I have a new multi-channel Wyred4Sound ICE amp and it is, frankly, astoundingly good.
And, in fact, I'm going to take this opportunity to apologize to Mr. Bob Reynolds for previous comments. I indicated he was crazy if he could not tell the difference between a SET amp and a class AB solid-state amp in his system. Well, would you believe that this ICE amp sounds so close to my 300B set that differences are a matter of subtleties? I can now readily tell them apart, but at first they appeared nearly identical!
Before anybody thinks the system is unresolving or I can't hear, I'll add that switching between two world-class linestages, both tube, in this system, produces sonic differences to the extent that I can almost literally tell them apart from the first note. They're both great - but very different.
The funny thing to me is that I paid $800 for WE 300B output tubes to get that articulation and linear sound. If I were using cheaper 300Bs that invariably sound a little rounder, the differences would certainly be less subtle.
Please don't gloat too much, Bob, because most SETs still sound quite different from most AB transistor amps. Heck, most SETs sound quite different from *each other*, with each output tube have a distinctive set of characteristics.
And, in fact, I'm going to take this opportunity to apologize to Mr. Bob Reynolds for previous comments. I indicated he was crazy if he could not tell the difference between a SET amp and a class AB solid-state amp in his system. Well, would you believe that this ICE amp sounds so close to my 300B set that differences are a matter of subtleties? I can now readily tell them apart, but at first they appeared nearly identical!
Before anybody thinks the system is unresolving or I can't hear, I'll add that switching between two world-class linestages, both tube, in this system, produces sonic differences to the extent that I can almost literally tell them apart from the first note. They're both great - but very different.
The funny thing to me is that I paid $800 for WE 300B output tubes to get that articulation and linear sound. If I were using cheaper 300Bs that invariably sound a little rounder, the differences would certainly be less subtle.
Please don't gloat too much, Bob, because most SETs still sound quite different from most AB transistor amps. Heck, most SETs sound quite different from *each other*, with each output tube have a distinctive set of characteristics.