"Berning TF-10 preamp, Berning EA230 amp."
Both of which are vacuum tube based, not solid state.
248 responses Add your response
I had a Bedini 25/25 years ago. A great sounding amp with a great soundstage. I eventually traded it, but the guy I traded it to sold it to someone else and that person said it was the best amplifier he had ever owned and that he would never get rid of it. I have had great amplifiers since then so that's the way it is in this hobby. |
I believe the OP’s question was, what is the best solid state amp YOU have heard? not what is the best solid state amp out there. lol -- this makes replies even more meaningless as many, if not most posters have little history here, and do not qualify their comments and choices with disclosures of their systems, nor their experience (much less a listing of other amps they have had) a nad amp would be the best sounding amp i’ve ever heard if i got into the hobby last year and had just a sonos amp prior, driving my dad's 30 year old advents ... 🤔 |
I believe the OP's question was, what is the best solid state amp YOU have heard? not what is the best solid state amp out there. As some have mentioned previously, it is definitely system dependent. However, if you listen to a particular system and simply swap out the amp with another one, not changing any other component, match levels and listen, then, you definitely are listening to particular amps. There is a poster here on Audiogon that was initially demo'ing amps. I believe he has well over 13,000 posts here now. However, the problem with that is that no way did he listen to the amps in exactly the same system. He changed out many other things along the way. So, no way can you tell me that a person can offer 100% solid opinions on a particular piece when the system you heard other amps in was different. other than that, I like his forum. I have demo'd many amps in stereo stores. Stereo Design in San Diego (owner now retired), liked me over the years such that If I wanted them to swap out amps/preamps, etc. to A/B them, they did it. They knew that if I really liked something, I probably (eventually) would buy. Top of the line Stupidly expensive Boulder amp vs Audio Research REF 250 or REF 750. Believe it or not, the Audio Research amps beat out the Boulder. Mark Levinson 23.5 to me is still one of the best amps I've heard A/B'd with other amps in the same system. Remember, you must match levels and then listen. Mark Levinson ML-2, Bedini 25/25, Nelson Pass 25W amp. with efficient speakers, wow!!!!! And yes, I have heard them in the same system, comparing them to other amps only. This is just a few, there several out there. the problem is People are trying to remember what something sounded like in their or another system and then later on changed out the component (or many others) often without direct comparisons and matching levels and going by memory. Many of the amps mentioned are actually pretty darn good. I know this is a system and not just an amp, but the only system that I've heard that actually disappeared was at Optimal Enchantment in Santa Monica, CA. Stupidly expensive Basis (top of the line) turn table, Audio Research REF10 phono stage, Audio Research REF10 pre-amp, Vandersteen 7A speakers and yes, Audio Research REF 250SE amps. Cables were top of the line (thick as a snake) Audioquest cables. never heard a better system or one that disappeared like that one. Wow! enjoy |
@roxy54 jjss49, with your post i would have thought you have one!!! |
| Post removed |
My Sansui AU 7700 recap is so great that i bought another Sansui supposed to be better in the alpha series.... theorically better in refinement and it was.... But i go on mainly with my so sweet, ,more colored, and "less refined" Au7700.... The 2 Sansui are marvels...The Au is not less refine in fact it was only in a different color scale....It make all music natural..... |
SS Amp, credo "Do No Harm" For me, the only justification for SS is the need for power, invisible/inaudible power. To drive inefficient speakers you simply love to volume levels you must occasionally have. Best SS I have Owned, in my system for years, was McIntosh MC2250. Driving JSE Infinite Slope Model 2’s. Mine tested accurate to 305 wpc at lab day at Harvey’s the day I picked it up. A dead quiet beast, absolutely no idea it was on. Went back to my super efficient horn speakers, No distracting meters, on low shelf, adjacent to alternate 30/35wpc tube mono-blocks. Everybody chose tubes over SS when I swapped back and forth. |
IME, synergy is the single most important element in piecing together a system. And amps are no different, especially when it comes to pairing them with your speakers. What sounds best in one system may sound like crap in another system. After trying few SS amps, i have heard nothing as magical and transparent as Accuphase E-650. It was simply a match made in heaven for my Tannoy Canterbury’s. |
@loki1957 nice, their some of the best amps made! Have my Kismets at 200W I know, it’s not even close, as I’ve heard, but they sound great! Brothers McCormack dna-750’s are amazing, wish I had them I do in a way, I listen to them, when I have the time. i love my Odyssey Kismet monos’ they sound great, the bass notes go very low, they don’t play as loud as my Sunfire 600 Sig, but they do sound crisper, and the mids are crunchier, Amd,lows are much deeper vs the sunfire. I’m amazed at a 200W mono pair can sound better than the sunfire and the 500W emotiva xpa monos! happy with the Kismets! They do sound mice, I’m keeping them for the long haul! |
