[AliG]

Belles 350 Ref may well fit your taste AND budget  aa

[Larkston Zinaspic]

I was considering the Wyred monos at one time, but anyone I've asked about them have mentioned "thin and bright" somewhere, and that is the last thing I need. The OP's description of the RM200 reminds me of my B&K amp somewhat.

I have had an Odyssey amp for awhile now, that I could describe succinctly as punchy, vivid, and edgy, but not "rolled off" anywhere, and certainly no loss of detail in the least.

If I had the money I'd probably be lusting after the AVA Fet Valve Ultra 550 right now...I'm not sure what else has taken so long.

[doug s.]

i would second the recommendation to go w/a solid state amp on the bottom & a tube amp on top.  w/x-over at 580hz (according to dali), that would work great, imo.  and, your choice of tube amps would go way up - w/sensitivity of 89.5db/1w, you could get away with even as low as 50w (or less?) on the tubes, as long as the amp is ok w/4ohm load. 

for a great all-around tube amp, it's hard to beat a mesa baron, imo, especially if you want to tailor the sound to match speakers.  you can run it full triode at 55wpc, or full pentode at 150wpc.  or 1/3-2/3 favoring one or the other, for 85 or 120wpc.  on top of that, you can set negative feedback for 0, -2db, -4db, or -8db.  and, it will do a decent job on the bass, if you do not want to bi-amp.  if you are patient, you will find a nice one used for $2000-$2500...  the baron is a wery neutral amp that can be tuned to be tighter or "tubier", depending on setting/speaker.  ie: full triode w/0db feedback will be warmer on more demanding load speakers.

for solid state, i would check out electrocompaniet, but only if not wanting to bi-amp - i cannot see spending big money an any s/s amp if you are gonna be using it for low frequencies only - too many inexpensive amps that can do monster bass... (but, used, ec amps are a great deal, imo, for solid state amps.)  i use my ec amps for subwoofers, but that's cuz  i awreddy had 'em, when they got replaced w/tubes for the main speakers.   

i am presently getting excellent results w/an under $200 rawsonte gainclone amp on the 15" fostex drivers running from ~70hz to ~250hz in my tri-amped horn system....  of course, w/your speakers, you will need a lot more grunt than what this tiny gainclone puts out, feeding 99db/1w drivers.  but you get the idea - a few hundred dollars on a good grunty (pro audio, for example) solid state amp for the low end, & a nice tube amp on top.  you may find your rm200 is perfect, w/o even needing to change it!   

doug s.

last note - i yust checked the website of the wyred4sound amps; why not try bi-amping w/that amp on the dali's woofers & the rm200 on top?  depending on gain of the amps, you will likely have to put an attenuator on the most sensitive amp, to reduce its gain to match the other amp...  but, it's cheap & easy, & you awreddy have the amps...

[mca]

I really would like to keep things simple and go with just one amp. I also would like to be able to get a sound I like without having to use a tube amp. Now that my amp is doing double duty for music and HT, I just don't want to deal with the hassle.

I am hoping the combination of either a Pass X250.5 or McCormack DNA500 mated with my SWL 9.0 Signature will get me there.

If anyone has heard the Pass amp, please chime in!

[doug s.]

imho, it is not physically possible to get the best sound w/o tubed amplification.     you may be able to get sound "you like" w/solid state, but it will be a noticeable step backwards, imo.  if you can live w/it, that's your choice.

i have never heard pass amps, but from what folks say about them, it may be an acceptable substitute for those who prefer tubes.  and, electrocompaniet, as i have awreddy mentioned, makes fine amps that have satisfied many tube heads...

best,

doug s.

[rydenfan]

I really would like to keep things simple and go with just one amp. I also would like to be able to get a sound I like without having to use a tube amp. Now that my amp is doing double duty for music and HT, I just don't want to deal with the hassle.

I am hoping the combination of either a Pass X250.5 or McCormack DNA500 mated with my SWL 9.0 Signature will get me there.

If anyone has heard the Pass amp, please chime in!

I have personally mated Dali speakers, Modwright pre, and the McCormack DNA-500. I can very highly recommend that amp with your setup.

[WGH]

I am hoping the combination of either a Pass X250.5 or McCormack DNA500 mated with my SWL 9.0 Signature will get me there.

If anyone has heard the Pass amp, please chime in!

You should ping Big Red Machine, he picked up a Pass X350.5 this spring.
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=51727.msg470372#msg470372

[Thebiker]

Now a word from a confirmed tube-head:   Yes, this is my disclaimer.

Have you considered a Cary 120S.  It is a KT88 based stereo amp with 4 KT88's per side and puts out 120 watts per side in the ultralinear mode and 60 per side when switched to triode mode.  It is switchable on the fly (yes turn down the volume first for safety).  It is balanced as well as single ended and it sounds awesome .  I have heard it only once in a high end dealer's sound room, but since I already own Cary products and it was the middle of the day (read slow) the manager trotted out all the music that I could want.  It did it all extremely well and I heard nothing that I didn't like.  Allison Kraus played back in the triode mode is incredible as are all acoustic instruments.

I believe the MSRP on this piece is around $5k new, but I recently saw one on Audiogon for $3300.

Well, good luck with your search.

Walt

[mca]

WGH,

Thanks for the link to that thread. I did a search for Pass amps but did not find this one. I hope BRM will chime in with his thoughts now that he has had the pass for awhile.


biker,

If I were to stay with tubes, that Cary would be one of the amps I would be very interested in!

[woodsyi]

I really would like to keep things simple and go with just one amp. I also would like to be able to get a sound I like without having to use a tube amp. Now that my amp is doing double duty for music and HT, I just don't want to deal with the hassle.

I am hoping the combination of either a Pass X250.5 or McCormack DNA500 mated with my SWL 9.0 Signature will get me there.

If anyone has heard the Pass amp, please chime in!

With sensitivity of 89.5 on your speakers, how many watts are you looking for?  I started playing with Accuphase A20s on my ribbons.  There definitely are more details up top (often superfluous) but that comes with a bit of etched sound and increased sibilance.  It's a lot better than other ss amps from class AB to switching that I have tried but still there.  Really, it is going to be a matter of taste.  You pick what you like.  I would like to see you try the Pass XA series (maybe XA100?) on your Halycons.  I think that could be good.

[DTB300]

My price range is about 4k but I would be willing to spend a little more if it gets me closer to what I'm searching for. No other factors just as long as it's not some design that uses 20 tubes per side or something crazy like that.

If looking for SS, and you want something can be switched by the user from A/B to A, look for some used Plinius SA-102 or SA-103's.  Generally around $2.5 to $3.5k in price. 

If looking for something just to push high end I have a friend using the Pass Labs Aelph3 along with a Plinius SA-50 MkIII for midrange in his Tri-Amp setup. 

[woodsyi]

My price range is about 4k but I would be willing to spend a little more if it gets me closer to what I'm searching for. No other factors just as long as it's not some design that uses 20 tubes per side or something crazy like that.

If looking for SS, and you want something can be switched by the user from A/B to A, look for some used Plinius SA-102 or SA-103's.  Generally around $2.5 to $3.5k in price.

Hey Dan,

I was thinking about your Plinius the other day.  I would like to try them too.   

[DTB300]

Hey Dan,

I was thinking about your Plinius the other day.  I would like to try them too.   

I love the ability to switch between A/B and A and have the "heat" and great sound when i want it.

You should also look at the Pass Labs Aelph for your high end.

[zybar]

WGH,

Thanks for the link to that thread. I did a search for Pass amps but did not find this one. I hope BRM will chime in with his thoughts now that he has had the pass for awhile.


biker,

If I were to stay with tubes, that Cary would be one of the amps I would be very interested in!

Mike,

I have a possible lower cost alternative that gives you killer performance for the money - shoot me a PM.

George

[kbuzz3]

My price range is about 4k but I would be willing to spend a little more if it gets me closer to what I'm searching for. No other factors just as long as it's not some design that uses 20 tubes per side or something crazy like that.

Hi Mike,

For exactly $4k (unless Paul raised his price) - you can get SST-225 from Tube Research Labs and according to Paul it sounds better than his Tube amps that have 20 tubes per side and cost tens of thousands of $.

This is one of the best amps there is and will drive anything ...

http://tuberesearchlabs.com/contactus.htm

Give Paul a call ....

Cheers
Sunil.

im curious about this one....

[RPM123]

I  own the Dali Helicon 400's and have tried them with the H20 Audio Signature amp, Butler Audio TDB 2250 and the latest "electrostatic" amp from Sanders Audio. I thought the H20 sounded OK, but compared to the Butler, it was very sluggish in the bass and somewhat "dark" sounding. I subsequently purchased the Butler amp after an audition, which I used for about 2 1/2 years, then purchased the Sanders amp. (I just learned that there is an upgrade for the Butler that improves the bass response and it is a "steal" used!) This is also an excellent sounding amp, it will drive just about anything and it sounds very neutral. You are supposed to leave it on all of the time as it only consumes about 6 watts at idle and it runs very cool. Roger Sanders white paper on amps and cables make for an very interesting read. Retail is $4k from Sanders or Norvinz and comes with a 30 day money back audition. There is a review of the amp on "EnjoytheMusic.com". Sanders cables are also very good and very cheap as well.

Glenn

[mca]

Well the Pass amp is out the window, I just checked the website and the thing is huge! Way too big for my space. This of course is after I found one for a killer price 

I did just find a local pair of CIA D-200 amps for what seems to be a very good price, I wonder how they would fare 

[Zero]

RPM123,

Wow, I'm quite surprised to read that you encountered sluggish bass with an H2O amp - especially in direct comparison with a hybrid like the Butler. While I admit to not being a big fan of Henry's Signature 250 amplifier, my reasons certainly do not include bass control. In fact, that was the one thing the amp did exceptionally well. Please note that I am in no way casting doubt over what you reported to hear. In fact, your post serves as a humble reminder that sometime, somewhere, someone using a piece of gear you are familiar with will encounter polar opposite results.

Cheers.

[doug s.]

Well the Pass amp is out the window, I just checked the website and the thing is huge! Way too big for my space. This of course is after I found one for a killer price 

I did just find a local pair of CIA D-200 amps for what seems to be a very good price, I wonder how they would fare 

aren't the cia amps digital amps?  if you want nice smooth sounding class-a amps that do not take up a lot of room, check out electrocompaniet...

doug s.

[woodsyi]

After leaving the amp on all day, Accuphase A20 (class A) has warmed up quiet a bit.     It looks like a Mac with the analogue meters.