2. amps-preamps
  3. 1187779737

Unhappy with tubes so which transistor amp?

Hi guys,

About 6 months back I bought an ARC Ref110. For one reason or another I am still running on the demo unit which has failed 2 times during this time. The first time it was one of the output tubes which was blown. This time it simply won't power up. I have checked the fuse and it looks ok but the amp shows no sign of life.

Based on my experience so far I am thinking that I will sell my unit brand new when I get it next week. I don't want to deal with a piece which breaks down often as for me reliability is one of the key criteria as I am totally zero on the technical side of electronics (changing the fuse may be as technical as it gets for me). So even stuff like biasing, changing tubes after x amount of hours looks like a lot of work to me.

Now after this background I come to the million dollar question. Since replacing the amp with my old Aragons I have noticed that I have lost significantly in 3 areas.

1) Soundstage does not seem to be as big as with the Ref110 specially in regard to sound coming from outside the speaker thing, which btw is gives you an awesome feeling if you are listening with the lights switched off

2) I have lost the mid range magic. This is painfully apparent in vocals as they have lost their sense of realism.

3) Digital glare and harshness has also crept back in the system.

Now I am looking for an amp that is SS but can give me back what I have lost although I am not sure about number 2 as everyone says you can't do it with SS. Basically I am looking for an SS amp with huge soundstage, beautiful and natural (not "smooth" as in muffled) midrange and san any digital glare. Price should be ~10K new or used.

The related equipment is ARC CD3 MKII, ARC LS26 and Peak Consult Empress loud speakers.

Any help or ideas is welcome.

Thanks

P.S. I posted the same on speaker forum by mistake. Mods please feel free to delete the other thread. Thanks
rayden1972
yyz
98 posts
 
I would check out the Bryston 14B-SST/SQ or a pair of Bryston 7B-SST/SQ monoblocks. They are descibed as having a tube like sound with a massive amount of power. I have the older version 7B-SST which I would not classify as having a tube sound. There are quite a few online reviews coming out on these items. I do not think I can post links to these reviews on A'Gon. The Oct 2009 Stereophile is supposed to have a review on the 7B-SST/SQ. Cost for these items is under 10K (I think).
mracoustat
74 posts
 
My 2 cents if you want tube sound without tube maintenance then you need something in the same price range as the tube gear you are replacing this is for Rayden1972 Audio Research Ref-110 $10,000.00 US VS Aragon you have to be kidding if you want to be serious get a Plinius SA-250MK1V then you will never want to go back to tubes.
orpheus10
8,668 posts
 
The first thing I do when I get a Tube amp is to swap the tubes for NOS. They sound 100 times better and I have NEVER had a tube failure.
orpheus10
8,668 posts
 
Elizabeth, something was wrong with Counterpoint's production control. I had products that fell apart. Tubes are whats happening.
andr
109 posts
 
OK, here’s an uncommon one !

I’ve heard both amps in both set ups MrAcoustat is talking about. The Plinius is rich sounding but would be too laidback for what your tastes seem to be. Still a great machine. The Pass Labs X-350 is very powerful but a bit cold sounding. So still considering your tastes, Pass remains a good choice if you go for the x-.5 or xa series.

I think you got all good recommendations. And I most probably would go for any of them if I were in your position. By the way, you could also look at Threshold amps. But……here’s something under another angle : a Coda Class A amp.

I’ve got one paired with a CJ Premier 16 LS2 driving Acoustat Spectra speakers. This thing has high current and is quite a chameleon. It will follow anything you input it with, being a tube rolling in the pre, a change of interconnect or power cord, it will drive to a lot of different sound preferences. It can soundstage, make your speakers disappear, sound very detailed and transparent for a class A and be warm sounding and very bloomy on acoustics if that’s what you want. With ARC sources in front of it, it will adapt.

Now, here’s the deal. There is one here on Audiogon that’s been standing there for awhile. It’s in Greece (maybe why it’s still there), it’s a system 100. Now this thing has age but you can surely inquire when it was manufactured. This thing was brought on the market at 8500 $ US at the time. Check it out ! At the price the guy is asking, it could be an excellent alternative and an experiment in class A amplification for you.
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