Air Tight is very highly regarded, but probably gets more discussion on sites other than Audiogon, just as do other highly regarded tube amplifier brands, thinking Jadis, VAC, NAT, Nagra, Margules. Air Tight enjoys a reputation in tube amplification similar to what Accuphase enjoys in solid state.
Yes, many high end brands are not discussed here or discussed very little. I don't know why. I can understand that not many have one of those Japanese amps or Nagra but still. Even VAC and Lamm are rarely talked about. Accuphase, Gryphon, Soulution etc, - sometimes but again not much. They are all expensive and very expensive equipment, of course, but I don't think that's the main reason. |
I liked the lower powered offerings of the likes of Shindo, Kondo, and Yamamoto. Some of the older Kondo gear, like their M10 preamp, are stunningly good sounding. I sort of found that out the hard way. Many years ago, I was in the market for Stax Omega II headphones. I heard them at a dealership and bought a pair with the Stax tube amplifier. When I listened to them at home, they sounded good, but not as good as they sounded at the store. When I asked the store owner about this, he explained that when I auditioned the headphones, they were hooked up to a Kondo M10 and I don't have anything nearly as good in my system. |
@inna I found four systems, including my own, that have Air Tight paired with Harbeth. It's everything you'd expect from a good tube setup. Here's my system: https://www.audiogon.com/systems/6378 |
inna, It’s 20 watts per channel with 8 and 16ohm taps off some top class and quite substantial output transformers. I have built my own speakers: A pair of 15ohm LS3/5As from Falcon Acoustic kits, and to run in parallel with them, I converted a pair of RAM DS60 monitors to subs using DIY AB1 x-overs modded with with L-pad attenuation to balance the room. the 3/5As sit on sorbothane pads on top of the subs, which sit on short Attacama stands... it’s a fantastic combo. I also have a pair of early Rogers 15 ohm 3/5As, and a pair of AB1 subs, but currently I like the home built ones more, as I can adjust the HF response by design of the x-overs and the RAMs are sealed so have more control and respond to the push-pull with more accuracy. I hope that paints the picture. |