The truth is that the amps and speakers must perform together as a "unit". I would generalize to say that if your speakers drop below 8 ohms anywhere you will miss out on something sonically with almost any OTL amp. Several years ago I had Martin-Logan CLS'es and a pair of Fourier Panthere (200W) OTL's...these just didn't cut it despite the conventional wisdom of mating OTL's with stators. More recently I auditioned Atma MA-1 MkII's on my Wilson Sophias. Again, the music's foundation was sorely lacking with this pairing. In contrast, I am using Nagra VPA's which have output transformers but are rated at about one-third the output power of the Atma's. These give up nothing to the Atma's in terms of clarity, naturalness and soundspace and in addition they control the bottom end like a Krell. So while it may sound esoteric to say your amps are OTL's, or pure Class A, or single-ended etc. it's their match with your speakers rather than the design parameters that matter. I would go further to generalize that amps that work well with a wider variety of speakers are better designs than ones that have matching limitations.
OTL Tube Amps-- are they superior to everything?
A recent conversation I had with an Audiogon member got me interested in OTLs. His opinion is that nothing compares to them for clarity, naturalness and superiority in just about every area. The Atmaspheres are the amps he has, and they are purportedly very stable, unlike most other OTL designs, which many can tell you were a living nightmare.
This is ironic, because some mfrs., like McIntosh, actually put output transformers on their better solid state pieces, claiming they provide superior sonics.
What is the truth here?
This is ironic, because some mfrs., like McIntosh, actually put output transformers on their better solid state pieces, claiming they provide superior sonics.
What is the truth here?