+1 hypoman! The Quad 405 -1 and 2 are great and innovative SS amp designs worthy of inclusion in any hi-end system! Too bad that today they are largely forgotten due to the hype for the latest greatest amp! Mine has been nicely upgraded by the previous owner.
Small Footprint SS Power Amps
Hoping to use this forum to quickly get a list of small footprint SS power amps - 14" or less wide - for a specific application I have. I need at least 100W (prefer more), prefer A/B. I know of the Benchmark ABH2 and various Quad models. Any others you are aware of? Appreciate the help!
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I am guessing OP wants a Narrow STEREO Amp. i.e. space is the issue, so two monoblocks will exceed 14" max width. Small: I have, am sitting here listening to, a Carver CUBE https://www.hifinews.com/content/carver-m-400-cube mine is the M-400t (t version i.e. tube sound) This one is overpriced, but nice photos and info https://reverb.com/item/39295847-fully-restored-carver-m-400t-the-cube-stereo-mono-power-amp-over-20... ........................... OP mentioned class A/B evidently it is class A/B up to 20 wpc, which (if you watch any McIntosh meter, or the Cube's db meter while playing), is almost everything. It has non A/B tricks to deliver more power when needed. excerpt from the hifi news review linked above "The innermost pair operate from ±25V rails and constitute a 20W Class A/B linear output stage, and stacked on either side of this pair is another pair of output transistors, commutated or switched by catching diodes and some driver circuitry. These are linked to ±50V supply rails and accommodate the swing of signal peaks between ±25 and ±50V. A third pair, the outermost, are fed from ±80V lines, these using additional driver and bias circuitry for clean operation. For power levels below 20W, the additional transistors and rails are never invoked, and no difference in operation from a conventional amplifier should be apparent". ................................. Frankly I never knew mine, t version, is supposed to sound like tubes. I bought it on Harvey's used shelf as a curiosity. Used it for it's small size, in a bookcase with small bookcase speakers like now. I did use it's 200 wpc with my JSE Infinite Slope Model 2's, compared it to McIntosh MC2250 SS, 250 wpc. It is astounding how that little .... can compete. |
small and very good sounding, and a bargain at $875 https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisaa033-audio-alchemy-dpa-1-stereo-amplifier-solid-state |
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