Zu Soul Superfly

>>is there an amp i can find here in the $500-$800 range that can power my Soul's? i agree that my cambridge 540 and HK 3490 are lacking in the lower midrange/bass arena.<<

Make the best deal you can on an NAD integrated amp in that price range. You'll also find some pretty good sounding Chinese EL34 tube amps under a variety of obscure brand names on eBay that will do fine. You can buy an EL34 amp with your eyes closed and not fear. It's very hard to screw up an EL34 tube amp, and many of those unknown (to us in the West) Chinese tube amp designers know exactly what they're doing with simple circuits and good parts.

Phil

>>If you check with 213Cobra he will agree with the musicality of an EL-34 amp.<<

Yup. No doubt. Takes me back. I ran a pair of Dyna Stereo 70s strapped as ~70w monoblocks 35 years ago, when you could still buy Stereo 70 kits new and real West German Telefunkens and Siemens EL34s were plentiful. I built many for friends. Today, there are inexpensive upgrades, in parts or even replacement of the input circuit. But even stock, a well-maintained Stereo 70 will be euphonic in beautiful ways, and have a lot less push-pull grunge than most modern push-pull tube amps. As I just wrote in another post, almost any EL34 tube amp is a safe bet for good sound, and Zu's efficiency means a single stereo amp pushing out 30 - 35w/ch goes far. Most days on Audiogon there are a couple of rehabbed, modded or hot-rodded Stereo 70s. Other great, but more expensive, vintage iron: McIntosh MC2225, MC240, MC30 & 60 monoblocks. No cheap Marantz 8Bs left, but that would sound gorgeous. Lots of Chinese El34 and EL84 amp options.

In vintage solid state, you'd get music from Quad 405, 405-II and even a 303, which are around for mad money these days. Sweet into 16 ohms.

Phil

Zanon, if you can't tell the different between a Tripath and an ICE amp, you probably can't tell the difference between an EL34 and KT88 or a 2A3 and 300B either.

Just thought I'd chime in with some additional amp options in the $500-800 range that over the years I've had some experience with. Conrad-johnson MV 50 or 52(the 52 has polypropylene caps in the power supply) which is EL34 based would be excellent(45 watts/ch)as would an Audio Research classic 30(30 watts/ch). As both are older amps they likely have 16 ohm output taps which would be ideal with the 16 ohm impedance of the Zu soul.

Paulfolbrecht:

It is entirely possible I will not be able to tell the difference between those amps I mention. After I hear them, I will say one way or the other.

I can hear strain with low power t-amp (below ~50 WPC) which I do not hear with 100 WPC Rotel ICE implementation, but what can I say. Class-d sounds like class-d.

I mean, we have people who say Zu's work with 3W flea amps, and people who say 3-6db difference between left and right channel make no difference, and toe-in (for massively directional HF speakers) makes no difference. So you can add to that list a guy who says class-d sounds like class-d no matter how much you pay for its.