One amplifier I know I loved was a vac Renaissance 30/30. Push pull 300B output tubes. It doesn't have enough power for my current speakers, but I've heard about 300B SET amps. I have to wonder how amazing they must sound. I'm going to research these a bit. Maybe they are all low powered. I have thought about a vac Renaissance 70/70 or 140/140, but the cost of 300b tubes these days is pretty daunting. The 30/30 and a shindo montrachet are probably the greatest amplifiers I've ever owned, from a goosebumps musical point of view.
Single ended = large images?
I'm thinking about trying single ended amps. Years ago for a short time I had Cary 805b monos. I absolutely loved everything about the sound, except that they made all the images very large... Which for me took away from the realism.
Do all the Cary 805 models do this? Not sure if the 211 option on the anniversary edition might be different? I saw a comment by Dennis had that the large image size was intentional and an artifact of zero feedback.
If that's just the way the cary amps are, are there other brands of relatively high power single-ended amps that might not present images in a large and upfront manner? My main speakers are Verity Audio Parsifal, which are only 89 DB efficient. I also have a six pack of REL G2 subwoofers. I want to preserve as much dynamics as possible while moving to single ended, which is why the cary amps are attractive to me... Meaty transformers and a fair amount of power. My room is 15x29 and I listen moderately loudly but not very loudly. Mix of jazz, blues, rock and classical piano.
I appreciate any thoughts and any recommendations of other brands that might do what I'm looking for -- that single ended magic without giant forward images. Pricewise I'm looking in the $4k to $7k range used.
Thanks
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- 38 posts total
- 38 posts total