listen, listen and listen again. there are alot of products out there. power and voicing are salient issues.
it is hard to recommend any. i too am looking for a tube amp and i have no short list right now.
however, the cary, audio research, rogue, conrad johnson and vtl definitely do not interest me.
i am looking for a more traditional tube sound, like a cj 125. i have no idea who makes such an amp these days. |
One man's trash is another man's treasure ...
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Horseface, if you are referring to N802's, the crossover is at 350hz and the disparity in sound between a tube amp on top and solid state on the bottom is vividly evident, and not conducive to good sound. It would be a bad choice to bi-amp with anything other than identical amps. I know, because curious minds want to experiment, so I gave it a try and it was terrible. |
I was looking at the McIntosh 275s, 75 wpc stereo and then I could get a second amp later and switch them to mono. How do these amps compare to the others? |
I've had the AR VT100 with alon lotus sigs (90db),my friend has the VT 120 mono's on his alon V mk 1 (87db)...both are superb, the VTL has a little more bass and air, the AR has more dynamics,and pacing with all types of music...Happy Holidays...Bill |
I've been listening to a Pair of Cary SLM-100s for the last three years. Tubed with Tungsol VT-231(round, black plate)for phase splitters, Sylvania 6SN7Ws as drivers and Winged C 6550s(latest iteration from Upscale): the imaging/soundstaging/response/pace/liquidity/musical realism is outstanding. I've replaced the RCAs and binding posts with WBT stuff, added Vibrapods and VPI Magic Bricks. Outside of those: no mods/tweeks performed. Find a used pair and they should fit your budget nicely(sans the NOS tubes). 100+ watts per channel into 8 ohms. |
Try VTL MB125 or MB100.
Very powerfull monos. 'Have them spare.
Drop me a note... |
I have the same itch ... but I want to try an experiment
I bought an inexpensive ARC VT-60 and put a few bucks into it replacing it's older tired tubes. HOLY COW my Levinson 23.5 has been parked since August. If this little guy sounded so good I couldnt help but think the VT-100 III will drive my next speaker upgrade. Then again ... so many other amps: I looked at the Mac 275 MKIV, Quicksilver V4, I am curious about the VTL mono blocks, Rogue, Cary - the list continues to grow. I guess a lot will depend on the speaker I choose. I was amazed how good an old set of ADS sound with the VT-60 but try an drive something larger and the little guy can only go so far.
I experimented with the Levinson driving the bass/mid drivers of a set of Paradigm Signature S4's and the tubes driving the tweeters. It was a very different ... very interesting sound. I did this little experiment the night before I sold the S4's so I figured what the heck. It was like turbo charging the tube amp. It wasnt all good but I think if Paradigm would have mated the mids and tweeters instead of the mids with the bass driver it would have been even better.
My plan is to go with B&W 802's; power the mid/tweeters with the VT-60 and the bass with the Levinson 23.5. At that point I will either dump that whole idea if it doesnt work for me and get much larger tube mono's or just upgrade the VT-60 to something that matches well with the B&W's. I just like the idea of bi-amping and running a big SS amp to the bass drivers and let the finesse of the tubes work on a less power hungry set of upper frequency drivers. The though of re-tubing something with 4 or more 6550's per side and a bunch of driver tubes every few years is somewhat menacing but I am willing to do it if thats what it takes.
Thoughts? |
It is very likely they will drive them very well.
I drove 88dB Gallos with them very well in an open room, but impedance & phase characteristics are more important to the equation. I don't know the Alons.
They had incredible bass considering the high output Z (with no feedback) and very good dynamics.
A doubling of amplifier power means only a 3dB increase in SPL anyway. |
The Alon Vs are 87db, I am not sure that the AES can drive them. Carl at Nola recommended at least a 100 WPC tube amp like the ARC VT-100 when I spoke to him last. Thoughts? |
I'm running Apogee Duetta Signatures with Rogue M-120 monos...they do a nice job but I think I'm going to move to a pair of used Wolcott monos sometime in the next year...I'm in the research phase now.
Rogue M-120 Magnums usually go for around $1,500 here at Audiogon, (not trying to sell mine).
Dave |
Amen to what Dwhitt said.... |
no brainer aes six pac sell for 1500 and up , if you decide to go that way...i own them and have owned all kinds of very good tubed unit....for the money...they are a steal... |
