You're getting a lot of useful feedback here. I've heard tube amps but only owned solid state, a bipolar and a mosfet. Honestly, I didn't hear similarities. If I were on this hunt I would take the feedback from here and go do a lot of auditioning. |
I would go for Cary cad 200 very tube like sounding amp and good price on Audiogon |
hi folks. carver amps or anything with the carver name on it is absolutly junk. there equipment looks very exspensive but what comes out sounds terrible. the only piece worth looking at is the silver 7. |
GamuT amps have many attributes of good tube amps particulary with an excellent tube preamp. The secret of the GamuT is a single switching MOSFET output device which means no matching problems and a "single voice". I listen to my Gamut Mk.3 with the deHavilland Mercury triode tube preamp. My jazz, opera and classical music sounds extremely natural, emotionally involving and very much like the live concerts I attend. I am sure fine tweeking (refined cables,PC, vibration control, room treatment, purified AC) all add to the realism. |
classe delta, very fluid an natural sounding |
heavystarch,
What amp are you referring too? |
I can't say it sounds like a tube amp but is a very natural and vivid amplifier. At $1799 for a 1000watt ICEpower amp, it's a very good value. Of course I am biased as it's my company... ;^)
Cheers! |
You should try a Sunfire Signature II. I just had a
VAC PA 100.100 and like the Sunfire better. |
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Audio Research 100.2 sounds like a really, really good tube amp. |
I had a carver M500 for a long time and finally sold it and went with CJ. The carver isn't even in the same league with CJ tube or ss. The ss CJ amps are very nice and detailed with that musical midrange the is usually only associated with their tube amps. The PASS XA series is very nice as well but at a substantially higher price.
Chuck |
I never heard a Carver amp, and I want to get into tube style, but thats another issue..I simply stated that I heard (from a respected) audiophile that he liked the carver and classified it as a laid back tube sound.....so maybe I shoulda just kept my mouth shut, wife is at work and I am bored |
Chad: The last amp I will put in my system is a Carver. I bought one of the TFM models just to toy with a few years ago. After it was in my system for a few minutes I had to get it out of there. Thin sounding with no imaging. Those are of the worst amplifiers I've ever heard. If anybody would have told me any amp could sound that bad I'd have not believed it. Fortunately for me there were a few people here that recommended a tube preamp. That was the key I had been looking for and that's the beauty of the vast knowledge we all can share here as it benefits us all. If you've not tried a tube pre in your system it's definitely worth a listen. |
What about Carver amps, I have heard T35 sounds tubish |
Hi Chuck,thanks again for your help with my decision on the MF2500A! |
Raytheprinter
Yes, I agree with you the MF2500A is a superb amplifier and IMO highly underrated.
Chuck |
I don't know if The H2O amp qualifies as solid state, but anyway, if you want to know what amp people are selling their tube amps for, read this:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/h2o/m250.html |
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Conrad Johnson Premier 350 best of both worlds without a doubt. The mid range is very detailed similar to the premier 140 but with better bass control and high end extension.
Chuck |
I've never heard a tube amp before but the Sunfire amps have two sets of connections to the speakers. One is "voltage" source which is supposed to be more like solid state and "current" source which is supposed to be more like tubes. Again, this is taken from their Sunfire documentation.
Mike |
Conrad Johnson Sonographe SA250. |
Many tube guys have been happy switching to Clayton amps. Different sound, but many things in common especially smooth midrange. But Clayton will control and drive difficult speakers, especially electrostatics, better. |
Sonographe Sa-250,With plenty of s.s. attributes to go with it.And anyway you know what they say about Macintosh their tube sounds like great solid state and their solid state sounds like great tube.let that float in your head for awhile. |
Try Hybrid amps.Tube pre and ss output.Had Valve Audio 802 and Predator.Now using Pathos Logos.See pathosacoustics.com |
One of the few solid state amps I enjoyed was an Electrocompaniet. I have owned Bryston, YBA, and others but the Electro took the prize. Now a Tube Junky.. |
For what it's worth, I tried my deHavilland tube preamp into a Pass Labs Aleph 30. It's single ended, class A and only has two gain stages and, while it was probably my favorite SS amp, I guess I missed my "euphonic coloration". I am now using an Andio Note Kit 1. |
The question is not "Which SS amps sound like a tube amp? but rather "Does any SS amp come close to sounding like a tube amp?
My answer would be NONE!If you want the SS amp to sound like a tube amp, why not go for the tube amp itself, maybe have one of both, which means best of both worlds! Some use two different pair of speakers and switch between the two from time to time, so why can't it be two amps?
Just my 0.02 cents with no offence to anyone who posted in this thread. |
NO SOLID STATE AMP SOUNDS LIKE A TUBE AMP IN MY EXPERIENCE! |
B&K, B&K, B&k - for hi power the eX-442 or EX-442 sonata, lower power ST-140 - very tube like for a SS amp because of the mosfet output...thanks, Louis |
CJ 2500A, detail and warm, better than Pass 250. |
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i agree with above on two points...
1. no such thing
2. get a tube pre, you'l; get roughly 75 TO 80 % there.
btw, muse monos are very nice ( liquid) and pse studio v's ( clear /transparent)
mik |
Over on AC, there is one person using all AVA tube hybrid electronics on his RM40's who states he is is audio nirvana. While not tubey sounding, you can roll the tubes to suit your taste. Just my 2 cents. BTW, I own an AVA Transcendence 7 preamp, have just ordered the new AVA Fet Valve 550EXR power amp, and hope to purchase RM40's early next year. |
Mcintosh mc352, mc602 I don`t know what the new mc402 sound`s like maybe that`s what I could do this week go listen to it. David |
The McIntosh 162, 352, 602 sound likes tubes in some respect, i.e., they get the tonality right, and the pureness of the instruments, but ultimately, only a tube amp will give you the recording hall's ambience as well, while keeping you involved in the music. |
Electrocompaniet definitely airs toward the tube sound, it is not lush necessarily, just on the warm side & eliminates a lot of the electronic haze. It can do justice to most any type of music & very detailed at the same time. |
Bel Canto EVOs. Has replaced tubes in my Apogee system. No heat. More power. More speed. Better dynamics. Etc. Think tubes evolved generations beyond SS. |
Thanks everyone for their help. I tried a little Cary AE 3 preamp and knew I was on the right track. Bought an Audio Research LS 16 pre and that was a bullseye, not too tubey and no ss nastiness like the Krell preamp. The Krell may be more detailed than the Cary at 1/10 it's price but certainly isn't as enjoyable to listen to. After thirty years I feel like I missed something just now getting into tube equipment. Went through 3 dacs trying to get to where I couldn't without the tubes in line. Many thanks. |
Tube like transistor amps?
Surely you have to include the Lavardin amps! I have had a listen to one of those. The experience is just out of this world.
It is nothing I have heard before. The sound just flows out of the speakers without any grain or even a hint of an edge.
The ecstatic reviews in HiFI Plus and HIFI news were well deserved. My teenage boys and my wife cannot believe their ears and thought that the amp i was using was the monster Musical fidelity A308 pre/power in the room. They were insistant that I should get one. I would even say that the sound from Lavardin was superior to the A308 pre/power combo. It sure beats krell KAVs and other integrated in that price range.
It must rank as one of the best SS amps ever.
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Pass Aleph series, Accuphase, Warner Imaging, vintage Jeff Rowland, and GamuT are my nominations for tube-like solid state. I have had all of these in my system at one time or another. I'm a dealer for GamuT, whose coherence is reminiscent of a good single-ended triode amp (they use a single output device in each channel - well, acutally a pair of humongous mosfets in push-pull, but the net result is a single voice rather than a chorus of voices, which is what you get with multiple output transistors no matter how closely matched).
As far as coming up with 200+ tube-like solid state watts for under two grand, well, best o' luck to ya! |
GO FOR THE CONRAD JOHNSON MF2500A VERSION THIS AMP HAS IT ALL THE BEST OF WHAT TUBES ARE KNOWN FOR AND THE BEST OF WHAT SOLID STATE IS KNOWN FOR I DONT KNOW HOW CJ DID IT, PUT THIS AMP AS A PRIORTY ON YOUR LIST ITLL WIN YOU OVER LIKE IT DID ME. |
bel canto get 2 bridged for 240 watts a side 2200.00 i got 1 its unbelieveable |
All of the recent McIntosh, Pass X150, CJ 2300 (and others of that era). I have to say that after listening to the Audio Research 100.2 several times in two systems, I don't think it is very tubey. I was surprised to see it listed here a few times. I may have to give it another try in yet another setup and see if it changed. Arthur |
Which apples taste the most like pears? Red Delicious, or Granny Smiths, or....?! If you like pears have a friggin' pear, why eat some imitation that is supposed to duplicate some of the qualities of one while diluting the taste with its own character. OK, so you're looking for something unique...the quest for the holy grail which posesses all qualities....Unfortunately the few tube amps I've heard that put out significant power don't really exhibit the qualities I love most about tubes which is the sense of airiness and holography they can impart to musical reproduction, along with that magical midrange you seek. I've also heard several of the ML amps mentioned (including two all-ML systems extensively) and absolutely none of them sounded tubelike to me (that comparison is also surprising to me). They had plenty of bass slam though, and speed and detail in spades. But none had the palpability of tubes that gets me where I live. If you just have to have apples that taste like pears well then I'd say Pass Labs Aleph series does a pretty good job, and would likely meet your criterium as far as mixing together the qualities of the sound of each. The Aleph 5 was the closest I've heard to that description, but it does not have nearly as much power as you ask for. At the power you need you'd be limited to the more expensive Aleph 1 (150wpc) or 2's (100wpc) which are both mono designs (used they would go for about $3500-5500 a pair for either with the 1's being more expensive). I guess if you really need the power you should check out their X series, as previously suggested, on which I cannot comment as I've not heard them. Don't necessarily rule out biamping because you haven't got a slot in your rack. Just put the amps on amp stands or sandboxes near (behind or beside) your speakers with a shorter speaker run and longer interconnect from pre to amp. You may even find that that works better with your system.
Good luck in your quest.
Marco |
I agree with Jacob,I haven't heard any SS amps with tube sound,moreover ML amps. |
Musical Design,,,,by JOhn Hillig |
You must ABSOLUTELY give a listen to amplification by Electrocompaniet, the ''tubiest'' solid state in my opinion ! Even if it means not getting up there in the 200 watts range! |
Lanno Trinity 200 is what you are looking for. I agree with Sogood51. You will get the great midrange and soundstage of a tube amp with the slam and power of solid state amps. Plus, you can fine tune the sound by swapping tubes without breaking the bank. |
Levinson is NOT tube-like!!!! I have heard ML amps called a lot of flattering things but never that before... I like ML gear but just would never call their amps tube-like.
I honestly beleive that there is no such thing exactly as tube-like SS. I know that isn't helpful, because I've asked this same question before. My listening gave me the following close calls (in descending order): Boulder, Classe Omega >> Sim, Ayre, Marsh, and I guess tube hybrids. The Boulders sound like very expensive tube amps (they all seem to meet up on the very, very expensive side since LAMM doesn't sound very tubey either) - not "tubey" but musically enjoyable and somehow "right" for SS.
I have a more basic question, though: Why not do a VTL MB 450 or another high power tube amp. If you want high power amps that sound like tubes, why wouldn't you consider high power tube amps? What are you driving, incidentally? (this is the only place where I can ask this and not get "M3" or some other car as an answer!)
Just my $.02
Jacob |
Sure, go with the Levinson, just hope you don't have to have it repaired. Mine is sitting at their plant for a good 3 months now! The worst service ever. I can sell it to you cheap as soon (if ever) I get it back. Stick with Audio Research or Pass Labs. Good Luck |
