Amp w/s Outstanding Midrange

Don't you hate it when a dealer posts that the amp he sells "blows everything else away"? Well, I hope this won't come across like that. The truth is, midrange is what I prize most, so I've selected my line-up accordingly. But I'll also mention some excellent amps I don't sell. Note that I haven't heard everything out there, of course.

How about first we do some that I don't sell, in alphabetical order: Solid State - Boulder, Gamut, Pass Aleph series. Tube - vintage Audio Research, Caztech, Convergent Audio Technologies, McIntosh. Budget solid state - maybe Arcam. Budget (or almost budget) tube - Rogue.

And now a few I sell, again alphabetical. Solid state - Clayton Audio, Warner Imaging. Tubes - Atma-Sphere, Thor, Wolcott. Intermediate priced solid state - InnerSound. Budget solid state - JoLida. Budget tube - JoLida. If I may editorialize a bit, JoLida stuff really shines in the midrange, and has no damn business sounding as good as it does for the price it goes for.

Especially in the lower price ranges, I agree with smw30@yahoo.com's suggestion to go with tube gear. Some of the higher priced solid state gear can be very good, though. However, if your speakers can be driven by a good SET or OTL tube amp, you're in for a real midrange party.

This list is by no means complete, especially as far as decent gear I don't sell goes.

Best of luck to you!

I would definitely go with a tube amp, regardless of what brand it is. Most tube amps excell in the mid-range area.

Most SET amps, try to find one with 6SN7's for the driver stage. An example would be an Antique Sound Labs AQ1006 or even a push pull triode KMP60 fox. Both have 6SN7's as input drivers.The Fox has 60 watts and will drive anything out there.

FYI, Audio Outlet in Mt. Kisko, NY (Frank and Mike are both very helpful) sells Densen gear, sometimes have demos available at good prices. Website is www.audiooutlet.com.
Not affiliated with them, just a very satisfied repeat customer (of other gear).

Try the Jeff Rowlands model 10

I had one for five years, only traded up because I changed out my speakers which were difficult to drive. This 100W SS amp is truly one of the finest you will encounter, and can be had in excellent shape for $700 US +/-.

Good luck, and good listening.

Barton

I demo'd my friend's Gamut D200 in my system, first immediate impression was how good the midrange was.
You may want to see if your experience parallels mine!

Paul

plinius is one of the nicest midrange for SS amp/int.

Symphonic Line

By experience I can second ALL (but the eVo) of the above and add:
*Jadis (if you like tube)
*Symphonic Line RG10 or Kraftquelle
*YBA integre

Cheers!

The new Bel Canto eVo integrated shpuld be out soon and that will have some amazing mids.

For solid state you could try Densen. They're hard to find in the US, but their web site (www.densen.dk) should point you to a US stockist. They have the b-100 at about $1200USD, and the DM-10 at around $2500 USD. I own the B-100 and it is very detailed, but non-fatiguing.

Try an Accuphase integrated - the 210 or 211.