Fet valve or omegastar solid state?

IanATC · « **on:** 25 Dec 2003, 08:24 am »

For sheer speed, impact and extension, which lineup would be better?

For my purposes, all tube devices such as cary, manley, ear etc all seem to slow, rolled or euphonic to me compared to good ss. That is just my preference, on my speakers YMMV.
Were I to purchase one or the other, which (FET or Omegastar) is truly the most accurate, airy and detailed? This goes for amp and preamp.

Thanks...

jackman · « **Reply #1 on:** 25 Dec 2003, 03:54 pm »

I have listened to both the Fetvalve and the Omegastar and really liked them both. The Fetvalve HC was my old model (pre-power supply/EX/new tubes upgrades) and the Omegastar was a year old (but current) model. At the time, the Omegastar sounded very close but I liked the Fetvalve slightly more (plus I owned it and didn't think it was worth it to sell mine for performance that was very close).

After getting the Fetvalve upgraded to EX and getting the power supply upgrade, I think the Fetvalve would easily best the OMegastar. DOn't get me wrong, the OMegastar is no slouch, but the Fetvalve is so smooth and detailed with very powerful bass. Although it has tubes it does not sound like a traditional tube amp. The highs and mids are detailed and uncoloured and the bass is raw power. Most tube amps I have tried (and I like tube amps) have been a bit sluggish in the bass department and slightly colored (in a good way) in the highs. This is not the case with the new Fetvalve EXR.

J

Tyson · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Dec 2003, 04:40 am »

I have the omegastar in my HT, and the FetValve in my 2 channel setup. IMO, the FetValve is just a better sounding amp, more impact, more dynamics, better transparency, and smoother. Not that the Omegastar is a bad amp, far from it. My omegastar started out as an Omega III (the prior model), and the Omega III was so good I sold my Odyssey Stratos amps after hearing it. The Omegastar is certainly a big step up over the Omega III in detail, impact, and speed. But the FetValve is truly something special, able to match amps that cost more than it's 2 grand price.

avahifi_lj · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Dec 2003, 06:50 pm »

Hi:

We recently upgraded the OmegaStar power amps to the OmegaStar EX. The "EX" circuits for the OmegaStar were developed from the output circuits used in the FetValve EXr amplifiers. With the new EX upgrade the OmegaStar has improved definition and better dynamics than any of the previous solid state amps. The FetValve EXr still has the edge on transparency and refinements, but the OmegaStar is very very nice. Considering that the first generation OmegaStar outperformed the original FetValve and the FetVavle HC series the OmegaStar EX really shines...

Larry