Powerful Tube Amp for SF Strads?

Thanks Downunder,

Yes, i agree. Earlier SF's and modern SF's (other than Homage series) mated well with good SS like Krell. But the Guarneris, Amatis and Strads seem imho to mate much better with Tubes.

I auditioned the Strad with ARC CD7, ARC Ref 3 and Krell Evo 402...don't get me wrong. i heard some pretty incredible sound, and the 402 is one heck of an amp. I guess i missed that absolute palpability that the STrad is capable of producing (but which also typically requires a tube to get the full measure of that palpability in my experience so far.)

Meanwhile, I heard the Evo 402 with the Grand Pianos and other SFs...outrageously good synergy.

then again...have heard the Ayres are pretty incredible in palpability! Pls let us all know how the Ayres do with the Strads! thanks.

To expand a bit upon the above posts and my own post regarding the CAT amps and their transformers and power supplies, the original CAT JL-1 100 watt/channel monoblocks are gnarling beasts. They contain outrageous hand-wound transformers that weigh 55 lbs. each, the power supplies are something like 1,000 joules per monoblock, and each monoblock weighs 192 lbs. By comparison, the "monster" 500 watt/channel Audio Research 610T monoblocks weigh 170 lbs. each (as transformers and power supplies are both heavy and expensive, the quality of a tube amp can largely be gauged by its weight and cost). I almost stripped a gear helping my friend carry his JL-1 Limited Edition's from one side of the room to another.

Speaking of the JL-1 Limited Edition, it was point-to-point wired and had unbelievable parts quality - it retailed for $50,000 and Ken Stevens only made about a dozen of them (not to be confused with later "Signature" versions of the JL-2 and JL-3 that use circuit boards and cost $20k less). It has incredible finesse and resolution, but at the same time, sounds subjectively more powerful that a 500 watt/channel Krell. I am not aware of a more potent tube amp or a better sounding high powered tube amp. All of that said, like a Shelby Cobra, it was high maintenance and frequently blew output tubes, which took out resistors that had to be soldered out and new ones soldered in - my friend nicknamed them the "Popcorn Poppers" and would not leave them unattended.

I agree with Raquel. There is unlikely to be a tube amplifier with the drive and current of a CAT, but I also agree that they are much like a Ferrari (a Cobra) too, they are super high performance, but they are not drop in and forget'em amps. But they are hard to beat for one of the very best sounding amps you will ever hear, espcially when you need High Watt SS bass with SET midrange delicacy. I would like fuse protection for tube failures, but then it wouldn't be a CAT.

I had some Manley Neo Classic 250's driving my Eidolons effortlessly. Or some hard to find MFA mono's.

Thanks for the further posts! I read a review in this month's issue of HiFi+ about the new David Berning Quadature Z 200w OTL tube monos. They went crazy in the review, saying it was hands down the best amp they had ever heard, effectively redefining their view on musicality, muscle and refinement.

David Berning Zh270 has a very loyal following, and i remember reading in STereophile (Jan 05) that Franco Serblin of Sonus FAber had Stereophile at the factory, listening to a ZH270 running the SF Strads.

Any thoughts on the new Quadature Z's would be welcome! i have contacted the company and will post if i find a way to hear them. thanks.