Tubes to solid state for amplifier path...


If the Summers get too hot for your main tube rigs, what is your relief for those humid hot days when you want tunes? Do you have a solid state cool alternative?

Would Class A be 'out of one frying pan and into another' in terms of heat generation during extended listening periods?

I have not owned a class A solid state before. Nor have I spent any significant amount of time in front of one.

Any suggestions/thoughts?
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xjames1969
I've got a Pass Aleph 5 - the mini furnace I call it. That baby can really crank out the btu's. And on a cold winter's night here in Maine, me and the Mrs just curl up next to that baby. Granted, it does not throw as much heat as the Waterford, but she has waaayyy lower Thd that that old beater wood stove. Hope this helps.
My 50" plasma is not tube based, but the sucker gives off some serious heat from the top rear. It will heat up my Florida room 3-5 degrees if left on for several hours.
I power my Apogee Stages with Cary Slam 100 monoblocks. In the summer I use DAC4800A (digitalamp.com). It is awesome and for the price cannot be beat. Check out the websight. I switch back and forth thoughout the year because the sound out of this amp is wonderful
My Pass Labs X250 runs class A for the first 40 watts, then switches to A/B. It does run warm in class A. I also noticed my 40 inch LCD TV gives off a good amount of heat, and have heard the plasmas give off even more. Thank the Lord for central air.
Abucktwoeighty
Your Pass will not run any cooler when it "switches", er I mean, leaves class A and transitions into B. What an interesting thread as I'm taking the digital plunge and trying a bel canto S300. My ARC VT100MKII is currently out of service at the moment (re-tube, patiently waiting for tubestore to restock 6550C; btw upscale deserted ARC VT owners, for no *real* reason; therefore I suspect the tubes may be questionable to begin with and the ARC VT's bear that out but, more than likely, whoever is re-tubing/biasing is not doing it properly).
I live in Virginia and summers can be quite toasty. Even with a good central AC our townhouse seems like it struggles to stay cool on those 95 degree humid as @#$@# days. The tube amp will only make matters a bit more toasty. I will not be going to solid state for the preamp though, as this is where most of the magic comes from.