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Is anything better than Aleph 3?

I do not know if I would consider myself TRUE audiophile but I have been in this hobby for a long time although for the last few years I had no time for it but getting in the game again :)

I have heard a lot of solid state amps but I only heard Rogue Audio as tube amp. I always felt like it would be a pain to deal with the tubes but frankly I just have this conception from what I read/heard from people here and there. Right now I am considering tube amps so that I can have a sound like my good old Aleph 3. I used to have this amp and did not hear anything like it so far. I do not have fancy words to explain it but that thing was so sweet. The midrange was so smooth/soft, I could almost see the airy sound that was coming from the speakers with that amp. Yes, it did not have the best bass but that was not my concern too much. However, that thing was getting TOO hot and it was adding extra cost to the electric bill.

I have been trying to find someone who had an experience with the Aleph 3 and had a chance to compare it to the other amps. I have read some people telling Golden Tube SE-40 (yes I heard about the reliability issues) is the same or better. This other guy saying Onkyo A-9555 is better sounding amp than the Aleph 3. Could this be true?

You can tell that I do not want to spend a fortune but I could go up to $1500 for an amp that I can get the sound of an Aleph 3. Sure, I can get the Aleph 3 again but the heat and power consumption is a lot. Also, I am trying to see if I can like any other amp better than the Aleph 3.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
celo
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
I preferred the Aleph J to the Alephs, mostly in what appeared to be better bass performance. They are all good though and I think the J is a real "bargain" these days, though it doesn't have the cool cuboid shape of the original, which some love and some hated. Another good think about the J is that is has a very high input impedance making it much easier to drive with a tube preamp than the Pass Aleph series.
opus111
58 posts
 
I think Aleph 3 (also 1,2,4,and 5) can sound boring driving speakers with low (6 ohm or lowers) impedance. I found it to sound its best with benign 6 ohm or higher imdedance.

I prefer the Aleph 0 mono amps for their ability to drive tough speaker load and far better bass response.
honest1
586 posts
 
Regarding the Alephs sounding boring - I won't disagree,as in the wrong system, they can sound bad. I had this experience when I brought my Aleph3 to an AtmaSphere dealer. He was playing some high impedance horn speakers, which were a perfect match for the AtmaSphere 30 watter. When we connected my Aleph, I was very upset, because it sounded so bad, I thought he might have done something to it to damage it when I wasn't looking. For a brief moment, options ran through my head- rant and rave and threaten bodily harm? call the police? call a lawyer? In the end, I stayed calm and learned some stuff. Hooking the AtmaSphere up to speakers that the Aleph was well suited to (4ohm ported) turned the tables - now the Atma sounded boring. They don't put out a lotof power, and if your speakers need it, the Aleph3 won't work well. I have heard SETs in only in shows, and understand the vibrance thing. At some point, I want to get a couple and have a shootout in my own system. Someday.
celo OP
180 posts
 
Thanks again for the latest responds. Well, I think we need to correct one thing here. Aleph sounds boring is one thing, Aleph sounds boring with with wrong speakers/system is another. I do not believe there is one amp/speaker/CD player, etc. that sounds good with everything. That is not possible, IMO. I still would not call it boring, I would just say "not a good match". I know I know, I always protect my Aleph somehow :)
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Celo, I don't think you can go wrong with the Alephs or the Aleph J if you are looking for that midrange you liked, and hard to get from some SS. If you are really consider tubes as an alternative in the 30 watt range, I would consider the Music Reference RM10 which is one of the finest amps I have heard when 35 watts is enough. They are highly reliable and get 10,000 hours or so from their output tubes (EL84). I do love the Class A Pass gear, but you know, they are still not tubes, and if you like what tubes can do even the Pass gear doesn't quite do that. But for SS, I've not heard better than Pass gear, especially the Class A stuff like the Aleph.
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