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Best Tube Amp under 10K?

Having every audio dealer in town recommend their line as "the best unless you want to spend $25K" and buy a ..." is frustrating. Well, like most of us, I can't spend $25K on amps ... but I am curious to know what others consider their "final" amp upgrade under $10K. My listening tastes are wide ranging but will mostly include SACD jazz and classical. I do not have a turntable ... yet. And I ususally play at low to moderate volumes only (the wife factor)-- speakers are reasonably efficient 91DB KEF Ref 4's that I hope to upgrade.
lornecherry
john_l
782 posts
 
Tough question. Tube amps are different enough that you really have to buy according to your tastes. Some of my favorites are: vt100m2 (which I own)(transparent, full sounding and very natural), BAT 150SE's (even more transparent with amazing precision (I guess the 75s would hit the 10K mark)), and Conrad-Johnson mv-55 (the midrange window is to die for). All very different in presentation.
soix
9,456 posts
 
Although I myself haven't jumped on the tube wagon yet, a friend of mine who works for a speaker manufacturer and who has written numerous equipment reviews considers Art Audio amps to be among the best he's heard. I mention this because as a reviewer he's been in a position to hear just about everything out there. I think their top level amp is in the $6k to $7k range. As others have said, it's still a personal taste and equipment/room interaction thing so the final decision is up to your ears. Best of luck.

Tim
ed_sawyer
588 posts
 
I listened to the MC2000, didnt' really care for it all that much. Retail on it is $15k btw, though they have been sold here for $8500 on occasion. A decent enough amp, but not worth 15k. I didnt' care much for the bottom end, it sounded flabby, loose, and overly warm, with little bass or control. this was on Watt/Puppy VI combo.

the Conrad Johnson premier 5 monoblocks (~$3-4k/pair used) I thought were much better than the MC2000, and a whole lot cheaper too.

YMMV,
-Ed
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
I recently heard the Transcendent OTL. It is a Class AB design which means it runs a bit cooler than the SE's and by using some feedback there is better bass control. I can't speak about its bass performance because the speakers I listened to it on rolled off at about 65-70hz (EPOS minis) but I can certainly say they are the most transparent 3D natural sounding amps I can ever recall hearing. The best of solid state AND tubes. Price 4K for 80 watt monos and 2.1K for 25 watt Stereo factory direct new. Probably one of the best values in amps so long as you have the right speakers. No impedence dips below 4 ohms though. Bruce has a patent on this design that addresses some of the inherent problems with OTL's. Check out the TranscendentSound web site. No I am not a factory spokesman but I am more than a little impressed with this level of performance at the price point.
potsey
58 posts
 
for under ten grand you have a lot to choose from, like
ARONOV 9100 monos ($6k) and pre amp(2k +) (excellent sound, powerful enough to drive most speakers. UNISON 845 SE triode
beautiful cherry wood finish (6k) and MYSTERY ONE pre amp about 3K. if you have not heard either of these, don't buy until you do
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