When there were such places as "High end emporiums", I spent so much time in those places, that my wife swore I was seeing another woman; she couldn't believe that I was obsessed with "high end sound". This was at the same time I began to subscribe to "Stereophile". After reading "Recommended components", I would go to the salon and audition whatever they had, this way I learned to classify sound by "A", "B", or "C". The SS amps were affordable class "C", while the tube amps were class "A" and "B"; consequently, I never heard a Class "A" SS amp.
In case no one has noticed, our summers are getting hotter, and AC bills are getting higher. If I'm going to have a furnace in my listening room, it certainly wont be a SS furnace. All the SS amps I've owned ran cool, but I never owned a Class "A" SS amp, and from what I've read in the reviews, "they all run hot", and that's the problem. Does anyone know of a Class "A" SS that doesn't run hot. Here is a list of Class "A" SS amps: Bryston, Classe, darTZeel, Halcro, Jeff Rowland, Lamm, Pass Labs, Musical Fidelity, and of course there are many other high quality SS amps. In regard to the "stereotypical" tube, SS comments, that's the way it was, and not necessarily the way it is. ARC sounds awfully SS to me, and CJ has changed from the way the used to sound, to a sound closer to ARC.
Jfrech, the Ayre VX-5 looks absolutely stunning, A Herron at about the same price is on my audition list; thanks for the "heads up".
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Before I became an "audiophile", as opposed to someone who just listened to music, I was an electronics technician, and my belief was, "If you can't measure it, you can't hear it, and the best specifications sound the best". After I got into the "high end", I discovered I could hear many things that can not be measured. At the same time I discovered that what sounds best "theoretically", actually sounds the best for real. Theoretically, class A tubes sound the best, and most audiophiles will agree on that.
Atmasphere, could you compare Class D, with Class A tubes theoretically? |
Phaelon, I'm well aware of what you were speaking of and class AB probably sounds as good as A, and runs much cooler. Class A is too extreme as far as heat is concerned, and I wouldn't have one. After all is said and done I'll probably end up with tubes, but as I stated before, I've never even heard a top of the line SS amp. |
I will never forget one of my most enjoyable afternoons at a high end emporium. It was late October and a bit chilly in the small auditioning theater, when a customer came in requesting a big CJ tube amp. That amp put out as much heat as a small fireplace.
The customer was a fireman, and it just so happened that we liked the same music. While listening to the sounds of jazz, we discussed our preferences in amps. He liked the warm sound of CJ, and ARC was my favorite. This was at a time when those two amps were as different as night and day. While ARC is pretty much the same, CJ had what was called the "CJ glow"; it really did something special with jazz and horns, as he went on to explain.
There's no better way to spend an afternoon than discussing the merits of your favorite tube amp, while listening to jazz on high end equipment. Heat was a good thing on that day
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I noticed that no one responded to my mention of Stereophile's ratings of equipment by Class "A", "B", and "C". First and foremost, I am not pushing the magazine; however, I subscribed for years, and during that time I went to high end emporiums to evaluate the magazines rating system, as well as the equipment.
For the years I was able to do this, I discovered their ratings to be quite accurate. Occasionally, a component would fluctuate from "B" to "C". This happened with the CJ PV10, and the Grado Sonata; however, I don't recall any component dropping out of Class "A". It was for certain that if any component fluctuated like that, it was a best buy.
Small manufactures complained about not getting their products reviewed, but if you think about it, the magazine also had a reputation to maintain in regard to volume, and consistency of product.
I no longer subscribe to the magazine because the equipment was completely out of my price range; however, I still use old magazines to make decisions. What was your experience in regard to the magazine and it's rating system.
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Atmasphere, I had an SS amp that began to run hot, so I put a fan on it. The hotter it got, the better it sounded. I put two fans on it, next it caught fire taking two new woofers with it. That was the first and only amp I've ever owned that caught fire. I thought that was just supposed to happen to tube amps.
If creating ventilation can work, that's what I'll do. |
Mapman, transistors switch on and off, as opposed to always on as is the case of Class A tubes. AB amps have two halves of a cycle that match. "Audibly", these three can sound so close to the same when the best parts are used, that "most" people can't tell the difference.
In motion pictures, what in reality is many still frames becomes a "moving picture". This analogy of still frames is good for transistors, digital, and switching amps, which is why extreme audiophiles preferred class A tubes. While none of us can detect still frames at a movie, "some" audiophiles seem to be able to tell the difference between switching and non switching amps.
It's for certain I can not instantly tell the difference when comparing "high quality" amps with different designs; but for me, I've found it to be cost effective to follow in the footsteps of "extreme audiophiles" who can; and that's where the critical decision making process comes in.
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Mapman, normally, the cost and weight of an amp that generates that much power, is prohibitive. Since I've never auditioned such a powerful amp, I have no way of evaluating the effect of that much power on the audio; I'm sure it was quite different.
My best audiophile moments are with 2 track reel to reel. While I thought they made all recordings better, they make bad recordings worse; but in the case of good CD's or LP's, the playback is always better than the original source. "Better" does not mean different, but bigger, and in the case of CD's they sound more like audiophile LP's. I imagine this might be the same effect as a more powerful amp. The reel causes the sound stage to fill the room more completely with the same amp.
500 watts into 8 ohms for a 19 lb amp is unbelievable. There are so many factors involving a class D amp that make them worth considering, and if I ever have a desire for power hungry speakers, I'll know which amp to choose. |
Wolf_Garcia, while I agree with you and Atmasphere, because that's as far as my current knowledge will go; I have to take what others have written in regard to Class D amps, into consideration before the hot Summer months.
Noble100, "Class D is so neutral, quiet and clean that I'm probably hearing the sound of my preamp and source more than the sound imparted by my amp. I have noticed an improvovent in sound (more tube like) with the VTL/ClassD Audio combo than my previous VTL/Aragon combo. This was further improved when I recently replaced my preamp's NOS Mullards with a fresh set."
What Noble100 has described, is just what the doctor ordered; cool running, imparts the sound of an excellent "tube" pre with no sound of it's own. This is definitely something I could live with for the summer. As much as I love my tube mono blocks, I can live without a lit fireplace in my listening room during July.
Enjoy the music.
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