first of all I like tubes! Yet years back I went the solid state route with the grand idea of using Maggies. They wouldn't fit inside the room very well, so the amps just sat there in the boxes. Fast forward a couple years, and the tube amp is developing some issues. I called Mr. Bunge about a "tune up" before installing them, as I bought them used. He did exactly as I asked him to do, and met me at work to deliver them. A year or so later they got fried in an electrical storm. He wanted to repair them as a warranty thing, but I said no as it wasn't his fault. We worked out a deal for another upgrade and some cables. Mine are what was called the "glass ceiling" version (actually the first). They sound nothing like the Extremes, but something on a much higher level. You will have a hard time over driving them! I can't!! Yet they are also very smooth, and somewhat tube like.
Break in time is a killer with these amps. Plan of 400+ hours, but they'll sound nice after about fifty hours. They just seem to get better. They don't seem to be bothered by impedence loads. Be it 16 Ohm or 2 Ohm. To be exact they are stable in a one Ohm load forever. They don't get hot. Forget about that power rating, as it means nothing. I think he rates them at 180 watts into eight Ohms. Trust me it's closer to three hundred. They'll do 900 watts in a one Ohm load all day long if you can stand music that loud! I have a record that has a bad reputation for cooking amps and speakers (six or seven so far plus seven or eight speakers). Those amps simply cruise thru the LP like it was a CD.
What I don't like about them! I hate the rear mounted power switch. At 75lb. each; you best have a pair of good amp stands!
What I like about them:
* build quality is outstanding, and Bunge stands behind his work.
* sound quality is somewhat tube like, but mine have always had a tube preamp in front of them. These amps are at their best with a tube preamp in my book.
* sound is pretty detailed, but not too technical. In otherwords very analog
* If your listening to anything from Miles davis to Ray Wylie Hubbard; you can't do much better. Jazz trios really shine with proper spacing and the bass is right.
* most solid state amps I've listened to have a slight tendency to be bright, and if not bright then grainy. These amps are almost tube like. Very smooth, but honestly they
are not Conrad Johnson ST140's. I rate them better than Accuphase, Classe, and similar to Sonic Frontiers but with five times the power. Would I buy the glass ceiling
amps again? Probably not! I'd buy the Khartago SE mono blocs. If for no other reason than the weight and size alone. Plus I just don't see a need for that kind of power
in my old age
gary
