2. amps-preamps
  3. 1068678162

looking for a warm ss amp....

for my paradigm studio 40s. i hate a bright treblely sound! i currently use signal cables and a denon 3802 reciever. i have had many people tell me to go with bryston or anthem, but both have been out of my price range so far. which of these have a warmer sound? how would rotel or b&K amps sound with my speakers? they seem to cost much less. since i can only buy used, i really do not have the opportunity to audition the different amps. i will continue to use the denon as my pre-amp.
fishcall

Showing 2 responses by jax2

jax2
3,031 posts
 
I'd 2nd Pass Labs Aleph 5 would do the trick. No wax build up problems either, but once in a while the lint in my belly button builds up a bit! Perhaps that is impairing my judgement?! With the Aleph's you really need to keep them running for a day or two to get the optimum performance from them, and they do run pretty hot too (class A). Also, you might want to consider running your SS amp with a tube pre-amp for the results you're looking for.

Marco
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Fishcall- I used to have a B&K EX-140 (the early dual-mono version of their popular ST-140). I did an A/B to the ST140 at the shop I bought it from (Singer in NYC) and prefered the dual-mono by a slight edge for overall detail. The ST140 was VERY similar though. It was indeed very warm sounding and I did enjoy it. ST140's are easy to find and relatively inexpensive. All that said, if you are looking for "warm" why not got straight to the epicenter of warmth; get a tube amp. Lets see, you have $500-800 for the amp and another 500 for a pre? That's up to $1300. At that price you could buy yourself a great little integrated tube amp like a Jolida 502B putting out 60 watts of sit-by-the-fire warmth which should be plenty to drive most speakers. Heck your Studio 40's are 91db efficient...you could drive those to very satisfying volume with a Jolida 302B or an Audiomat Arpege! Any of these would top anything I've heard in SS at that price range for all around musical listening pleasure. If you have to stick to SS I think Plinius also makes an integrated amp in that price range used, but I've never heard it...only heard tell that it has warmer sound to it.

Good luck.

Marco
More to discover