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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
ricevs
1,543 posts
 
Chorus,
If I were you I would buy the Valvet E2 SE and the LTA Zotl10 MKII amp and the Benchmark amp (all with money back trial) and then A/B/C/D them all.  Replace any fuses with Synergistic Blues before you do the test....Make sure they are all burned in.   If you liked any one of the above better you can sell the Pass for what you paid, very quickly.  Make yourself happy, get the best sound that you like.....not what others have said.....listen for yourself.  You can then inform others who don't have the money to front for all those amps but who REALLY want to know.  Help yourself, help others.
chorus OP
976 posts
 
ricevs,

You have outlined my buying model. Try b4 u buy. Which is why
I have tried so many. Lejonklou, Leben, Sugden, Kongku, Electrik, Cary
and Pass.

There is local party with a Valvet E2 SE for sale. No home trial available.

I am not a Benchmark fan. They measure well but the sound is too dry for me.  Engineers love them naturally. 

I am off LTA as some comments I read make them sound not as good
as other choices but I may never know. If there is ever another Audio
show LTA will be a lengthy visit.

Now the Valvet does intrigue me I have to admit...
I see it as likely another product much like the Lejonklou.
Amazing resolution. I like the "tubey" Pass sound. His house
sound works magic for me. He is good with his crayons I guess.


I let my ears do the deciding. Hence the Pass XA25 is the winner
so far. I have paid RT freight and restocking fees when needed but
I am not of unlimited means. Sorry if I gave that impression. I can not finance more than one product at a time.
I seek confirmation by inviting two friends over who have more experienced and discerning ears than I have.
If I do not have my position confirmed by them I will likely not
move ahead. 

If this sounds a bit contradictory to my earlier statement, well you
may be right. But anyone who does not want his opinions supported
by those with higher skill sets is a fool, right?



kw6
692 posts
 
Congrats on your Xa25. If you ask Mark at Reno Hifi he says best all around is Xa25 compared to Sit-3 and F7. I never heard Sit-3 but Mr. Pass says more dimensional and juicy. But I wonder if you give a up a bit of detail for the extra distortion. In my set up it's neutral and not the least bit mechanical and has all the details. Today I will sub in my Evo 200 tube amp as I don't want to over work the Pass on this summer heat. I don't have AC so I was listening naked in my underwear yesterday!🙊
handymann
383 posts
 
I’ve owned three class A biased amps and will never go back to anything but class A. I had a couple of Krell KMA160’s several years ago. They were good,butIhadsomeMartinLogan Monoliths and they just didn’t have the power I needed. From there I went to a couple of Pass XA-100.5’s. They were sweet, but had some Wilson Max II’s-same problem. I purchased a couple of Krell EV 600’s and have never looked back..They supply all the current and headroom I will ever need. I have made this analogy before. Anything, but a class A amp is like a dragster sitting on the line idling. A class A amp is wide open, just waiting to drop the clutch.  A class A is very quick “and I like it.”
ag3__
47 posts
 
Edit: didn't read the thread but seems you made a good decision !

--

I’ve got a pair of the newer tannoy eatons. For low powered SS I’ve tried the XA25 (current amp) and several FW models (F7 and SIT3). The SIT3 isn’t a good match imo. I really like the XA25, I think it's a great match with Tannoys. 

Prior tube amps included the LTA UltraLinear (for sale) and the new PrimaLuna. While I enjoy tubes, i prefer a well made ss to tubes over the long run for the added detail, bass control etc. The LTA is no slouch but prefered the Pass head to head, although it bested both the F7 and SIT3 in my set up.

2 amps I’d like to try when funds permit are the Valvet e2se and the bakoon 13R

These amps are reportedly quite similar to the pass XA25. All low powered, ss. Bakoon is class AB I believe, from what I've read I'm expecting similar sound to the Pass. Valvet is class A and single ended and have several 2nd hand reports of people enjoying it more than the Pass
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