"Warm Sounding" Solid State Amplifiers

Quite the discussion I have sparked!

I'm looking at a budget of around $2000 CDN but if I find a smoking hot deal on a Pass Labs piece I could see myself breaking the bank perhaps up to $4000 or so.

My speakers are Monitor Audio RX6's and before those I had some Axiom M80's. I replaced my Bryston 7B SST2's with the NAD C355bee but I still use my BP25 as a preamp. My transport is a Cambridge 751BD and my DAC is a Bryston BDA-1.

The reason for switching up my amps and speakers was because I moved across the country and downsizing was ultimately inevitable- though I quite welcomed the opportunity to try something different.

I absolutely love the RX6's and for that reason I can see myself moving further up the line to the Gold GX300's in the somewhat near future. So, I should definitely take that into consideration when selecting an amp. Thanks for all the feedback!

I've owned a Perreaux 2150B and several Acoustat TNT200 and 120. All pure mosfet so I have some insight into the warm/tubey/mosfet sound and imo it's nothing more than a softening of leading edge transients. In effect resulting in what to me sounds like a bit of IMD or TIM. Imo BJTs sound better because they're effectively faster even though the device itself may not be. Whether this is deliberate or not, I don't know but I find BJTs to have better, more refined low level resolution. I think once you reach a sufficiently high level of fidelity, the novelty effects disappear as a matter of course. If the goal is reproduction of the signal, then the last thing you want is to be able to pinpoint the topology of the amp, no?

What is LSR&D ? I have to agree with Ralph that live unamplified music does have warmth.Depends on variables,as to the degree of warmth.I do love harmonics as well.I don't give a hoot as long as it sounds good. If loving you is wrong,,,I dont wanna be right,,,

Pontifex,I like your speakers,from what I remember going up to the Golds you will have more detail and treble will be extended,so an amp with a bit of warmth may be just what the doctor ordered . At your budget,you have some great choices,that should keep you happy for a long time.As I said ,i am still kicking myself for selling my Conrad Johnson SS amp,it did the 3-D ,depth,room filling soundstage,and warmth like no other amp i have had.It is like you can reach out and touch the notes as they float in the air around you.Only time I've had that silly happy grin. I may get one of the newer SS amps they came out with,when budget allows.Whatever you decide ,I hope it makes listening a joy.

A lot of musical instruments produce music in the 100-300 hz range or so typically identified as the general range for "warmth" so it is not a surprise to hear that in live music or in a good hifi reproduction. The devil is all in the details. Some music may have little or no warmth at all and that is perfectly natural.