Now more than ever, the Krell Vanguard is an exceptional buy. The new model claims Class A but has less power and costs $8000! A Vanguard can be had for $2500 to $3500 used or from some vendors new.
Full-sounding SS amps (besides Pass)
Speaker interactions aside, what solid state amp brands/designers tend to have a fuller sound these days? Not necessarily warm or tubey per se, but fleshed out in the upper bass and harmonically complete in the midrange, as opposed to lean. E.g. an Australian ME Sound amp I have from a while back has this quality, without sounding overtly warm.
Obvious candidates: Pass, Luxman. What else?
Cost no object, feel free to throw out one-liners. Think of it as a poll. (Please don't answer tubes though, thanks. :D )
Obvious candidates: Pass, Luxman. What else?
Cost no object, feel free to throw out one-liners. Think of it as a poll. (Please don't answer tubes though, thanks. :D )
123 responses Add your response
I had a stock McCormack DNA .05 Deluxe it was my favorite of all time, including tube amps. I recently got a TOTL upgrade to the same amp (Platinum) and can attest to it be much better than the stock amp, a purely stunning amp. There are always .05's around for ~$700. I'd give the nod to Belles amps as well. That is as far up the food chain as I have ventured. |
Not modern, it don’t forget about the SIT amps from Yamaha and Sony from the 70s and 80s. They go for about $800 or so. And remember, Nelson pass ordered a shipment of the V-FETs (SIT- Static Induction Transistor) to make his limited run of SIT monoblocks. Limited, b/c the transistors are expensive and special order. |
I"m a tube guy but recently had a Digital Amplifier Company (DAC) Stereo Maraschino (STM) integrated on demo. It gave my 300b a run for its money on Charney Audio 100db horns. I have had Pass, ATC, and Coda in the past and this little amp sung like a champ. Digital has come a long way and Tommy at DAC has a very special product. Never once did I experience any of the bad anomalies associated with digital amps. The sound was detailed yet tuneful with deep extended bass and sweet accurate highs. My dac is DAC's HS version and the two paired together very nicely. I'm hoping to purchase a pair of DAC mono's in the near future and very possibly move away from tubes for good. Heck you can save a lot of money and electricity with DAC amps, and not feel like your in a Class A sauna! http://www.cherryamp.com/ |
@taww -- +1 for Belles amps. Quite a few Pass amps I've heard err on the side of a slightly dull or boring sound (though they're obviously highly resolved, refined and perhaps too smooth), whereas I feel Belles (i.e.: the SA-30 and SA-100) are more naturally lively/alive and dynamic sounding, yet extremely cohesive and musical; I even dare say they're authentic in their sonic nature. |
You forget one important part and that is stage depth and width. I will not say anything about a brand of the thread. But I tested many of these amps (people wrote above) on properties. Most amps of which people think that it is highend is on facts hifi stereo. Most amps are 2-dimensional( this also counts of the ones named above). You are never allowed ot use the word highend when the stage is 2-dimensional. Based on the fact that 2D is a hifi stereo parameter. And second based on the fact that humans can perceive sound in a 3-dimensional perspective. Many of the brands who are names are also very limited in diversity in sound. Many of these amps own a sound instead of diversity in sound. They often own what people discribe as a pleasant sound. But you need the layers in sound to experience the emotion of the music. When you use an amp like Pass Labs you can easily hear the differences of the harmonics of instruments and voices. I give you an example: When I speak with people at an audio show they often say: all sets had almost no emotion. Or it did not do anything to my emotion. This is based on the fact that most sets lack diversity and 2nd they are often 2-dimensional. When an audio system can build a huge 3D stage, the level of intimacy becomes larger. This is a property of sound and has a big influence on our emotion. I would not want to own another brand than Pass Labs. The XS300 is above on my list, and the rest I even don’t F.care. Pass Labs is great but...it even lacks one important part of sound and that is a realistic individual focus. Based on the fact that both voices and instruments are very small and direct and have a lot of space around them. You need a pre amp, source and even cables to fill in this missing part. Beside this part in my world Pass owns the best DNA. This is what is most important. You can listen for hours to amps who own a sound and you are asking yourself where the F. is the emotion of the music. The layers are not there, but you need the diversity the most in the middle frequencies to experience the emotion. |
Mitch, I’d be shocked if the lispy sound is from the amp format. It may be on account of a polarity change or the power supply is not clean enough for that particular amp. It would be interesting to hear your results if you investigate. Manufacturer aren’t inclined to build new amps that sound worse than old unless the aim is at a lower price range. |
You can get Steve McCormack DNA ModSquad to fully rebuild any of the DNA products. Sometimes they have stock on hand and can completely remake an amplifier from a trade in. So while they are not currently in production, if you can get your hands on an old chassis in good shape, they can upgrade it to essentially new status (actually better than new). |
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@mysticriver. glad to hear it. i too think it a no-brainer with the DSD DAC. however because of the playback quality of cds through the DMP, i have yet to go to ripping. maybe some day. I still have about 600 albums and a very old and lovely Oracle Delphi, but never use it or play them. need to sell them to someone who appreciate the analog stuff. anyway good luck with everything. do you ever post on the ps forum as i think i may have seen your name there. |
http://www.monarchy-audio.com/SM70_Main_frame.htm A pair of SM70 Pro NFB Class A's bridged using XLR inputs. Unlike many, they are truly balanced in the bridged mode using both L+R circuits. One can leave them powered up 24x7. It is the NFB that gives them the fullness of sound by not sucking the life out of the music. NFB has the greatest impact on the sound of all amps. They punch way above their weight. Very impressive for sand (SS) amps. Happy New Year |
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@ronkent Most of my CD's are ripped in flac files on my hard drive (which I took with me prior to the flood). Almost all the rest were on shelves above the water level and survived OK. I did lose about half of my LP record collection, but to tell you the truth, I have mostly gone over to digital anyway, and replaced my favorites with CDs. The Directstream DAC made this a no-brainer! Thanks for the sympathy. I can hardly wait to get my music room back, listening to everything on my computer with headphones just doesn't quite cut it. |
