Best EL-34 Amps?

well, i've heard the manley snappers and a few integrateds.

but i must say that "under the radar" EL-34 amps are those sold by Synthesis (Italy) called: The Theatre

they are 70watt Class A monos.

i think they sound fantastic. there was a pair available here not too long ago for a steal of a price.

no one knows them so they are pretty rare here in the US. they are semi-common in Canada.

they sound much like drawn butter (that's my friend's quote, not mine). liquid smooth.

Those RM-10's sure don't last long when they're put up for sale here. Roger has been able to get roughly twice as much power out of the EL-84 versus other designs using that tube. My speakers were voiced with an Atmasphere S30, so the RM-10's power output should not be a problem. If I can ever grab a used RM-10 I'd love to hear what it can do in my system.

If they were voiced with the S30, no doubt they will be driven wonderfully by the RM10s, but as much as I love my RM9s, it is hard to beat an OTL with OTL friendly speakers, but very nice for a high quality change of pace (which is why I keep the RM9SE) - both Music Reference and Atma-sphere are made by superb designers. Are your speakers sensitive enough for Music Reference's 5 watt SETs? If so that too would be worth trying, never heard anything by Roger Modjeski that didn't sound great, was well built, and would prove to be ultra-reliable.

i auditioned a synthesis 25 watt amp, using 6l6gc output tubes. even after replacing the 6l6 tubes with nos 5881, i would hardly call their performance liquid. i recently acquired a dyna stereo 70. that amp has liquidity.

synergy and personal preference are an interesting thing of course.

whatever sounds best to your ears, obviously, is what you should go for.

our opinions do not matter in the end.

needless to say, a 25 watt synthesis integrated is not exactly the same thing as the 70 watt class a mono's that they also sell.

oh well.