solid state vs tubes

as i have said, a decent ss amp--200 watts or more elicits bass frequenecies that are remarkable.

i haven't tried many ss amps, but i have treid a 300 watt class a--phenomenal bass, called the Jaton, i have tried roger sanders ss amp (i don't remember what version), and i have tried two "classs D" amps, the raptors, and another whose name escapes me.

years ago, i visited woodbridge stereo and hear the 3.5s with a pass pre and amp. i did not like what i heard. again, i don't remember the model number of the pass gear, nor the digital source.

i have not heard a panel speaker with sold state that does not have unplesantness in the treble.

a friend has an old plinius and someone suggested the levenson 23 or 23.5. i am also interested in hearing an edge amp.

tube amps are more gentle when they clip. perhaps the non-tube amps i have heard exhibited some odd order harmonic distortion which was unpleasant at spls exceeeding 80 + db.

i am open to other suggestions. i woyuld prefer a slight decrement in treble frequencies starting at 10k. yes, its coloration, and i think most designers would not deliberately incorporate such a frequency response in their designs. i am open to ideas , provided the treble reponse is rather well behaved.

i don't remember being impreseed with ss amps and panel speakers at shows or at friensds' stereo systems, but i am getting a bit annoyed at the efforts required to maintain optimal performance of tube amps so i would love to find a ss amp as a replacement.

many have said that there is no ss amp that is audibly undetectable from the sound of a tube amp.

then again, some of the current tube amps are not the most pleasant in the treble .

the bel canto ref 1000m monoblocks i am running might be worth a try. very non fatigu
ing, even running triangle monitors which can be more towards the hot and analytic side of things, way more than maggies when i had them.

mrtennis older jeff roland models 6,8t or 9t might work for you;my model 6 monoblocks perform quite well on my soundlab m2's;the original owner of the m2's was driving them with model 9t monoblocks.It might be the sound you are striving for.

The difference between 'old' Maggies and 'new' is the difference between pole piece forward and mylar forward.
The old way, IMO was better. My original MG-1s had a character and feel about them not equaled by my 1.6s, until I did a rotate-in-place.

Anyone having 'brightness' or treble problems with Magnepan should try a simple rotate in place test, give 'em a few minutes and adjust to preference. Maybe even give it a day or more.

When I did the rotate thing, the change was so startling that I knew they'd stay that way. Had more of the character of the MG-1 without the heat of the 1.6 as well as a fuller center image and simply a wider 'listenable' seating area.

Cost? just a few minutes and the electricity you were going to use anyway, to listen to that new album.

A few months ago I heard my Plinius SA-100 mkIII paired with some older Maggie 3A's, and even the SET lovers who were in attendance commented on how liquid and musical this combo was, although the Maggies certainly could have used more power if we wanted to achieve more substantial volume. Also it's important to note that there WERE tubes in the chain to make this listening session much sweeter, which included a Loesch & Weisner preamp and a Lector CDP with NOS Brimar tubes.