Is Sonic Frontier Power 3 worth buying & keeping?

I used to own Power 3s and if "warm" is the sound you're looking for, I'd suggest demoing some other amps. I didn't find the Power 3s a very good buy. The Power 2 is a much better buy, you can get a new one in the $2500 range.

A good, warm soundinng tube amp (in my opinion) is the ARC VT100 MkII or III. A Mk II can be had for $2300-2500 used.

Good luck.

The Power 3's are available cheap on the used market. I have seen a number for $3500 the pair, which is a third of list price. If you need the power, the Power 3 is a better buy than the Power 2.

The general consensus is that these amps have a more solid state like sound than tube. They have been characterized as lean and with a slightly distant sound, and lacking the tube "bones" of other units. I think the Audio Research VT-100 is generally preferred as more detailed, tube-like in the midrange, and generally sonically superior.

What is this thread doing on the analog section? It should be in the preamps/power amps sections.

i had the power 3s a couple of years ago. i traded them for cj 12s. the cjs were much warmer. as far as tubes vs ss i have micrex tube amps and a sonic frontiers sfl2 preamp for a video system. ss to me is good for subs not mids and highs.

Buy pass aleph 1.2s they have the tube sound but wont die out and have a fair amount of power. They sound just like the very best tubes in almost every way including bass slam which can be a bad thing... None the less if you want to get tube sound without the hastle check these out.

This machine can drive any speaker and has "canadian way" to reproduce music(a bit agressive) but with precise imaging and deep soundstage.
SF service is great but electronics arn't reliable in SF Power 3 in particular.
Changing tubes will cost you another amp.
In fact, it doesn't sound tuby at all.
For the built quality and cheeper electronics although excellent engineered I would go for Mesa Baron instead. This amp is being used for pro and high-end audio gear as well.