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Tube Amps With Good Bass Qualities

I have been reading over posts about tube amps and their bass qualities. I understand that for the most part, that a ss amp with have an edge in bass qualities compared to a tubed amp. Damping factor, etc. But I can give up a little of that edge for what I enjoy in the midrange qualities of a tubed amp. So my question is, what tube power amps have you heard that have good bass qualities?  Raven, Quicksilver, Mac, etc.?   Let's give a price point. 5K or under. What do you think?
jwlaff
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,772 posts
 
We had an "amp try out fest" one Sunday a while back at friends house that had a pair of JBL Synthesis 1400 Array's,
https://www.stereophile.com/content/jbl-synthesis-1400-array-bg-loudspeaker-measurements
His mate came over also with his OTL 60watters
**Any** 60 watt OTL will be uncomfortable with a load like that (see JA's comments in the review at the link). This is a great example of how *not* to do it- you always want a tube amp to play loads for which it is intended!
By the way what are the woofer's in your speakers? Are your enclosures vented?
Yes. The drivers are dual TAD 1602s (Fo of 21Hz), one forward firing and the other downfiring. Flat to 20Hz is no problem at all :)
how to match a tube amp to a speaker, is one to find what the lowest dip in the speaker measurement and make sure the amp can over come that dip rather easily ? 
@oem-wheels   In a nutshell, yes.

ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
The M-125 has excellent mid-bass. I roll mine off ≈88Hz, so can't comment on the low bass. Square wave is very good, so I'd imagine the low bass is fine.

As built by VTA, the M-125's were very noisy, but can be quietened quite a bit. In my case, almost 40db.

Complete instructions:
http://ielogical.com/Audio/VTA_M-125.php
divertiti
225 posts
 
Line Magnetic, absolutely insane performance for the money. LM 518ia is long time Stereophile class A integrated and the LM 508ia has even more oomph and more dynamic.
nquery
103 posts
 
Agreed on the Line Magnetic. The LM-805ia - which has replaced the 508ia but with similar specs - lists for the OP's 5k price point and has a negative feedback control with 4 positions.
celtic66
1,648 posts
 
Manley Mahi Mahi mono blocks.  These are scary good providing a solid foundation for bass.  They are very quick with EL 84 tubes and get the midrange right.  These blast away so many stereotypes falsely attributed to tube amplification.
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