Solid State Low powered Amplifiers

I have the VMV A1 on the way but it’ll be too hot for my fully dry walled converted one car garage Mancave, which has limited venting at the end of the AC flow. Perfect room acoustics with floating wood floor, plenty of acoustic panels and bass trap reduction. 7’ listening triangle, close listening, Schitt idea may be better than my NAD C136BEE at 40 WPC. Thank you. Great discussion.

@Riccitone I have the FleaWatt Coltrane on the way from HI…thank you for that suggestion . It sounds really great and low power is what Klipsch enthusiasts all recommend in the reduced field listening that I do….and for the remaining Winter, the SMSL VMV A1, for experience reasons,I will welcome on Saturday. The Cornwall iv for me is just so airy that I hate jumping up too far up in WPC. Like most audioholics, I’m stockpiling and will make decisions on which to send to market, rather than sit on a bunch of amps. I cannot imagine I’d sell my Dennis Had Inspire SET 300B… and it’s just as good without WE300B, with Full Music solid not mesh, and Genelex Gold Lion…to my ears. And after waiting on Hegel 120 to appeal to me, it’s just made for a larger scaled listening area, as I cannot supply the increased volume to predicate enough gain to appreciate the beautiful bass and power it wants to unleash on the efficiency Klipsch Cornwall IV’s possess.

@decooney

Geez. Like holographic soundstage demential sound? I just found my answer to balanced sound, thanks to @riccitone. I went right to it and purchased this amp that he suggested that I have never heard of and I’m sitting here in amazement.I know we keep searching and I don’t think I have to anymore because this sounds too good to be true even better than the Cary KT 88 sound and the 300 B sound from Dennis Had. PERFECT marriage to reduced field and Klipsch, with enough head room to the friends that come over and you really want them to enjoy the listening experience, but they have to say “turn it up””…. Scary loud and with my Bluesound node X as my preamp and volume control. It is in need of nothing else because I am not a phono LP guy anymore. FLEA AUDIO Coltrane!

I’ve also used First Watt J2, Nakamichi PA7, Marantz 2226B, and this is my new best friend. The others were big bullies. 

Yesterday I received a cool response from Derek, maker of Flea Audio, when I asked him WHY his amplifier sounds better than a tube amp: 

Years of experimentation with the parts “recipe” for my amps is a large part of why they sound good.  All of the parts matter.   

Thousands of dollars have been spent over many years trying different parts to get the best sound.   Different transformers, power supply boards, capacitors, rectifiers, wire, connectors, etc.  All have been extensively experimented with.  Through years of listening tests and refinements, the recipe you have is the result.   

None were ever built to just make money, as building them for others has been a hobby for me.  The constant refinements were an attempt to take my own system to the next level and achieve sound superior to the tube amps I owned.  

Glad you’re enjoying the sound!

Derek

Furthermore, just yesterday I was able to receive a purchase of my new used SMSL CLASS A VMV A1…tremendous midrange vocals, resounding bass, impressive (10) WPC, and not much temperature surprisingly, as YouTube reviews say, my first listening to Class A… I think this should close the book on my search. Thanks to all. I’m happy in a way that my studio has been influenced by seasonal temperatures! (Not that us audiophile-aholics need MORE rationalizing to make further purchases). I have actually stacked the tiny A1 on top of the Flea Audio, and the small amp’s  footprinst on the top of my cabinet lends compatibility to the experience, just swapping power, RCA’s, and speaker plugs, according to temps outside and maybe genre of music. I may be tempted to sell my Dennis Had Inspire 300B, if any of you are interested please inquire. Once again, a great thread, and you guys deserve all the credit!

This SMSL VMV A1 is interesting. It was compared favorably to the Pass Class A amps, at 1/4 the price.
As my listening remained easy, and never fatigued… I thought it was making whatever Klipsch upper range sound notables sound more like a JBL Monitor sound. However, as time passed a couple hours, I needed to turn volume DOWN from a front panel reading of a firm “20”, to “8-10”! Openness to the soundstage had become apparent but more-so a tubey transition and transference to the midrange… with impeccable smooth vocals with a very satisfying bass, like none other. Very interesting. The amp temp remained only as warm as an LED 60W replacement bulb!