OTL Tube Amps-- are they superior to everything?

The truth is that the amps and speakers must perform together as a "unit". I would generalize to say that if your speakers drop below 8 ohms anywhere you will miss out on something sonically with almost any OTL amp. Several years ago I had Martin-Logan CLS'es and a pair of Fourier Panthere (200W) OTL's...these just didn't cut it despite the conventional wisdom of mating OTL's with stators. More recently I auditioned Atma MA-1 MkII's on my Wilson Sophias. Again, the music's foundation was sorely lacking with this pairing. In contrast, I am using Nagra VPA's which have output transformers but are rated at about one-third the output power of the Atma's. These give up nothing to the Atma's in terms of clarity, naturalness and soundspace and in addition they control the bottom end like a Krell. So while it may sound esoteric to say your amps are OTL's, or pure Class A, or single-ended etc. it's their match with your speakers rather than the design parameters that matter. I would go further to generalize that amps that work well with a wider variety of speakers are better designs than ones that have matching limitations.

While i haven't heard a ton of different OTL's, i do know that the Atma's sound very nice. As Gs mentions above, any design is a compromise of sorts and OTL's are no different.

Having said that, i know that Brian, who is the President of the Chicago Audio Society, recently switched from Atma-Sphere's to the new Parasound JC-1's. He's using these to drive his Sound Lab's. From the brief communications that i've had with him about this, he said that the JC-1 delivers all of the air, liquidity and finesse of the Atma's with the bass impact and slam that one expects from a "kick ass" SS amp. I know that both he and Bob Crump were pleasantly surprised with the results of this side by side comparison. Sean
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As stated above, optimal matching of the speaker and amplifier is a must. I don't think this is terribly difficult. There is a product called the ZERO autoformer (www.zeroimpedance.com) that will allow for more speaker choices, and is anything but a compromise in practical terms.

BTW, I am using Atma-Sphere M-60 amps with Köchel K300 horns. In my setup the XLO Signature Shotgun speaker cables I use are vastly superior to the ZEROs.

I believe I am achieving superior results, to each his own though I guess.

Short answer is no.

I agree that all designs are a compromise. You have to decide what compromises are right for you. I have a 20 watt OTL and speakers with low impedences do not work well with it at all. This does not mean that it will sound good with all high impedence speakers either. But, as a general rule, with high impedence or flat 8 ohm speakers, the OTL will sound more transparent and fast than other amp designs.

Most OTL amp designers contend that the Berning is not a true OTL. With all the wires and circuitry in there it is amazing that it even works. It is more amazing when you hear the thing play- with all types of speakers. I believe that Mr. Berning is a genius who just happens to design amps. He is so far ahead of other designers (most of which use basic amplifier circuits created in the 50s- not entirely bad) that the only thing they can do is ignore him. I almost bought one, but........ The only drawback is that it is so unconventional that if it ever breaks you better pray that Mr. Berning is around to fix it (and have parts for it).

It sounds to me like you need to commit to an OTL amp, and then choose a speaker that works well with it. This is a big step, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for such a commitment. I also read quite a few reviews on the otlamp.com website. Although every reviewer liked them very much, Todd Warnke of Sound Stage seemed to zero in on the flaws they do have. So, I guess they don't do everything perfect, but then nothing does.

Sean, since I'm in Chicago, perhaps you could drop me a line, and maybe we could talk...