2. amps-preamps
  3. 184301-117859

Looking for high power warming sounding tube amps

Right now running bottlehead moreplay into pass x350.8. Speakers are ns5000. The sound is great but my buddy let me borrow cj lp140ms and the mid range magic these amps brought was amazing. The pass had better bass and maybe detail. 

I wanted to see if I could get tube amps that had pass bass with romance of cj. I tried prima luna evo 300 but it was a step down from cj in terms soundstage and tone. 

 

I'm guessing I need more power.. maybe at least 100 wpc. Any recommendations looking to spend less than $7k.

smodtactical
smodtactical OP
986 posts
 

@russbutton have you heard them? Are they warmer and richer sounding or more neutral ss ?

smodtactical OP
986 posts
 

@atmasphere  But what actual amp has those characteristics ?

russbutton's avatar
russbutton
454 posts
 

@smodtactical I run a VTA preamp I’m thrilled with. I’ve heard one of their ST-70 amps. Were I in the market for a big tube amp, the M125 pair would be what I’d go for. The designer, Bob Latino has a very good rep. These are well built and engineered amps. Well supported after sale as well.

Here’s a clue for you. They’ve sold hundreds of these M125 amps and you very rarely see them on the used market. There are none for sale at this time so far as I know.

Here’s an article comparing the VTA ST-120 vs a Mac 275. All of the VTA amps sound pretty much the same, with the bigger amps simply having more headroom.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,111 posts
 

@smodtactical 

But what actual amp has those characteristics ?

Our class D does. I think the AGD Audion does too.

ditusa's avatar
ditusa
2,029 posts
 

@mijostyn Wrote:

 @atmasphere  And, which amp would that be?

Whichever amp or amp class that the manufacturer or designer promotes at the time as the Holy Grail, will be the best sounding amp of all time. LOL 😎

Mike

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