What's the best tube sounding solid state amp?

jackman · « **Reply #40 on:** 27 Aug 2003, 06:26 pm »

Jerry,

If the amp in your example is your beautiful (and expensive) ARC monster, I'd suggest getting the cat cryo'd. I understand it helps keep the kitty "frozen" in beautiful shape and will prevent the problem from happening in the future. For a little more money, you can have the cat encased in lucite and used as an anti-vibration device...or large paper weight.

Just kidding, my cat loves to sit near my gear but knows he will get shot with the handy water pistol I always keep close by.

Jman

audiojerry · « **Reply #41 on:** 27 Aug 2003, 06:34 pm »

Curt, thank you for your input and your help in trying to explain things, unlike some others who have run out of patience for those of us who are a bit too dense to understand.

MGDeWulf · « **Reply #42 on:** 27 Aug 2003, 06:56 pm »

Dan:
I recall the article, pretty informative if I remember. Do you remember approximately when it was that I printed it? Or, what the name was. Everything is on computer now, and if I had a key word I could bring it up. Otherwise I have to start looking one issue at a time.

If we can find it, I'll print it here, as long as there seems to be some demand. I don't want to print it here if nobody really cares all that much.

Curt:
I e-mailed you yesterday, did you get it? I'm the guy from Bound for Sound - Marbles sent me. Look forward to your response.

Marty

doug s. · « **Reply #43 on:** 27 Aug 2003, 07:19 pm »

i have heard some good feedback about d.b.'s amps, but, from the tone of his comments, i can only assume they don't output a lot of current. (which may or may not be an issue for some people &/or for some speakers.) otherwise, why the somewhat defensive tone of his posts?

and, i utterly fail to see how any of this could possibly help warnerwh, who simply wanted to know about s/s amps w/a smooth "tubelike" sound. while i would recommend tube amps if ya want tubelike sound,

if, for whatever reason, ya don' wanna mess w/toobs, then give electrocompaniet amps a try. even if they *can* output more current then yure ever gonna need!

doug s.

doug s. · « **Reply #44 on:** 27 Aug 2003, 07:27 pm »

jerry, if yer toob amp dint have any cages, then there'd be no issues w/the cat on top...

jman, i tink i'd be as worried about water from a watergun, as i would be about animal puke on my amps...

doug s.

Curt · « **Reply #45 on:** 27 Aug 2003, 08:13 pm »

Doug,

This is a long thread and while reading through it I saw your questions. I guess my post was trying to answer your amp current question.

I thought we were just talking about gear in general, not any specific company's gear. I now see the thread, changed a bit and was actually started on different topic.

Marty,

Yes, got your e-mail, I'll reply now.

Sa-dono · « **Reply #46 on:** 27 Aug 2003, 08:15 pm »

Hi all! I agree we're getting a little off topic from the original topic. This is all highly interesting though, so if you guys would like to continue this discussion, and please feel free to, maybe one of you can start a new thread. I can split the topic up too, as well, if you all would like. Let me know or start a new thread. Thanks guys!

Marty:
Please do post the article once you find it. I'm sure others besides just me are interested.

warnerwh · « **Reply #47 on:** 27 Aug 2003, 08:18 pm »

Actually my original question for this thread was what SS amps sound like tube amps. The midrange is my main concern. MGDewulf stated in an early post that some SS amps sound more like tube amps. Which ones does everybody know of? I will continue research which of them seems to be good. Also I'm inclined to like an overkill power supply. Amplifier choosing these days has certainly become much more complicated than in the past. Thanks for all the help.

aaird · « **Reply #48 on:** 27 Aug 2003, 09:53 pm »

Getting back to your original question, I would say that I have heard that the AKSA kit amps are reputed to have most all the sonic benefits/character of tube amps, with the power of SS. And, you can build your own power supply, so if you want an oversized trannie and extra caps, there's no reason you couldn't put them in. And all for a great price. I believe that Hugh will actually help you by putting most of the kit together for you, as well.

Andrew

Rocket · « **Reply #49 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 09:47 am »

hi,

the aksa 100 nirvana is a truely great sounding amp with spades of power to run my speakers. the amp in nirvana form certainly is tube like but with the benefits of ss.

you could check out the pass labs aleph 3 but the amp is only 30 watts.

regards

rocket

arthur · « **Reply #50 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 07:12 am »

judging music gear based on any numbers is a very strange concept. it might apply to sonar or dog whistles but not music. we are speaking of art here - since when do any numbers say anything about art?

check out www.odysseyaudio.com (they also have a forum in this site).
many find the Stratos to be an unbeatable value. i own a stereo Stratos which sounds very liquid - it does have a tube like signature. truly an incredible amp for the price. this is one of the very few purchase decisions that I have not second-guessed.

with the Stratos you'll have beautiful music, 10 year peace of mind transferable warranty, and enough money left over to peddle a bit less of your life to your boss.

so many people have said such good things about this amp that it feels a bit repetitive to say anything more about it.

jackman · « **Reply #51 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 12:59 pm »

Quote

check out www.odysseyaudio.com (they also have a forum in this site).
many find the Stratos to be an unbeatable value. i own a stereo Stratos which sounds very liquid - it does have a tube like signature. truly an incredible amp for the price. this is one of the very few purchase decisions that I have not second-guessed.

Arthur,
I agree the only way to judge an amp is by listening to it. I also agree the Stratos is a great value, but I would NEVER confuse its sound with that of a good tube amp. Not saying a tube amp is better, just different. Have you ever compared the Stratos to a tube amp or any other amp for that matter? I'm not talking about taking measurements or anything, just listening. The Stratos sounds like a solid-state amp. Not a bad thing, just not an amp I would recommend to someone looking for a tube-like amp.

It's good that you are happy with your purchase. Many people who own the Stratus are happy with them and Odyssey offers first class customer service, however, I do not think someone looking for a tube-like amp will be happy with the Stratos.

J

PS: Edit - Primare is very warm and tube sounding gear. I have tried the integrated listed on Audiogon and was very impressed:

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstran&1067196725

rkapadia@ROOP · « **Reply #52 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 04:34 pm »

I respect the Odyssey amplfiers, and think they're a solid solution for the price. However, I also would hesitate to identify them as tube-like. In my experience, they correctly exemplify a well-executed SS solution, and have less grain versus most SS amps out there. This shouldn't be mistaken for tube like qualities.

Also, you may want to add Ayre to your list of equipment to check out. And the Aleph 0's or 2's (forget which) are 100 wpc, with excellent current delivery - it's one of those cases where the amps sound quite a bit louder than 100 wpc.

Kind Regards,

Rupesh

Carlman · « **Reply #53 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 04:56 pm »

Another vote for the AKSA... however, tube-like isn't my first choice of description... it's more nothing-like. Compared to the Odyssey, I guess it's tube-like in that it doesn't have a signature. It doesn't sound like tube or SS to me, it sounds completely uncolored. I have a tube preamp, SS DAC, and Revel F30 speakers. I'm happy with the great match.

The AKSA doesn't meet your original power requirements and it's not perfect for all speakers. Plus, it's tough to find an audition. Plus, even if Hugh builds some part of it, you still have a lot of custom work to do. (If you like that kind of thing like me, you're in luck, if not, another strike against the AKSA.)

I was originally looking into the Pass Aleph and Threshold Stasis amps which brought me to Hugh's products. Actually, Rod (Rocket) helped as well. However, after reading Hugh's design philosophy and the background of the design, I was sold. The AKSA is a high-current, very fast amp that delivers as fast as it can suck power out of your wall. A good power source is mandatory to hear the sonic benefits of the AKSA.

Good luck with your quest.

bwkendall · « **Reply #54 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 05:10 pm »

Here, let me save you a bunch of money. Try a Parasound HCA-1000A for $650 at www.AudioAdvisor.com. 125 wpc at 8 ohms, 200 wpc at 4 ohms, mono 300 w. Best of all, you have 45 amps per channel driving it. Excellent warranty, a John Curl design. I know I enjoy mine to no end.

Go check out the specs on that amp. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

bboplive · « **Reply #55 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 06:43 pm »

What's the best 'tube sounding' solid state amp for driving a VMPS RM-40 loudspeaker? I would like recommendations on SS amps that have a liquid smooth midrange that have enough power to drive an RM40. Thanks.

Raj · « **Reply #56 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 06:58 pm »

Quote from: bwkendall

Here, let me save you a bunch of money. Try a Parasound HCA-1000A for $650 at www.AudioAdvisor.com. 125 wpc at 8 ohms, 200 wpc at 4 ohms, mono 300 w. Best of all, you have 45 amps per channel driving it. Excellent warranty, a John Curl design. I know I enjoy mine to no end.

Go check out the specs on that amp. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Not questioning this particular amp but manufacturer claims in general...

I'd like to read an opinion by someone who actually understands how amps work.

I was wondering if a 785va torroid as used in the amp above can really provide that sort of current even for short peaks?

Or does the current become amplified by the output devices to 45 amps, regardless of the overall capablities of the reservoir caps and torroid?

Thanks
Raja

Raj · « **Reply #57 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 07:02 pm »

Ah seen my mistake the torroid has 2 secondaries one for each channel which can provide a 20 amp peak to each channel respectivley.............

Out of interest I have a 250 watt amp powered by a 500w torroid for each channel (don't know how much VA that equates to), and I do remember that when I first built it, it was fused with 5 amp fuses, which blew on bass heavy music when I cranked the volume up a bit. However I've replaced this with larger slow blow fuses perhaps 6amps but certainly no more than 10 amps, and thy've never blown. So there certainly is some truth in Dan's posts, although he was aggressive in his statement. I think Dan has worked quite hard to alert a lot of us in this forum about some of the lies within the audio field, and I suppose he's gotten tired of repeating himself...........

However I think as some of us (myself incleuded) are forgetful, new to the forum or just uncapable of remaining alert of such hype for the long term, we need to be re educated periodically, which does require some patience on the part of the audio guru......... I'll have to say that the best person I've come accross for that on this forum (even though I own none of his amps) is Hugh Dean.

Thanks
Raja

bboplive · « **Reply #58 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 07:17 pm »

This may help:

BFS' running subjective list of amps include the following:

1) Clayton M-100 mono amp $6,500.00
2) Edge M8 stereo amp $5,000.00
3) Monarchy SE 160 hyrid mono amps $2,000.00
4) Naked Truth Audio Calla mono amps $5,000.00/pr
5) McCormack DNA 225 stereo amp $2,800.00
6) Aloia ST 13.0 stereo amp $4,000.00
7) SimAudio Moon W-3 stereo amp $3,195.00
8) ME Sound 550 (high cap) stereo amp $1,715.00
9) Belles Power Modules 350A stereo amp $3,500.00
10) Monarchy SM-70 Pro mono amps $980.00

you can probably add the more recently reviewed Pass X250 in here somewhere @ $6,000.00

rkapadia@ROOP · « **Reply #59 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 07:51 pm »

bbop - You may want to consider posting a new thread for your inquiry.

Regards,

Rup