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Which SS amps sound like a tube amp?

I'm doing research to find a new amp to replace my Parasound HCA 3500. I'd like the tubey midrange but the virtues of SS in the bass. Biamping is not an option as my rack is quite full. I need at least 200 wpc and want to spend less than 2k used. I'm driving VMPS Supertower/R SE's. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
warnerwh
aball
2,016 posts
 
All of the recent McIntosh, Pass X150, CJ 2300 (and others of that era). I have to say that after listening to the Audio Research 100.2 several times in two systems, I don't think it is very tubey. I was surprised to see it listed here a few times. I may have to give it another try in yet another setup and see if it changed. Arthur
lsilver507
11 posts
 
bel canto get 2 bridged for 240 watts a side 2200.00 i got 1 its unbelieveable
calvineagles
1 posts
 
GO FOR THE CONRAD JOHNSON MF2500A VERSION THIS AMP HAS IT ALL THE BEST OF WHAT TUBES ARE KNOWN FOR AND THE BEST OF WHAT SOLID STATE IS KNOWN FOR I DONT KNOW HOW CJ DID IT, PUT THIS AMP AS A PRIORTY ON YOUR LIST ITLL WIN YOU OVER LIKE IT DID ME.
audiokinesis
2,737 posts
 
Pass Aleph series, Accuphase, Warner Imaging, vintage Jeff Rowland, and GamuT are my nominations for tube-like solid state. I have had all of these in my system at one time or another. I'm a dealer for GamuT, whose coherence is reminiscent of a good single-ended triode amp (they use a single output device in each channel - well, acutally a pair of humongous mosfets in push-pull, but the net result is a single voice rather than a chorus of voices, which is what you get with multiple output transistors no matter how closely matched).

As far as coming up with 200+ tube-like solid state watts for under two grand, well, best o' luck to ya!
carl200
3 posts
 
Tube like transistor amps?

Surely you have to include the Lavardin amps! I have had a listen to one of those. The experience is just out of this world.

It is nothing I have heard before. The sound just flows out of the speakers without any grain or even a hint of an edge.

The ecstatic reviews in HiFI Plus and HIFI news were well deserved. My teenage boys and my wife cannot believe their ears and thought that the amp i was using was the monster Musical fidelity A308 pre/power in the room. They were insistant that I should get one. I would even say that the sound from Lavardin was superior to the A308 pre/power combo. It sure beats krell KAVs and other integrated in that price range.

It must rank as one of the best SS amps ever.

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