with heaven's trumpets.
All other SS gear mentioned, Gryphon, Pass, Vitus etc, remain the best, individually very highly recommendable, but varies as per the audio setup in which they play. It is as simple as that to me. In the end, i doubt anyone can go wrong with any of these. Can anyone really and reasonably say which is best? Many a system, from cheap to ultra, can be made to sound "best". Match it, place it, cable it, tweak it, burn it, rethink it, redo it all over again, give time and a good dose of audio education and knowledge to it, and get rewarded with heaven's trumpets.