Aesthetix hybrid, Rogue Apollo Dark ya might get lucky used, VTL. Manley snapper might have XLR… mentioned ARC 75 be sure it’s an SE….. Quickies are great …
Have fun…..
Tube amps under $7500
Ready to experiment with combinations never before (or not recently) tried. Step one requires a tube amp. Now looking at Prima Luna EVO 400 which sells for 5K. Any other tube amps I should consider in this price/feature range? Must come in silver with balanced input. For pairing experimentally with various tube and SS preamps. Efficient 4 ohm Legacy speakers (and the room/setup) are the constants.
All: definitely aware of ARC, CJ, BAT, and would not need to ask about those as it is a given they are top-end. Many others mentioned that I don't know much about and will check out. Could be I will end up where I started, which is "if you don't have the time, the money, the obsession, and the right listening space, forget about the true high end and settle back into your comfortable mid-fi-plus zone." Thanks all for suggesting products I never knew were out there. Will definitely do some homework and see where the needle stops. I enjoy experimenting but perhaps my "end game" system is something just not quite so lofty. |
I wished I would had listened years ago when someone suggested to me MCintosh ,ARC or CJ as a preamp. I kiss a lot of frogs on my journey.Listen to the words of wisdom @ghdprentice he is like the good cool uncle at the bbq .One of my biggest regrets is buying gear thinking that is just as good as what I really wanted . It's a reason why McIntosh,ARC and Cj gear is over 10 years old still demanding a decent price . Recently someone was crying about how hard it was to sell a Roque pre amp. Prima luma you see them for sale almost new all the time |
Look into Aric Audio. For $5k, the Transcend Push-Pull is a steal. It runs a variety of output tubes, all in Class A, which makes big difference to my ears, and it sounds terrific. I borrowed the top Prima Luna and found it decidedly substandard. I’ve owned a Manley Stingray II for a decade in second system and it’s a fine little integrated but the Aric is on a different level. Both PL and Manley are class AB. I also have a couple of high-end, low-watt SET amps that I use with high-eff speakers. The Aric is not far behind them in palpability and tonality, but puts out a robust 65 watts with KT-150s. I drive 91db, 4-ohm Perlistens easily. Aric specs his OPTs to handle sub-4 ohms. And it is dead quiet. Aric is a pleasure to work with. |