Being a tube person who is trying to put together an active loudspeaker setup , I have come across the problem of choosing the best driver for the midrange and upper bass i.e.80Hz to 2.5 KHz. I would like to try a panel such as a Magnapan but am told that they are rather power hungry. Therefore, I would be grateful if fellow Audiogoners could share your experience in relation to the best powerful SS amps that would not be out of place in a "tube-ophile's" system. Thanks
Ecka, there was a thread several months ago on another audio forum where SET amp lovers were asked what solid-state amp they would choose if a gun was held to their heads, and surprisingly the only company anyone actually mentioned was Naim. That being a British company, perhaps it is easier to come by in Australia?? I've never heard them, but they are supposed to be good.
Mrtennis Beats me. I don't doubt his integrity... perhaps it's a matter more of tastes or preffs & practicality for him.
I simply thought it pertinent to make mention of that, as at the time, it struck me as odd given all the designs he's laid out and surely does have at his discretion.
perhaps victor is just being honest. it is certainly not in his interest to compare his preamps unfavorably. or, do you believe that victor can't hear the difference between preamps ?
Maybe a mccormack dna-1;I had a pair of these as monoblocks driving merlin 4b+'s and dunlavy scIII's;very tubelike in the mid frequency range;also odyssey's mono extreme se's fit the bill as well. Better yet a moscode 401hr or the new 402;30 day in home trial as well.
Mrtennis Victor told me once he couldn't tell much difference from their entry level preamp to their more expensive preamp too, both or either, would satisfy him.
I've heard the Mc252, 402, 501s and 602. None of these came across to me as sounding like anything other than SS. Very nice SS but not tube oriented. The decays weren't that of tubes, nor did it possess the richness and body tubes field as a rule. To MCs credit, if I had panel speakers I could easily live with that MC 602. Very easily indeed.
Personally, I'd place the VK500 w/BAT Pk above the MC402 & under the MC602. The 501s were more lively and more SS'y.
The "tube like" qualities that I particularly like are liquidity (clarity and sudtlety without an edge) and and an open sound. The valve that I like the most is the 45 which with it's mighty 1.5 to 2.0 watts would not fulfil my requirements here. Robert Harley's review of the Pass labs read interestingly but I obviously will need to somehow hear it ,as well as some of the other very helpful suggestions above. Thanks again and please keep the thoughts coming.
based upon one of tvad's connotation of "tube like", i'd say it cannot be found in the performance of any solid state amp. i received a confirmation that a solid state amp would not sound like a tube amp, from victor khomenko, of balanced audio technology, back in the 90's, when i heard a comparison between the first bat ss amp and a tube amp at ces, 1992 or 1994.
If you really want a SS amp that won't break the bank and sounds like tubes, try B&K Components. I had an ST-140 for many years and later upgraded to the B&K EX442 Sonata. When I sold the EX442, I quickly hooked up a pr of Paoli M60 monoblocks and was truly amazed at how much the EX442 sounded like the 8417 Paolis'. I've owned many tube amps over the years and B&K is probably the best value out there that sounds like tubes...but if you love tubes, than why not stick with a powerful tube amp like a KT88 or 6550 based amp.
MCINTOSH MC402 is one of the most tube like ss amps you'll ever hear. By the way it's also one of the best sounding power amps period regardless of price.
I would second Pass Labs. There is a full range of power and price points. The XA.5 sounds very sweet, doubles output into 4ohms and, I've read, reminds many listers of tubes with the control of SS.
Thank you everyone for your responses thus far. It certainly gives me a range of options that I will try to audition if possible. The only problem will be that I am Australia based and therefore some of the suggestions will be hard to source here.
A BAT VK500 with BAT pack... Dual mono blocks on one frame. Gobs of smooth sound, enormous bass, and sweet highs. Loads of power for panel speakers... and they'll run fine with single ended preamps as well as balanced using adapters of course as BAT is primarily all XLR inputs and a truly balanced topology.
I agree with Schipo about the DR-9 Clase or Tweak1 about Wyred4sound, how about a 200 wpc Conrad Johnson Sonographe, it also doubles its power at 4 ohms. I remember reading somewhere that Maggies do well with anything that doubles its output at 4 ohms.
Considering your power needs, Lamm M2.1 or newer M2.2 amps should work very nicely - basically solid state monos with a single 6922 tube in the input stage.
The Pass XA.5 series has a sweet sound. I'm using a Pass XA30.5 on my 3.6's. I'm a tube fan/lover and have several tube amps I use in another system and love their sound, especially the SETs. I find the sound of the Pass XA is very seductive.
without spending a fortune why not try a Classe DR-9 amp. I had them and knew others that swore by them. They are built and can be strapped for mono they will drive almost any speaker out there with tube like sound and ss control.
I'm using the TAD Hibachis with MMGs (and a whole bunch of other speakers). These are the warmest sounding ss amps I've had in my system. Silly name, excellent amp, unusual value (last I looked they were +/- $1300/pr 150 to 200W/ch).
Why not stick with tubes? My friend drove his Maggie 20.1's with two pairs of VTL 450's and it sounded better than integrating various SS amps he tried in combination (Parasound, Bryston, Bel Canto). I thought it was an excellent combination and offered adequate power for those huge panels.
Many former toob-o-philes have landed with the Spectron Musician II SE MK2. Another frequent mention for tube-like warmth is the Plinius line, like the SA-102.
I am using a Wyred 4 Sound MC 250/500 to drive my Magnepan 3.5Rs. Great sound on tap, but you need to give iyt quality cables. I settled in with:
Tek Line Cables Micro Reference Xtreme power cords Clear Day solid core silver- double shotgun XLR interconnects- DH Labs revelation or PS Audio Transcendent silver
I was looking at the 3.6(or maybe the 1.6) depending on which one is a better bang for the buck in the frequency range that I want it to function in. I have not stated a budget purely because I want to know what the best SS amp out there is ( once again for midrange and upper bass) and then go about trying to Audition it. Thanks
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