Tube guy wanting to try SS amp?!?

khill · « **on:** 26 Oct 2019, 10:41 pm »

Okay, I am a tube guy and have never delved into the SS realm?!? Want to spend 1-2k on something. My current systems are as follows.

System 1
Inspire Fire Bottle SEP
Inspire LP pre
Border Patrol SE DAC
Auralic Aries Mini
Tekton Double Impacts

System 2
PrimaLuna Prologue Classic
Chord EX
Mac Mini/Roon Core
Tekton Perfect SET

I don’t know if I should just get a stereo amp and pair with the Inspire tube front end or an integrated?!?

Open to suggestions. Okay with new or used suggestions. Both of these speakers are very efficient so Class A would be fine.

Help a brother out!

Thanks 😊

Tyson · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Oct 2019, 11:30 pm »

As a tube lover, my first choice would be a First Watt - you can find them used from Pass in your price range, or some people will build one out for you (they are DIY after the initial run of the design sells out).

After that I'd recommend Odyssey for Class A-A/B amps, or Digital Audio Company (DAC) here on AC for class D amps.

ssglx · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Oct 2019, 11:39 pm »

Monarchy SM-70. Punchy, tonally rich, and transparent. Save some coin.

I.Greyhound Fan · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 Oct 2019, 11:43 pm »

Tube front end with SS amp. Thats what I use, a little of both worlds. May want to consider an Odyssea or Van Alstine SET 400 amp.
The PSA Stellar M700 mono's sound great. Just had a pair for trial.

RDavidson · « **Reply #4 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 12:58 am »

Quote from: Tyson on 26 Oct 2019, 11:30 pm

As a tube lover, my first choice would be a First Watt - you can find them used from Pass in your price range, or some people will build one out for you (they are DIY after the initial run of the design sells out).

After that I'd recommend Odyssey for Class A-A/B amps, or Digital Audio Company (DAC) here on AC for class D amps.

Some Pass and First Watt models have more of a "tube like" harmonic character than others. I'm a fan. Definitely do your research. The hot ticket SS class A amp of the moment is probably the Schiit Aegir. I haven't heard one myself, but apparently it is quite good. In your budget you could get a pair and run monoblocks.

witchdoctor · « **Reply #5 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 02:12 am »

If you are already a tube guy DON'T get a solid state amp trying to be a tube amp. Get a solid state amp with some BALLS instead. You cannot go wrong with Parasound as a classic solid state amp with a solid state sound. Just ask George Lucas (Parasound is listed in the credits of some of the star war movies). Also Van Alstine here on AC seems to be getting a lot of praise. Audio Advisor is a parasound dealer and has a 30 day return policy:

https://www.audioadvisor.com/ssearch.asp?txtsearch=parasound

planet10 · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 03:58 am »

I’ll add my support of a FirstWatt amp (or one of Nelson’s diy amps or those inspired by them). The Monarchy is also good, and that also suggests other class A amps like the JHL, Hiraga, or Sudden for instance), and i strongly suspect that the Shitt Aedir is going to prove to be a real killer.

A Nelson Pass amp has ledt my many tube amps sitting unused.

dave

hdspeakerman · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 04:24 am »

I am not going to try to talk you in to buying one but I recommend that you listen to a solid state McIntosh before you buy an amp. They last a long time and have a tube like quality. I have owned one for 44 years. Use with a tube pre amp can be very special.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 07:14 am »

Quote from: ssglx on 26 Oct 2019, 11:39 pm

Monarchy SM-70. Punchy, tonally rich, and transparent. Save some coin.

+1. Thanks for inform.
Iam impressed with this amp, seems a great value amp at $980 cheaper than any First Watt, by what I could see the SM70mk2 is a Single Ended Mosfet 25W 8ohms which fit perfectly to hi sensitivity speaker since they are 8 ohms, without the expense to retube or tube rolling.
The SM70-PRO are same power but with two Mosfet pairs per channel at a higher price $1179, but 4 ohms capable.
http://www.monarchy-audio.com/SM70_MK2_Main_Frame.htm

veloceleste · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 10:14 am »

Quote from: I.Greyhound Fan on 26 Oct 2019, 11:43 pm

Tube front end with SS amp. Thats what I use, a little of both worlds. May want to consider an Odyssea or Van Alstine SET 400 amp.
The PSA Stellar M700 mono's sound great. Just had a pair for trial.

I also like and use a tube preamp paired with a solid state amp. Linear Tune Audio/Bryston here. Sounds fantastic. I'm also a Bryston fan. Their SST2 and Cubed amps are very neutral, quiet and revealing as well as reliable.

timind · « **Reply #10 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 11:44 am »

I agree with Witchdoctor on this one. If you're going to try solid state, get a good ss amp that doesn't try to emulate tubes.

rodge827 · « **Reply #11 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 01:14 pm »

My Digital Amplifier Company (DAC) Stereo Maraschino (STM) gives my ANK 8w 300b Interstage Monos a run for sure. A different presentation but very enjoyable to listen to.
Hope you find what your looking for.

Chris

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #12 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 01:28 pm »

Quote from: timind on 27 Oct 2019, 11:44 am

I agree with Witchdoctor on this one. If you're going to try solid state, get a good ss amp that doesn't try to emulate tubes.

When SS amps are SE its easy to voice them to emulate tube amps.

avta · « **Reply #13 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 02:38 pm »

If you're up for an all-in-one unit I can recommend the Nuprime IDA 8. https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/ida-8/?v=7516fd43adaa

RonN5 · « **Reply #14 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 03:28 pm »

Obviously, anyone posting here will be recommending an amp that they probably own and that sounds good in their system...and may or may not sound good to you in your system....I am about to do the same....

I think you will find that any/all of the Cherry Amps from Digital Amplifier Company will give you very much of a tube like sound but with greater clarity, greater detail and greater authority...check the reviews, they will give you a good sense of what you might expect....and they have a 30 day home trial....and you can't be sure until you try a different amp in your system.

Some of the other amps suggested above can not be as easily trialed and some of them will cost a lot of money to return if you don't like them because of the weight. All but one of the Cherry amps are very light and if you return them, I'm guessing the return cost will be in the $35 arena...and probably less....but I'm pretty sure that if you try a Cherry...it won't be going back.

Good luck.

Jaytor · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 04:08 pm »

You might consider one of the Schiit amps, particularly the Aegir since you've got fairly efficient speakers. I haven't heard it, but it is getting good reviews and I've been very impressed with the SQ from the Schiit products I own/have owned. I no longer own it, but the Freya preamp sounds amazing for its price. I still own and am very happy with my Schiit Yggdrasil DAC.

The Aegir is designed to run as a monoblock, but requires a balanced preamp to do so, which I don't think yours is. Also, if your Tektons are 4 ohm rated, running them in mono would be a pretty low impedance. I believe I read about someone else running them bridged on a 4-ohm load with no problems, but they probably won't deliver the full potential into this kind of load. However, I suspect you could get plenty of volume from just one.

I'd also second witchdoctor's recommendation of Parasound. I own a JC-5 which I'm thrilled with. I bought this because Parasound has a long history of providing excellent value and solid reliability. The A21 is a solid performer and is readily available on the used market for under $2K. If you want to buy new, the A23+ is in the middle of your price range.

Brettio · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 04:48 pm »

I echo Witchdoctor’s comment on not trying to emulate tube sound with a SS system.

+1 on the Odyssey option. High quality/high value equipment and if advice, upgrades, or repair (

) are needed then Klaus is a phone call away.

Brett

genjamon · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 04:49 pm »

I used a Line Magnetic 845 based tube amp as primary amp for several years. Top quality tubes all around. I felt the need for SS for summer months and now that I have a young child, finger safety as well. I have tried First Watt F7, Mivera Purepower SE (using the latest icepower class d), and Odyssey Kismet stereo with full upgrades. These were all paired with a Don Sachs tube preamp.

I sold the First Watt and Mivera, and am keeping the Odyssey, with one caveat.

Reasoning: none of these SS amps is bright. The First Watt and Mivera were both squeaky clean and resolving, but ultimately too lean for my tastes. The Odyssey is not as lean, and also has a tremendously deep soundstage in comparison. A little more laid back in presentation, but with a ton of guts. The other two had a more up-front and forward presentation in my system. I prefer the Odyssey.

Caveat: the Odyssey has a 22kohm input impedance, which may make pairing with a tube preamp (Which tend to have higher output impedances) problematic - it may roll off your lower frequencies, depending on the output impedance/output cap size of your tube pre. I’m currently trying to find a solution for my Don Sachs. I recently upgraded the output caps to Miflex copper foils, but the largest size that would fit in the preamp’s chassis was a 1.5uF. If you run an output cap calculator into a 22kohm load, you’ll find it starts rolling off below about 45-50hz. The Miflex clarity is awesome, but I’m not sure I can live with that roll off long-term, even with a subwoofer supplementing below the roll off point with the main speakers.

Anyway, I’m an Odyssey fan, and you’ll find the Kismet stereo amps can be found used somewhat regularly in your price range. But unfortunately they are a bit sensitive to tube preamp pairing. Of course, if you were open to their Candela pre as well, you’d have no worries.

I haven’t heard the Schiit Aegir, but thought I had read an impression of someone comparing to a Kismet and the Kismet came out on top. Sorry I don’t have time to find that reference.

Good luck!

planet10 · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 05:22 pm »

Quote from: Jaytor on 27 Oct 2019, 04:08 pm

The Aegir is designed to run as a monoblock, but requires a balanced preamp to do so, which I don't think yours is.

I suspect as well as running in bridged mode, which requires a balanced output from the preamp to drive both channels with the same, but out of phase, signal. But i suspect, just like the Pass ACA (an incredible small SE amp for next to no $$$) that bridges in the same manner, the Aegir could likely be wired to run in parallel.

Balanced operation doubles the output impedance and each channel sees half the load (so for an 8Ω load, each channel sees 4Ω). Parallel operation halves the output impedance and can drive lower impedance speakers.

The output impedance of Aegir is low to start with so the output impedance may not be an issue, but it can be with the ACAs. The ability to properly drive the load is important.

dave

RonN5 · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Oct 2019, 06:42 pm »

Also, I forgot to mention that some companies also have a restocking fee in addition to the return freight.