I’m a fence-sitter when it comes to sound vs. appearance, but man, that Rogers EFI-100 MK2 is unsightly.
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Thank you all for the helpful and thoughtful posts. I plan to post the results of my listening experiment in the future, which will likely take a few months.
-G |
rogue audio cronus magnum iii.
refinement, transparency, sound stage and 100wpc driving energy and dynamics and ability to drive speakers that drop to 4ohms.
yours will need this capability for full potential sound. |
Luxman LX-380 would a solid candidate for this list as well.
I know there are luxman dealers willing to ship amps for a home demo. |
You have some solid names. I think the Line Magnetic line has dealers
who would agree to a trial of some sort. I tend to agree with soix re your tube choice unless new speakers are in the future. Maybe a hybrid ? |
While I certainly understand wanting to go with a tube integrated, not sure that’s the way I’d go with your speakers. At 88dB dipping down near 4 Ohms with extreme phase angles, the 805s don’t scream tubes to me. And at the very least you’ll probably be pushing most tube amps pretty hard, which is less than optimal.
I’d be more inclined to try a hybrid integrated like a Unison Research Unico Due, which has a tubed input stage but SS amp biased toward Class A. This design puts out plenty of power and is stable down to 2 Ohms so will have no trouble driving your speakers yet still have a good bit of that tube magic. And, importantly, Fidelis (distributor) offers in-home trials so you can try in your own system. Anyway, that’s my take, and best of luck in your search.
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Where are you? It might be possible to hear some of these at someone's house.
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+1 @fuzztone you need to build relationships with dealers
I was looking for a tube integrated for my office; my dealer carries Jadis and Triode Corp (Japan) among others. I borrowed his demos (Orchestra Black/TRV88) I preferred the Triode by a fairly large margin and bought the demo unit at a significant discount
not sure if you have a Triode Corp dealer in your area but if you do, add one of their INT’s to your list. It’s gorgeous, great build quality, point to point wiring, etc and sounds fantastic
Best,
-JP |
LTA tubes last between 5000 to 10000 hours. |
+2 LTA UL Integrated & no transformer nonsense.
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+1
LTA UltraLinear Integrated
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Just buy a McIntosh. The MA 352 is wonderful piece of equipment with an incredible sound, and its has tubes! |
@twoleftears +1 on the Pathos line. I'd call Upscale and see what they can do.
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Check out Linear Tube Audio. Might not be as good of a match as the Raven or Primaluna with the B&Ws tho. The B&Ws are on the crispier side of the spectrum and the Primaluna or Raven would be a wonderful pairing. That being said if you are looking for very revealing detailed sound, leaning ever so slightly towards the solid state spectrum the LTA is where to go. I have an LTA UltraLinear Integrated paired with my Moab’s and it’s wonderful. I tried Primaluna and also Lyngdorf with my Moab’s. The Lyngdorf was revealing but a little bright. The Primaluna was amazingly fun but a tad too much syrup I felt for my speakers. The LTA had best of both worlds. But my Tektons are definitely darker than B&Ws. As a wildcard check out Thomas’s review of the Willenston R8 Chinese Tube Integrated. Only $1,000 and supposed to be great. But you’d need to check on a return policy which it might not have. |
My only recommendation is to hold the Raven for last. From what I hear you will not want to send it back. Especially after looking at that turd of a Rogers. And that's coming from me, probably the least concerned with looks of any audiophile you will ever meet. But that Rogers has got to be the ugliest turd ever. I mean seriously. Its like a bad accident. I can't stop looking at it. Make it go away!!
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Does Upscale allow returns on the Pathos amps? |
Heads up, these amps, tubes, internal coupling caps all can take upwards of 100hrs to burn in to start sounding right. good point decooney |
@decooney
Agreed about burn in. The Rogers amp actually comes with 100 hours of burn in. I will have 30 - 60 days so can actually do 100 hours burn in for each. |
Nice bakeoff plan and some good candidates. Fun winter project.
Heads up, these amps, tubes, internal coupling caps all can take upwards of 100hrs to burn in to start sounding right.
How much time do you have with each?
If they are new units, will your providers pre-burn them in for you for at least 72hrs to make the demos more comparable? |
Icon Audio, Luxman, iFi Retro and Quicksilver.
Galen Carol has the Quicksilver and he's a good guy.
You have to secure dealers.
Your stuff is nice enough to take your time.
Good luck. |
