"Fast sounding tube amp" with plenty of power? any?


I recently had a chance to audition an ASL 1008 monoblocks to run my Thiel 3.6s and I found the amp to be able to run the Thiels and the warmth of tubes is there but it just sounds too slow.When I switch back to my Krell FPB 200's the music seems to sound normal again. I know this is not the best that tube amps has to offer and the Thiel 3.6's are not the best speakers for tubes,so I need your recommendation. Speakers that's at least at par with the Thiels 3.6s speed and transparency and a matching tube amp with balls.
rmml

Showing 1 response by tubegroover

I would suppose that any OTL amp would be faster than any transformer coupled tube amp. I am using s Transcendent 25 watt OTL (this is the quietest amp I've ever heard, absolutely dead silent at the listening position) and I must say that the "real time" factor is better than anything I have EVER heard from any other amp be it tube or SS. The great benefit of this speed and what is notable is that there is NO OVERHANG at any frequency, this makes the music come alive.

I haven't heard any of the other OTL's mentioned above, but the point I feel is clear, OTL amps make music more real in a way that isn't obtainable from other amplifiers and the reason is their superior speed along with that palpable presence that music lovers find in tube gear. I'm not sure that accurate is necessarily the right word but what else can it be? Maybe less fatiguing? It is so much better to my ears that I would never consider a speaker system with an impedance that wouldn't match with an OTL. There is no going back.