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Demo'ing Class A amps, Appreciation Suggestions from those who recently been there

I recently sold my Cary S120MKll Amp in 2 days. It was 60wpc triode.
Filling in with Pass Lab, baby DIY Class A Mono blocks. Maxing at 7 wpc.
My speakers are rated 94 Sensitivity older FSMs by Tannoy.

I have sampled so far in order of preference:

-Pass Labs XA25 -Disneyland color the way I like it. $4,900 new
-Leben 300 Int. 12 wpc. EL 84s by Golden Lion-Like an Upscale call girl. Seductive. $4,000 new-Not in the running-

-Lejonklou Boazu Int.-40wpc S.S. Class a/b-Totally Pure. Almost hurts to hear a guitar slide. $4,000 new
-Sugden Masterclass IA 4 Class A to 33wpc. Very smooth but surprisingly not a great match with my Tannoys. $6,000?

What else would you think might be worth a listen?
I want to go Solid State this time. I enjoy the Class A resolution.
Yes the Leben is an outlier someone offered and I said "Sure"! Done with hum otherwise.


I listen from a low of 60 db to high of 75 db.
Room is irregular and medium sized in terms of cubic
feet. Treated as needed.

I want an amp that is satisfying enough to keep for the long run.
Someday I may add the others for a different sound or with less efficient planars, etc.

Price range $5k max.
Used preferred.
Willing to wait.

Brands I am have not heard but read positive comments about:
Ayre, Naim, Linn

Thank you all in advance for your thoughts.
Please do not feel compelled to respond if you
have not been here in the last few years.





chorus
decooney
2,238 posts
 
chorus, 
Reason I asked is the 120S with KT120s, stock input tubes, and stock caps is kind of a dry sounding amp (imo) in comparison to others I've owned, demo'd, heard several from Cary and Inspire.  The Pass amps, even with a good tube preamp have their own house sound.  Low-watt triode is a different chase, and the right speaker matching is the key there too. 
chorus OP
976 posts
 
Cooney,

I had Golden Lion KT88s. 
The Leben 300 I just demoed was a step up from the Cary.
I am most likely going with the Pass Int25. No tubes anywhere. 
The whole point I am making is the Pass House Sound
is better than ANYTHING I have tried to date.
And by a significant margin. 
I am open to being persuaded but please before suggesting anything, please have heard the Pass 25 Amp or Int.
and then tell me what you liked better. Thanks
jetter
3,055 posts
 
@chorus
Willing to give up the hum chasing, tube testing, blast furnace of the tube world for now.
Well I think you will still have the mini blast furnace affect with the class A XA25.



grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,541 posts
 
Clayton Audio still sells, fixes and upgrades gear.  Just had my amp upgraded. Great amps. 
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,967 posts
 
Well I think you will still have the mini blast furnace affect with the class A XA25.

That's the thing about class A. People have often commented about the heat they think our amps make, but compared to a true class A solid state amp of the same power, the heat is almost identical. The class of operation makes far more difference than whether the amp is tube or solid state!

But, if you want linearity in the output section, class A is the way to go no ifs ands or buts. High end audio is all about getting the recording to play back as if the music is *real*; hence class A amplifiers.
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