The smoothest amp you've heard?

and there it is...

@atmasphere

Ralph, i’m not a spec guy, and have not doubt about what you are saying.

for sure i’ve heard tube amps with noticeably open extended top ends; three come to mind and they are all OTL’s; any Atmasphere i’ve heard :-), my Tenor 75 watt OTL’s back in 2001-2003, and the Berning 211/845 during my in-room demo a few years back.

a friend has some Found Music ’Blade’ tube amps that are very open on top, not sure the topography.

these are the tube amps i’ve heard enough to comment on.

i had the Lamm ML3’s and big VAC’s in my room for 3 months back a couple of years. i’d say each are ’better than average’ as far as tube amps top end extension but not in darTZeel territory, or OTL territory either.

The quality of smoothness is a lack of higher ordered harmonics; also a lack of IMD.

I agree with this as far as it goes.
The whole ariness things needs more definition INSHO to even know if we're discussing the same thing.

@mikelavigne just familiarized myself with darTZEEL as far as reading and that's as close as I will probably ever get! The NHB-468 clocks in at 195k. Maybe I'll find one used on audiomart! I bet though it's fantastic.

Yes DarTZeel is the bomb, but an expensive one. So organic- just music. I have the LHC-208 integrated. Took a long time to work up to getting it. Speakers are PMC Fact 12’s.