Need Amp Recommendation

Whoa those Thetas are superb amps. I suggest we get into the meat of the matter concerning the preamp, which really is the heart of any system. So, what's going on there? And your sources?

Hi,
If you want SET midrange with weight (and balls) in the bass - see thread, just a few lines below:

"Spectron Musician III - Can anyone comment on it? "

ARC Ref 3 is fantastic match for this amp!

All The Best
Rafael

Jeff Rowland Design Group's Continuum 500 will give you everything you're seeking. If you must keep your pre-amp, then the Rowland 501s monos or the stereo 312 will give you what you seek.

Dave

Halcro DM58 Monoblocks not only have the greatest midrange of any SS amp I have heard, but also the deepest, truest and best controlled bass as well as the sweetest distortion-free treble. The Rockport speakers I have heard, sounded far better driven by SS amps over the tube ones.

Wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a SS amp with great midrange... Madfloyd

SS amps with great midrange are my Parasound Halo JC1s ..

My Citadels are 1.5s. The preamp I'm using at the moment is an ARC REF 3. I don't find it overly tubey. In fact, it has leaner midbass than my mid-fi home theater processor (Denon's $6k flagship pre/pro).

I was wondering if swapping the preamp for something with more lush midrange might be a solution.

Sources are CDs (fed into Benchmark DAC) or analog LPs (VPI Scoutmaster).

Are your Citadels originals or 1.5s? If originals, you may want to contact Theta and discuss the 1.5 upgrade, it is supposed to be significant. Just another option.

How about a hybrid like a BAT?

I've owned VTL gear, & respect their products, but if you're not using tube-friendly speakers, like Merlins perhaps, you're gonna go broke, or crazy, trying to use a tube power amp with speakers that are power hungry.

I could suggest used C-J SS amps, like the MF2500A (which has plenty of power, and is very "musical"), but I don't know those speakers.

There are a lot of pertinent things that you haven't touched on such as what source or preamp you're using and how much power you need. I'll have to assume from your amp choices thus far that you need a lot of power.

So without knowing anymore about your system my best recommendation would be to use your Theta monoblocks but look for a good tube preamp to bring out that midrange without softening the bass and highs too much.

I personally like the 6SN7 tube preamps, but it needs to be a very good one if you want to keep it tight. I think even the best tube preamps will soften (and probably plump) the bass slightly.

But this was the best compromise I could find with my NuForce Ref 9V2 SE monoblocks (which sound like magnificent tube monoblocks when used with a great tube preamp).