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Esoteric A-100 vs a03

Friends,
I am currently using a Wavac 300B amplifier with my Tannoy turnberry SE speakers. While I am enjoying the luxurious Wavac ride but there are always times that I feel the 10 watts Wavac is not enough. Especially while listening to Rock and pop music when I would like to crank it up and have fun, the music doesnt sound very comfortable. I know I should not be doing this with a 300B tube amp but then I listen to all kinds of music and I dont own a 100db sensitive speaker.

The choice is now either to go with a powerful push-pull which has the overall purity of an SET or a more drastic step towards a good solid state amplifier. I have heard the Esoteric a03 and liked it a lot driving a pair of Maggies. But I have never heard the A-100. Esoteric says that A-100 sounds as pure and neutral as master tapes, thats a serious claim, but then they are manufacturers. Can anyone here give me an idea of which of these amps would be a better buy for sonic purity, neutrality and dynamics ?
pani

Showing 4 responses by pani

pani OP
1,220 posts
 
Charles, can you please elaborate a little more on the sound signature of the A-100 ?
pani OP
1,220 posts
 
Hi Charles,
Your observations are very informative. Just to get some more idea, which Push-pull amps have you generally liked ? Please list some models please. Basically I am coming from a mixed background of solid state and pure SET amplification. I have not touched push-pull yet. I can easily relate to your SET reference. Have you heard any push pull amps which give you a similar sense of enjoyment as good SETs ?
pani OP
1,220 posts
 
How big is your listening room and how loud (in dBs) are you trying to comfortably achieve?

Onhwy61, my room size is pretty small, about 170 sqft with a usual 10ft ceiling height.
pani OP
1,220 posts
 
Charles, I have heard quite a few 845 tubes based amps, both SET and PP. They just dont make the grade for me. Yes, they have bone crunching dynamics and they sound big but they dont have the nuance and delicacy. Everything sounds blown up out of proportion, even voices sound unrealistic. Unfortunately I heard something similar even with Wavac 805 based models. Looks like some of these big tubes have been forced into audio.
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