Amps that don’t impersonate space heaters.

“Slam” is a very interesting attribute. What does it mean? Do you hear this “slam” when listening to live music? Is this “slam” an accurate representation of what’s on a recording or is it emphasis of particular frequency range that one component features over another? In most cases, “slam” is not real. Accurate reproduction/presentation is what I value in my system. This includes dynamics, tone, focus, layering, separation, soundstage. Coda is balanced pretty well in that regard. Imo

My take on slam is that it is one of the first and easiest attributes of a high end system to detect. It is the very abrupt wave of bass high energy from, say a kick drum on a recording. But in general it is not real. It is typically an artifact of high power solid state amps and often is accompanied by a leaness in the adjacent midbass or midrange, making it stand out more… a very fast rise and fall time. The difference for me was simply striking when I went from a Pass x350 to an Audio Research Reference160 amp. The bass sounded astonishing real and nuanced, like what I heard in a concert… a wave of bass that washed over you, extended in time and nuanced, instead of a single quick thump that disappeared quickly. So, no, I don’t hear slam in the real world and at least for me, I was incredibly happy to trade it for a much more realistic and nuanced sound.

There have been some epically hot periods in metropolitan Chicago this summer. I have had a long running affair with a pair of Avantgarde Uno s2’s and don’t really require a great deal of power. I have two dissimilar but equally compelling amps (a Pass 30.5 and a BAT vk-56) both prodigeous producers of heat creating a sauna like environment in my library/listening room the HVAC system not withstanding. What, if anything, have you boys and girls found that might replicate the qualities of my beloved amps minus the potential for 3rd degree burns and heat prostration?

@williamjohnston If you don't like the heat consider a class D amp. There are some now that rival class A tube or solid state amps in terms of sound quality (with a very good first Watt)- no harshness and actually lower noise so no problem running on horns. I have a set on my speakers which are 98 dB. They replaced a set of class A triode OTLs. I don't miss the tubes at all.

@ghdprentice you nailed it. Realistic and nuanced is exactly what I’m looking for as well. Accuracy of tone, expression, dynamics and articulation win any day over artificial “slam”.

@atmasphere Agree, I run a class D in warm weather and no heat streaming off.  In fact, can turn it up and let it run for hours and no heat coming off.  I haven't found one that sounds toe curling wonderful, but it isn't turning the room into a sauna.  On the brighter side, in Chicago, you need to worry about too hot for 2-3 months?