Best 845 amp?

Have a look at this thread:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1107110136&read&keyw&zzbel+canto+set+845

As for me, I'm using a Bel Canto SET40 and love it.

Great thread Dean! Thanks for pointing that out. There's some excellent points made there. I heard a BelCanto SET 40, albeit briefly, and was impressed with what I heard. Not long enough to wax poetic on the experience though. Next time I'm in L.A. you'll have to spin some tunes for me!

Marco

Unison research 845 smarts monos and for less money the Unison research S8 integrated.

Both terrific sounding with the smarts being the best.

With only 24 watts it's interesting to noticed how well they could drive most speakers easily,had them with full range VR4s,Vandersteen and Alons speakers.

Music really was lite from within.

Boo hoo I miss it...

T.

I was mesmerized by the Viva Verona 845 based amp used with my Avantgardes, along with their very fine phono stage and preamp. The sonic performance achieved prior to this was fantastic in many ways. But with the Viva inserted, the overall performance transcended analysis and instead left me with the emotion, vibrance, and presence of real music, real musicians. The most realistic-like sound I’ve ever heard. These amps are worth checking out. Also, I understand that the Viva Solista integrated, also 845 based, combines the circuit of the Verona with the circuit from their preamp, and gets close to the sound of using these separates. I have yet to try the Solista, but have good faith in the person who mentioned its sonic attributes.

I had forgotten the earlier 845 thread. To update the bit about the 845C and 845M tubes sold by Super TNT and produced by Shuguang, both of these tubes are currently available, both are "metal plate" tubes, and SuperTNT confused the issue by introducing a new version of the "M" without changing their model designation! The original "C" and "M" tubes were essentially the same. Confused? Join the club. The good thing is that both the current "C" and "M" tubes are excellent. I just bought a pair of new-production 845Cs from Sophia Electric and like them a lot, though they are the brightest (visually) tubes I ever saw. Dave