Amber Series 70. Stupid good for the money. My 22-yr-old 70wpc still keeps beating all comers. I'm ordering in an Onkyo A-9555 integrated. We shall see.
It's obviously neutral from the get-go, but deceptively, seductively, unfailingly musical and compels you to listen to the music.
I'm not saying it's the best. It just does what it does, which is what it's supposed to do. |
I sold the keeper. I thought the CAT JL2 was a KFL, but when I heard the Atma-sphere M-60s on my system with the Merlins that are very OTL friendly...well the CAT is gone. I still think the CAT will sound better with more speakers, but if OTL can work with your speakers it is very special indeed. Now if you have a CAT, there really is no reason to think of something else, except for the fact this hobby doesn't isn't really a hobby if you keep anything for life. |
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Wolcott CA-250 industrial-use monoblocks. |
I would add the Lamm 1.2s or M2.2s on the list.
One of the best I've heard. |
Joule Musicwoods, Jud's type of OTL magic. |
Essence Jasper mono blocks. I am in the industry and still can't find anything that beats them overall. |
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If you revisit many of the above in a few years time you will find that many have sold there "keepers for life". Why? A change in speakers, house or life priorities means owning a component for life is rare. |
I thought my Mcintosh 2301's were great and they were but now I own the BAT VK600M-SE which are 600 watt mono blocks. They are a keeper for me for several reasons. One I think they are unique. They require two power cords and the reason from what I understand is one is for the positive phase and one for negative phase of power. This is also something they do with the REX pre which is amazing in its own right. Another thing about the 600SE is I like how normally when BAT comes up with something new and or maybe better it is something you may can achieve with an upgrade without having to sell you old gear. Obviously nothing newer is out now and the 600se has been around for a bit so maybe its life will come to an end and there won't be an upgrade available on it, who knows. But for me this amp along with the rex is quicker and more powerful than amps I've heard with twice the power. I like BAT's straight forward signal design, meaning no feedback and the signal is always moving forward. This along with minimum gain stages and the amps endless supply of current with its double row of rapid release caps make it quicker, more liquid, and powerful than anything in its class that I've heard at-least. I've compared it to much more powerful amps on paper and when listening there is no comparison in power and quickness. |
I could propose a few: assuming it's not necessarily the only amp in the house...
FM Acoustics 800 or 600 series;
EAR 519 monos (vintage)
M Levinson 33H
Pioneer A400 (vintage)
Symphonic Line "Kraft" 250 stereo
Symphonic Line RG7
Krell KSA 50
Cello Duet
...many more I'm missing. Regards |
Two came to mind.
-FM Acoustics
-Tivoli Audio table unit/radio--dirt cheap for the musical pleasures derived that I had placed 6 of them all over the house.
Both are keeper for me. |
Besides my Essence I would have to ad the Berning OTL's. |
I'm keeping my McIntosh MC2000..no matter if I decide to finally go mono-blocks with the McIntosh MC2301 or whatever else I might consider.
It's a mastepiece by McIntosh co-founder Sidney Corderman who came out of retirement to create his statement amp to commemorate the 50th anniversary of McIntosh's founding. It sounds absolutely superb and will only increase in value, as less than 1000 were produced.
A sound investment for my ears..and my wallet
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My Berning ZH270. Six years now of zero hysteresis and zero desire to change. |
My Maestro SE 845 Amp by Kinetic Audio Technologies: www.amxtubeaudio.com. |
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Hi,
Yes my Mastersound 845 Monoblocks 50 W into 8 or 4 ohms,purchase these and you will not require any other and after listening you will forget all about transistors.
Cheers,
Peter. |
I have a older pair jeff roland model 6 monoblocks and think I will hang on to them for quite some time. |
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Counterpoint Natural Progression Series. |
I love the sound of my Cary SLA 70A Signature Class A PP EL34 amp with Mundorf Silver/Gold coupling and Elna Silmic bypass caps. It easily surplanted a Krell KSA-50 I had which was grainy as hell and actually generated more heat than the Cary. There's nothing like tubes if you want to enjoy reproduced music.
I'd hold onto this amp even if I upgraded, but I see no reason for that at the moment. |
Audion Golden Dream 300B PSET monoblocks. And quite possibly my Audion Black Shadow 845 SET monoblocks as well. Little known both, but infused by exemplary musicality.
I'll also add: McIntosh MC1201 monoblocks.
Phil |
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I love many, but the Music Reference MR10 MKII is not only a keeper, but it might actually last that long without failure. |
My vintage Manley Lab Series Mono 100's won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Fitted with NOS Mullard EL34's the sound is just incredible. |
The Bel Canto ref 1000mkii mono blocks in my system might be. Top quality sound and power delivery as best I cal tell. Not sure why I'd ever need to change, unless I get bumped on the head like in a sitcom and suddenly become a SET guy or something. |
My Rowland Model 2.
My Pass Aleph 2s. |
Based only on reviews and comments of others it would seem that a Tidal or a Sovereign amp could end the quest for many. I own Audiopax Model 88 but would love to listen to these other amps one day. |
Bedini25/25, 250/250 bi-amped are a perfect match. The 25/25 is very detailed with this set-up.I believe John Bedini built them to work together. Another great amp is the original LSR&D model 101 stereo and 102 monos. |
THRESHOLD S/500 II
THRESHOLD STASIS 7/8 |
I'm sure there are many other amps to keep, but this is the best looking unit I've ever seen, although the meters on my 504's are bigger ! |
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i've been happy w/my kenwood L09 300w monoblocks since i bought them new 30 years ago. they match up well w/the tube preamps i've had. good imaging & seemingly fast enuff transient response. my equipment has made me happy, but i could always make a change if... we'll see....... |
Mcintosh MC206 = does everything right |
My GAS500 Ampzilla, because I got it from it's designer, and even at 30 years it is unsurpassed in every regard. |
Krell 300cx. Have owned it for almost 8 years, sounds fab, never even a burp.
Neal |
Hey Gaslover,
I have a 'Grandson' in my basement that I hear is the (not power wise of course) 'killer' of them all. The elderly gentlemen that I got it from (lost his hearing) said that it was beautifully 'voiced'. I have had it now for years and have never even listened to it. Having a hard time switching off my Citation.
Well, I am a Citation fan, and the 16A does it for me. Very tube like quality and the bass goes downstairs like thunder at your doorstep. After hearing it, I sold my 9 McIntosh amps. (I do miss them sometimes..)
Then again, I always liked the Krell KSA 50, and the Levinson ML2's... What to do? |
You will LOVE the Grandson. Sounds best pushed hard (can handle 1 ohm!). I owned a Godzilla at one time... took it to the 1984 CES to a/b it against John Iverson's Eagle 7a. The Eagle won, hands down. Fantastic amp. Godzilla's designer has never been the same since! |
Gaslover... I just might look up the little guy and see how it compares to my Citation.
You say and Eagle 7 sounded better than the Godzilla? My memory might be off, but wasn't Godzilla a pure class A design? Enormous power output, something like 200 wpc into 8 ohms, class A power. Should be able to heat a small home with it.
I never heard one, but remember well all the fanfare when it came out. I don't believe many were built. I will let you know how the Grandson sounds. |
There were 23 Godzillas produced. Some were class A, some class A/B. I had S/N 19, which was the A/B version. 350 wpc into 8 Ohms and 1000 wpc into 2 Ohms! These were dual-mono, 1 chassis amps, and each channel was bridged; slew rate of 600 volts/microsecond. The beast drew 9 amps just idling... no signal present (Very high bias). The Eagle was a class A amp and that might have been the difference.
Good luck with the Grandson. You will be pleasantly surprised. |
Gaslover, Wanted you to know, that Grandson is an extremely musical little amp. It almost has a tubey (I know it's not a word) sound to it, but with extra heft in the lower end. Nice wide, deep sound stage. Been listening to it for nearly a week. Very sweet indeed.
I am surprised there isn't more on the web about these amps. Makes me wonder what AmpZilla sounded like?
Best,
Norman |
Luxman M-4000. Sansui Definition Series. In the last couple of years, I have managed to obtain Luxman T-110, C-1000 & M-4000. Am shopping for the M-2000 and M-6000 to complete the collection. Also plan to keep my Sansui BA-5000, 3000, 2000 and TU-9900 forever. Am shopping for the CA-5000 to complete this collection. |
The adcom gfa-555 is a solid built amp. |
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Sizemore - The Ampzillas varied a bit. The original was basically an updated Dynaco 400, both having been designed by James Bongiorno. I have the last version, the GAS 500 which was designed by Andrew Hefly. I would put this 30 year old beast up against any modern SS amp with complete confidence. Your Grandson is a keeper... NEVER part with it. And by all means drive it into a 1 Ohm load if possible. It will sing even sweeter. Bongiorno's word for it was "tubistor". |
No mention of BAT 75SE/150SE from anyone?
I have owned nearly 20 amps, BAT is the one that stopped me from upgrading even though I still buy interesting gears to try sometimes and always end up selling others.
I did not count, but notice KFL has more tube than SS? |
My Odyssey Audio Stratos Extreme+++ amp is the best solid state to ever grace my living room. This is definitely a keeper.
Bob |
