I can’t debate the merits and demerits of the various classes of amps out there, as I’ve not heard that many, and I’ve certainly never heard them AB’d.
What I can assuredly say is that the Luxman L590 AX Mk2 made by far the most positive change in my system. The ‘even my wife noticed it’ applies here. There was no straining to hear a difference, and being 60 years old I’ve been on the audio merry-go-round a long time.
My guess is that it’s the class A bias at work- I would imagine most or all of these amps have a certain sonic signature that I would enjoy. I’ll leave the max power debate to you guys. I really like the Luxman, I’ve had it for four years, with zero hiccups.
So if you think you’d like the class A sound, it probably comes down to the feature set that various manufacturers offer. I do occasionally use the tone controls, love the headphone amp, and the phono stage sounds good too. No DAC, digital readout, user preferences to set here; it is strictly an analogue piece.
Enjoy your search.
What I can assuredly say is that the Luxman L590 AX Mk2 made by far the most positive change in my system. The ‘even my wife noticed it’ applies here. There was no straining to hear a difference, and being 60 years old I’ve been on the audio merry-go-round a long time.
My guess is that it’s the class A bias at work- I would imagine most or all of these amps have a certain sonic signature that I would enjoy. I’ll leave the max power debate to you guys. I really like the Luxman, I’ve had it for four years, with zero hiccups.
So if you think you’d like the class A sound, it probably comes down to the feature set that various manufacturers offer. I do occasionally use the tone controls, love the headphone amp, and the phono stage sounds good too. No DAC, digital readout, user preferences to set here; it is strictly an analogue piece.
Enjoy your search.