Lush and Romantic Tube Amps

Hi All - 

I’ve been slammed with work and have not had the time to reply to everyone. I did want to provide an update. After doing an in-house audition of a Rogue hybrid amp (tube and class d), and then a pass labs xa30.8 in my home for a week, I finally pulled the trigger on a Conrad Johnson classic 120 with EL 34 tubes. 
 

I’ll report back once it arrives and I’ve had a chance to let it play for a few days.   

LUXMAN LX380

Congrats on the new amp. It should pair very nicely with your speakers.I ran Conrad Johnson for years and like they say “it just sounds right”. I actually still have one of their SS amps that I tried with my QLN’s and it sounded very nice. I just pulled the trigger on Atma-Sphere Class D amps for my QLN’s and they’re breaking in now. I need to give them a lot more time but the Class D is a different sound even though it’s said they sound just like the OTL’s A-S makes. Definitely not lush and romantic. Who knows I might be thinking about Conrad Johnson tube amps again in the future 🤔

@marco1 - I look forward to your thoughts on those class d amps. I thought about the same model from Ralph/Atmasphere along right the AGD amps too. The feedback on the boards has been very positive. 
 

When I went to demo a rogue amp, the local dealer told me they recommend the rogue hybrid (tube and class d), but my wife ended up not liking it. Then I went through a phase where I thought “do I really want to deal with more tubes?” and was able to audition the pass labs amp, which is just ridiculously too heavy. I liked it  for certain types of music, but felt it didn’t give me the same emotional and immersive experience as my Audio Hungary amp. 
 

I think I might be addicted to second order harmonics? 
 

BTW - how are you enjoying the QLN speakers? 

I like the QLN speakers very much. Absolutely perfect for my small room and were definitely the right choice. They only go down a little lower than the monitors they replaced but I can’t believe how good the bass response is.  Absolutely no need for a subwoofer.  They are opening up now that I have a couple of hundred hours on them but still have a ways to go.  So I’m kind of in the same situation as you trying to find the “perfect” electronics to go with them.  The Class D amps have less time than the speakers so I don’t want to prejudge them.  I’ve been at this game for a very long time so I already know what a lot of this stuff sounds like BUT until it’s in your room paired with your other equipment you never know for sure.  What helped my decision with the A-S Class D was that they are suppose to sound like the OTL amps which I also own and like very much. I also don’t want to dispute the experts but so far I don’t find that to be exactly the case.  But like I said they still need time to break in.  I know too well what you mean about Pass. It’s great equipment but my god does it really have to weigh that much.  It took every last bit of strength I had packing up my Int60 when I sold it. And that’s one of their lighter pieces. I just passed the 3/4 century mark so number one rule now for anything I buy is it can’t weigh more than 50 lbs and that’s even pushing it.  That was one of the very appealing aspects of Class D, they don’t weigh much, not to mention no heat.  Big change from OTL’s.  Any how, now I just have to be patient while things break in.  Can’t really afford to buy anything else anyway.  But, I’m already formulating in my mind what a new CJ tube amp will sound like and have the feeling it will sound just right :-).