[rollo]

 looking for a warm or dark sounding SS Amp. Maybe even a bit rolled off at the top. They will be matched with Quad 63 speakers with a Digital front end.

 Candidates so far; Parasound HaloA21, Mac Intosh 402, CJ 350.


charles

[werd]

trying listening to any Blue circle amps.

[NagysAudio]

So what you're asking for is something broken??

[Wind Chaser]

Classe DR2 (if you can find one).

[macrojack]

Charles - How much power can you actually use with QUAD 63 speakers? I would look for an older Rowland amp like a Model 2 or a 112 or a Concentra integrated if you don't already have your preamp lined up. I'm not sure you would call Rowland stuff dark but it is certainly warm and very stable. And balanced and pretty and reliable and high resale. You don't want ICE.

[CSI]

Try an Odyssey Khartago. The over all balance is to the warm side. Highs are not rolled off but definitely not in your face. I would add that, if you buy it new, Klaus will tweak it for you to match your speakers and taste. Klaus really does not like to sell you gear without having spoken with you to discuss your system and find out what you are trying to accomplish.

[mfsoa]

IIRC the Korato amps (AC member bpape is the importer, again IIRC) were known to have that flavor.

-Mike

[Yikes]

I was having a Senior moment. I sat here for almost ten minutes and for the life of me I couldn't remember what I drove my ESL-63's with. I know I used a Sonic Frontiers Power Two tube amp to some sucess, finally it came to me. I really enjoyed using a Pass Labs Aleph 3, any of the Aleph series amps would work well. Still IMO the best products Pass produced. Something about their Single Ended Class A sound was very special.

[roscoeiii]

I believe AC user Mister Pig was selling some Rowland gear, a while back. Not sure if it sold, but he could at the very least speak to its sound.

[Nuance]

So what you're asking for is something broken??

LMAO!

[Big Red Machine]

25 years ago I owned Haflers and in recent years re-owned a few.  I found them to have exaggerated midrange and bloated bass with rolled off highs.  Back in the day they were the shiznit, but now they don't cut the mustard.  Pretty much the only SS amp I ever owned that could be put in the category of "dark", if dark means rolled off top end, that is.

[Rocket_Ronny]

As WindChaser said, Classe DR2.

An almost exact sound is the John Iverson Eagle 7A. I owned both and they sounded almost identical. Only you had to have two DR2s strapped in mono to equal the authority of Eagle.

Rocket_long past dark amps_Ronny

[TONEPUB]

looking for a warm or dark sounding SS Amp. Maybe even a bit rolled off at the top. They will be matched with Quad 63 speakers with a Digital front end.

 Candidates so far; Parasound HaloA21, Mac Intosh 402, CJ 350.


charles

All of those amps are way overkill for a set of quads.  The Premier 350 is definitely NOT dark sounding and will fry those things faster than you'll know what hit you.

I'd suggest the Nelson Pass F4.  20 wpc, single ended class A.  Works great on Quads.  Also an older Pass Aleph (I think the 5 is 30wpc).  The small Clayton amp is 50wpc, also nice match with Quads.  The 350 will sound great, but you'll always be in fear of blowing the speakers because it has so much juice.

[macrojack]

Aleph Os, Aleph 3 and Aleph 30 are all 30 watters. I don't remember the 5 because I never owned one and my memory is not only broken in but broken down. I remember the first 3 I listed because I have owned them all. Jeff's right that they would be among your best choices for those QUADs.
Woodsyi has an Accuphase A-20 that would probably do well also. Why are you asking for dark sounding? BEL 1001 and Forte 4 are a couple of other possibilities. Sugden might be of interest too.

[*Scotty*]

Rollo, does your set of QUADs have the crowbar protection circuitry in it. I remember reading a review of the 63 when it came out and the article mentioned that the speaker protected itself from excess power input by shorting the amplifier directly to ground. If the speaker still has this protection scheme you will need an amplifier that can tolerate driving a dead short.
Scotty

[mdonohue]

I used to have an Audio Research D240 stereo amplifier that sounded great
with my Martin Logan Quests. But when I changed to VMPS RM2's, the
sound was darker. A tech from Audio Research told me on the phone that
they tried for a dark sound to emulate tubes in a solid state design.

[jtwrace]

I'd suggest the Nelson Pass F4.  20 wpc, single ended class A.  Works great on Quads.  Also an older Pass Aleph (I think the 5 is 30wpc).  The small Clayton amp is 50wpc, also nice match with Quads. 

Great recommendations!  The Pass Aleph 30 is also a great little amp. 

[lonewolfny42]

Bedini BA-801.....



70 watts/Class A....warm and smooth...

[Wind Chaser]

Great recommendations!  The Pass Aleph 30 is also a great little amp.

It's certainly not the darkest of dark amps, far from it, but it is a very nice amp.  Owned one for a few years.

[Wind Chaser]

Don't know if a gainclone can drive stats, doubt it, but from my experience they offer very nice warm sound on the cheap.