|
Err........ now make that LAMM ML2.2s followed by the Unison Research Reference. |
I also agree to the KR Kronzilla. Especially with the EERA Tentation CD player. |
|
Roger heberts wyetech ruby 211 with ge vt4ctubes set monoblocks 36 watts rms |
|
My Chalice Audio ' Grail' SET mono blocks... Nothing I have ever heard sounds as good. |
Unison Research Reference followed by Lamm ML 2s........yet to experience the Lamm ML3 Signatures |
BAT Rex mono-blocks!!! ... and so very fortunate to be able to own them.
enjoy |
Shoot, have heard so many!
THe thing is one cannot hear an amp without all the rest so how to say which amp alone sounds best?
The amps I can identify in the best systems I have heard recently are VAC, MBL, ARC, ROGUE, Bel Canto, Boulder, Audio Note.
VIntage-wise, I retain a soft spot for Tandberg amps as some of the best sounding I have heard.
Hope to attend upcoming Capital Audiofest in DC and hear some more. |
The best amp I ever hear is the el cheapo one connected to a 100k set of speakers.
Just joking of course, but this question is SO system-dependant.... |
Now that I own them after a week, the Joule Electra VZN100 is the best sounding amp I've heard to date. This after owning the Decware Torii MkIII which is no slouch. This by a wide margin. |
The Dynavector HX 1.2 beat all the big names in solid state I heard. Detail & musicality combined made real music instead of "hifi". |
Shindo-WE
Dehavilland Aries
Life changing. |
Kondo Ongaku. It completely redefined the word "liquid" in my mind. |
These massive Dodd blue colored tube amps that sounded great at the RMAF show in 08.
Here's a pic of them.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue39/rmaf0810.htm |
How does ARC compare to some of the amps chosen? Are ARC and CJ still on opposite ends of the tube spectrum?
ARC is the best I've heard, but there are far too many that I haven't heard; consequently I can't make a valid comment on the subject. |
|
Art Audio Jota and Wavelength Triton Blue. |
|
|
From what I have heard I was might impressed with:
Wawac, VAC, LAMM and really put off by AtmaSphere (dull sound) |
|
The Moon W-5 Limited Edition capable of driven any speaker on the planet, no question about, total control and musical at the same time. |
BAT tube amps sound pretty awesome. |
Digital Amplifier Company's "Cherry" amp. http://www.digitalamp.com/ |
|
The ARC d79b was always a favorite for me! |
|
Hello,
I have been fortunate enough to hear some of the great amps mentioned above and on speakers I own or have owned. Many of them shine in their own way and outperform each other in certain areas . I feel there is and always will be a trade-off to be made at every and any price point. On the appropriate speaker I prefer the virtues of tubes over solid-state any day of the week but do concede S/S also has its strong points and realize other may prefer those virtues.
For me, taking all things in to consideration, like .... practicality of ownership, reliability, built to last, customer service, real-world product from a company I'm confident that will be around for years to come, hassle of shipping if a repair is needed, and MOST of all, overall sound quality in every area of performance with no area lacking, which to me means .... it must have no glaring flaws no matter how brilliant it may be in other areas of performance, which also includes being able to drive a wide range of speakers on the market today. The BAT 150se would have to be and is my choice. ..."they are music"...
Best,
Tom |
|
|
Lamm ML3. Vladimir Lamm loaned us a pair for 6 months and they were to die for but not for mere mortals as they have an MSRP of $139K. Heretofore I would have said my beloved Lamm ML 2.1's but only if I had never heard the ML3. They throw about as 3 dimensional soundstage as anything I have ever heard. At 32 wpc SET pure Class A IMO these amps are the ones by which all others will be judged |
Fruff1976, what is the best amp you ever heard? |
I'm really pleased with the Almarro A318B & Almarro M33A combo, but also loved the A205A Almarro with Cain SuperAbbys and one Bailey, as well as the Musical Fidelity A20 (20 watts Class A) with B&W 804N's ... all of these were gripping ... but for the moment ... I simply love the Almarro duo ... simply, for so few dollars, wonderful in every way |
The Atma-sphere M60s (and I'm sure there bigger amps)sound great with my Merlins which are OTL friendly, and the CAT JL2 which sound great on just about any speaker. In SS, the Pass XA30.5 were the best I've heard/owned. The best integreated I've heard were various VACs and the Ars Sonum (with Merlin speakers). |
Best Ive heard in my systems not at shows etc is Musical Fidelity Kilowatt. Purist audio design 300b para feed SET. Wavac MD300B. Ive had a few 45 SET amps rival the PAD and wavac. The MF kilowatt produced the deepest soundstage Ive heard out of a loudspeaker. The SETs just make music sound real. |
Then: my AudioNote Ongaku and Jadis JA200.
Now: my DartZeel 108 mated with the DartZeel 18. |
Lamm 1.1 monoblocks and Atmosphere MA-1 monoblocks (amazing sound but the tradeoff is a lot of heat). The new Krell monoblocks are also exceptional. |
VAC 300 Mono Blocks
Where is MBL in this thread? Really liked them at the RMAF matched with the Kharmas.
Would love to hear more of the listed. |
|
Vac 70/70 and I bought one. |
My old JA80 KT88 as tube amps and SS the first release of Threshold SA12 |
AudioNote Ongaku at a Hi-fi show in England around 1990. Silly price, but they were just wonderful. |
|
In 1973 I heard 21 700 wpc Phase Linear amps driving six?, eight? stacks of speakers while Pink Floyd opened their Dark side of the Moon tour... I've yet to hear or see a better single album, one band show give as many goose pimples as did that one. Fascinating experience.
Past that the Levinson 300 wpc mono blocks running the big pair of Magnapans was an erie audition... eyes closed or open. Fast and articulate with startling immediacy.
Tubes? Only time I ever was simply stopped in my tracks and simply stunned by a home audio audition, was the first time I heard Thor 30wpc monos. Wet, organic, and gutsy.... uh, them, not me. |
Tube: CAT JL-1 Limited Edition monoblocks ($50k).
Solid State: My darTZeel ($21.2k).
Honorable mention tube: My VAC 70/70 Renaissance Mk. III ($14k).
Honorable mention solid-state: My old Rowland Model 6 monos with Rowland battery power supplies ($16.4k).
I listed prices because we know you are shopping for an amp.
If you really want to spend $7k on a high-powered amp that will last "for at least the next 20 years" and that will not sound like sh-t when you move on to music other than rock, then the suggestion from some poster on your other thread about the McCormack 500 is not bad. As for the "20 years", Steve McCormack/c-j does not have Bryston's warranty policy, however, and now that I really think about it, tube amps, due to the fact that you basically have a new amp each time you retube them, may be preferable for you. Tubes also do really well with rock as compared to solid-state due to their headroom and second-order distortion characteristics. If I were a rocker, I would look for a pair of Sonic Frontiers Power 3 monoblocks ($3.5-$4k used) -- they throw off some heat, but they use good output transformers, are otherwise well built, decent output tubes hold bias in them, they have balls, and when your testosterone level drops and you transition into other forms of music ("1976", right? The clock is ticking for YOU), you'll find they have the finesse as well as the muscle needed to come close to handling music like orchestral and big band that is truly challenging to a stereo. |
Sam Kim's EL-84 Heathkit 151 wired in triode...NOT a restoration, but
Sam's original design created in the Heath's chassis. The EL84's are MUSICAL tube, and the amp has clarity, jump and just the right amount of tube EL84
MAJIC! It has tone controls too, which I really like. I like this amp even more than my Fi 2a3 monoblocks! |
In solid state, Marantz Esotec SM 1000 |
Atma-Sphere MA-2's (Tube)
BAT 600M SE (solid state) |
