need good solid state amp to match my tube preamp


I would appreciate some recommendations!

I currently have a ARC LS25 tube preamp, and a BAT VK55 tube amp. I want to sell the BAT, and get a solid state amp to replace it. The reason is, I need to make my system child friendly! The exposed tubes in the BAT and many tube amps are a burn hazard for the little ones. Of course I can get an ARC Reference 110 with the tubes neatly tucked away, but I cannot afford that.

I am looking to sell my $5000 msrp amp and get another $5000 msrp amp. This means I am looking to spend about $2500 and hopefully sell my BAT for a similar price.

So far, the amps from Jeff Rowland caught my eye. the models 10, 112, and 201 monos are all in the price range.

Any advice out there? Specifically for having the tube preamp, and a solid state amp?

thank you!
Mark
marktomaras

Showing 1 response by larryi

This is one of those situations where a trial of the specific combination would be ideal, though I can see how that might be hard when dealing with used gear. Tube linestages do not always "play" nicely with solid state amps--the results are somewhat unpredictable. Staying within the same brand is one way to avoid compatibility issues, particularly if you alread like the house sound of that brand.

It is hard to even roughly guess at what might work, particularly without knowing what kind of sound you are after. To me, the LS25 is a quite lean sounding linestage, so unless you want to emphasize that quality, one should stay away from leaner sounding gear. Rowland gear tends toward the warmer side (I personally don't like their Class D switching amps so listen to one first before considering such). I am a fan of the open and natural sound of Ayre amps, though these are not tonally on the warm side.

Have you considered having a machine shop make you some kind of tube cage?