Dan D 'Agostino, Mark Levinson, Jim Thiel,

Bob's tube amps are no longer made by that "chump" in Tennessee. Bob is in charge of full production of his amps and speaker now.

no dan, no krell

no mark, no levinson..but mark is a terrible businessman.

no jim, no thiel

the answer to your question is without a doubt nelson pass and...

no pass, no threshold.

Sunfire is still in business, he sold it to a big corporation and did quite well for himself. Carver was/is a man who has the guts to think outside the box. He invented the cube subwoofer, the tracking down converter power supply that allows his SS amps to produce insane power levels.

He is also an accomplished speaker designer and his new line source speakers look incredible. It’s sad when ignorant people besmirch a man who has for over 40 years been a leader and pioneer in audio.

You really want to judge a mans life work by describing him as a clown? Grow up... That’s extremely insulting not only to him, but to the many people the world over who have come to love this hobby by owning equipment he built and continues to build.

Oh and btw: Bob Carver's first company Phase Linear is still around in car audio...he also started and sold a bio-tech company that I presume is also around. Not to mention the various patents he holds for ribbon speakers, amplifiers and so on.

IME, Pass Labs is the very best solid state at this juncture.