I've been looking for a solid state amp that has the smoothness of a tube yet still retains the detail, speed and bass that some of the better SS amps. In order I like the Gamut D200, then significantly back the Plinius 250 mk III, followed by the Levinson 33x amps. None of them impressed my enough to part with my cash for.
I also heard the Rowland Model 10 (I think- it's the separate power supply 100 watt model) with some Revel Salons that did not impress me at all - the best words I can think of are "clinical, cold, and technical". The salesman thought this was audio nirvana which proves one of two things - audio sounds different to everyone or don't believe anything a salesman says (maybe both are true).
One other note if you are looking for a really kickbutt CD player I highly recommend auditioning the new one from Gamut.
Oh and Saxman why not just wear out your BAT amp and then retube it - it'll be a lot cheaper than a new SS amp and much more importantly you'll enjoy it more.
I also heard the Rowland Model 10 (I think- it's the separate power supply 100 watt model) with some Revel Salons that did not impress me at all - the best words I can think of are "clinical, cold, and technical". The salesman thought this was audio nirvana which proves one of two things - audio sounds different to everyone or don't believe anything a salesman says (maybe both are true).
One other note if you are looking for a really kickbutt CD player I highly recommend auditioning the new one from Gamut.
Oh and Saxman why not just wear out your BAT amp and then retube it - it'll be a lot cheaper than a new SS amp and much more importantly you'll enjoy it more.