Slam possible with Tubes instead of SS ??


I like the sound of tubes having a Sonic Frontiers tube pre amp. Is it possible to get that good SS slam I like from a a reasonably priced tube amp? Using an aragon 8002 ss amp at present. Looking to spend about $2 K max if I decide to jump the fence. Yes i do like to feel the bass and do want want to give that up.
blueskiespbd

Showing 4 responses by mapman

Not with your speakers for any kind or reasonable cost probably I would think for teh reasons Tvad mentioned..

The speakers in my system are similar.

I've gotten excellent results overall including slam using the Bel Canto ref100m amps.

I go for clean, uncolored sound with good detail and excellent dynamics including slam.

I use a relatively inexpensive but good quality ARC tube pre-amplifier in my rig to very good effect.

I have experimented with both tube and SS DACs. This is another area that can be experimented with to getting a tubelike sound with little or no compromise in the dynamics including slam.
Larger or multiple drivers optimally driven by the right matching amp is always the key to "slam".

Larger rooms will require more, so room size and acoustics to some extent ( I call this the "listening environment") is another key factor.
I am very tolerant of many different flavors of system sound, but I have very low tolerance for noise of any kind.

If I put my ear up to the speaker and hear anything other than silence when the system is on even if only at higher than normal volumes and nothing is playing, I consider it a potential problem, even if practically it is not apparent during normal listening.

I agree with Tvad that noise can and often does have a negative effect on overall sonic performance when present even if virtually impossible to hear flat out.
Maggies may be similar to Soundlabs in regards to drive ability via SS or tube amps.

Were I to go the Maggie route again someday, I think a tube amp would be the ticket.