Low power tube amp for Sonus Faber?

ei001h OP
I’m not sure how to interpret those numbers. Also have an option to get an older Krell ksa300s, not sure if it’s superior to my Mc452. What do you think ? My plan is to have one SS and one tube for Elipsa.

I’ve never been a fan of solid state amps with "autoformers" like the MacIntosh has, band-aid fix for amps that can’t do the job without the autoformer.

Sadly "if" the Elipsa had bi-amp speaker terminals having the SE845 on the mids and highs (250hz up) and the Krell on the bass (250hz down) would have been the way to go, with a passive volume control on the louder one to match the levels, but sadly they don’t have bi-amp speaker terminals.

And I not a biggest fan of the KSA300s bass is great, but they lost some of the magic in the mids and highs when they went with that 1st generation plateau biasing for some reason with the "s" models.

Out of all those four amps you have, and you can’t bi-amp. It’s the Mac or the Krell, my bet is on the Krell.

Or cull all 4 amps you have and get one magic one like the Gryphon Antillion Evo 3 or 4 user switchable Class-A bias on the front panel even while musics playing, my friend has one of these on his Wilson Alexia’s, it’s a game over for amp searching, it does everything, the bass of the biggest Krells and the ease and euphonic’s of the SE845’s.

There is another amp at a reasonable price, and that's the new JC5 Halo it was bought out as an answer to potential buyer not being able to afford the JC1 monoblocks, John Curl as you may know is one of the gods of advancement amp design like Nelson Pass, they don't rest and reconfigure what was around in the old days but rather advance designs with new and advancing technologies, neither though have embraced Class-D.   

Cheers George

Hello ei,

I am the US distributor for MastersounD.  If you would like to talk more about options with your speakers, please feel free to reach out to me.  There are many things that would need to be discussed to make sure you get into the right amp for your needs.  

Cheers,

Skip

ei001h OP

Also if your interested ei001h here is an A/B of the JC5 vs the $8.5K McIntosh MC452
  
"Tonally, the MC452 and JC 5 are nearly opposites. The MC452 is more organically textured and warmblooded. It has a denser and more colorful tone. The JC 5 is superior in its instrumentation and vocal outlines and has more dimension and air. The MC452 has less depth and is fuzzier in comparison but has more contrast with its texture. The MC452 has a more forward midrange with very nice weight and slam. The JC 5 is much quicker, more insightful, has tighter bass, and breathes further into the room. It has a wider and deeper soundstage while the MC452 is cozier. Cymbals have more zing and splash with the JC 5 while the MC452 isn’t as vibrant. The JC 5 also does a better job layering out the soundstage and separating out the performers."

And this is on B&W 804D2 quite a bit easier to drive than you SF’s, on them the differences would be even greater, especially in the bass where the JC5 would be in far less coloured and in great control with more impact and drive.


Cheers George

I use the exact same speakers with a 34 wpc EL-34 PrimaLuna DiaLogue One with great results (I also use KT-88's in the PrimaLuna from time to time). I currently switch between the PrimaLuna and a McIntosh MA8900 integrated (solid state, 200 wpc). For what it's worth, the difference is *not* night and day as you may think. In fact, sometimes the tube integrated sounds more "powerful", and vice-versa. Sometimes, the McIntopsh sounds warmer and more "tube-like". So, it's all about synergy, your room, your personal tastes, etc. I say give it a shot!

Call Upscale Audio and talk to Kevin Deal as I think they sell Sonus Faber and tube amps.