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Help What Say You - Amp choices

I have been pulling my hair out the last few weeks listening to amps at different stores. My final three choices are the Rogue Audio M150, McIntosh MC352 (used from a friend) and the McCormack DNA-225. All are well built. No problem there. All presented a great warm sound. My dilemma is that I keep hearing about how tubes don't have the same weight, authority or control of bass as solid state. And I can't honestly say that I heard a difference going from stereo to monoblocks. Granted, I can't hear them all at the same time due to different audio stores, but I don't feel like the Rogues were lacking in the bass area, yet neither the McCormack or the McIntosh seemed overwhelmingly powerful in comparison to the Rogue. Any help, suggestions, medication (LOL) you can recommend is greatly appreciated.
hawk28
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
I went from Krell to Rogue...there is nothing wrong with your ears. (I suggest the meds with the seeds)

Dave
hgeifman
2,249 posts
 
Are you listening to your own music? If not, you should be. You should never use entire tracks or discs to compare the equipment. Pick two or three one minute selections since longer will overload your audio memory and lead to a faulty decision. Make sure your selections encompass the type of music that means the most to you. Always listen to exactly the same selections in the same order before and after each equipment change. Do not make a decision on the first listen but go back and listen again (3+ times, if needed). Do not rush the decision since you do not want to make a mistake. You could bring a friend to help but this is your equipment so it must be your decision to make. If you cannot decide, wait one week and go listen again. If all the equipment sounds the same, pick other familiar music selections and listen again (or change the equipment). This is not an easy process so please take your time and do not rush it. Hope this helps.
undertow
1,033 posts
 
Tubes have Zero issue with bass, and actually in my experience Deeper, Fuller, and more impactfull bass in many cases as long as everything else impedance wise and speaker efficiency wise are taken into consideration with much care.
jamnesta
155 posts
 
Some prefer tube bass, myself included. To me the result was a richer tonal balance and this was within the same manufacturer's products; SS -v- tubes. Tubes do demand more involvement from the owner.....I like that too ;-)
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Undertow is 100% correct, but you need some guidance to choose tube-friendly speakers. Generally speakers with a very smooth impedance curve, and if it nominally 8 ohms rather than 4 ohms, all the better. A tube amp with the wrong speaker can result in less than ideal bass - tubes don't handle poorly engineered speakers with wild swings in impedance very well. What speakers do you have or are you considering. Tube bass is all the things Undertow mentions, it breathes and blossoms into the room in a very 3D manner; I think sometimes the word "bloom" is used to describe it; it sounds very natural.
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