@mglik, I know what you are searching for. I too am a long time 300b SET user. And now looking for a more powerful amp for my Tannoys. The reality seems to be, there is no exact match without a compromise. Solid states that sound good to my ears are QUAD, Plinius and some very old (almost vintage) Mark Levinson, Sansui and the likes. The better option is to find a good tube push-pull amp with zero feedback and triode wiring. Like the Rogue Stereo 100. You get some genuine power and genuine tube sound and genuine flow of music. Many solid state amps simply try to artificially create this sound, which won't work for us. Another option is to go for really good parallel single ended 300b amps, like the Border Patrol. You retain the SET magic and 300b sound, just a little less pure. Don't go for new age bigger hybrid 300b bottles made by Emission Labs and KR. They all promise more power but they sound too modern and ultimately artificial. Finally the really better amps are the parallel single ended 211 amps from a good designer. But they are very expensive. Don't go for single tube 211, 845 SETs, they sound slow and boring. Only when 211 is in parallel do they behave like 300b or 2A3. Hope this helps 😊
Is there a Solid State amp that can satisfy a SET guy?
Have been a SET guy for so long I have forgotten what a good SS amp even sounds like.
Just bought a pair of $33k speakers that will replace my current $16k speakers. Both are from the same designer and both are 92db and a flat 8 ohms. The new ones arrive in 4 days!
My 300B based amps well drive my current speakers even though I do use the system nightly as a 2 channel home theater. Especially considering the HT usage, I think I may enjoy a SS amp with many times the horsepower. The speaker designer suggests using a Leema Hydra II. I have written to Leema telling them of my 300B preference and they assure me that their amp does not have the destructive harmonics that make a SS amp bright. There must be other SS amps that can satisfy?
Just bought a pair of $33k speakers that will replace my current $16k speakers. Both are from the same designer and both are 92db and a flat 8 ohms. The new ones arrive in 4 days!
My 300B based amps well drive my current speakers even though I do use the system nightly as a 2 channel home theater. Especially considering the HT usage, I think I may enjoy a SS amp with many times the horsepower. The speaker designer suggests using a Leema Hydra II. I have written to Leema telling them of my 300B preference and they assure me that their amp does not have the destructive harmonics that make a SS amp bright. There must be other SS amps that can satisfy?
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- 288 posts total
- 288 posts total