SS Amp to replace VAC 300.1 in a side-ways move?

additional note on the darTZeel. if listeners have not heard a darTZeel NHB-102 with the new upgraded circuit boards (based in the new darTZeel 500 watt monoblocks to be introduced at CES) they have not heard what it can do. it's quite an upgrade to an already wonderful amp.

over the last few years i've compared the darTZeel NHB-108 to all the amps mentioned in this thread (except the VAC 300.1) and while i prefered the dart there were trade-offs in many cases. with the new circuit those trade-offs are eliminated or greatly reduced.

no amp is perfect; but the upgraded darTZeel NHB-102 is worth investigating for those listners who had previously formed opinions about it.

My opinion will differ based on my past experience. Went from Canary CA339 tube monoblock amps - 300B push/pull amps with premium tubes throughout. NOS RCA's purchased from Andy at Vintage Tube Services and Sophia Electric Princess Mech Plate 300B tubes. Also had several other top notch tube amps. I am a huge tube fan and never thought I would change long term.

One SS amp changed that. TRL Samson monoblock amps. I have a review here on the Gon. Only $5500 brand new direct from Paul. They bettered my past tube amps in many areas.

I pair them with a great tube preamp and feel I not only gave nothing up, but actually gained.

The McIntosh MC402 and top of the line Electrocompaniet amps are also wonderful and will leave you wanting nothing.

The TRL amp however is the best of the group.

Tube amps are so wonderful, but you CAN find SS amps today that will leave you 100% SATISFIED and not missing a tube amp.

The key is careful system matching including the wire. I'm afraid just changing the amp alone may not get you there. I worked at dialing in the sound with my preamp and wire. For me, a dynamic tube preamp with warm and full bodied wire finished the quest.

I no longer need to deal with tube heat, hassle, biasing, when to replace, cost etc. I can leave my TRL amps on 24/7 with no worries and little cost. They are always cool to the touch and 100% hassle free and always warmed up and ready to go!

The only VAC amps I have owned are the Musicbloc 70's. The Canary 339's greatly outclassed them in my system. I have not heard your amp however.

I suppose a small % of us simply cannot give up a tube amp and I respect that. Just sharing my experience.

Well, as long as Mike made an additional note to his comment, I will do the same! :-)

I should state that my friend replaced the single stock Sovtek 6922 tube in each Lamm amp with a NOS 6922 Amperex U.S. pinched waist PQ white label. These tubes took the Lamms up a notch from a high level contender to the champs that they are now. (So if you get the Lamms, be ready to upgrade the stock tubes.)

I should also state that his system is pretty incredible, and uses very high level of components, to a similar, (but different), caliber as Mike Lavigne's system, (which is pretty damn impressive Mike! Man, I love that room!)

And, since Mike brought it up, the DarTZeel NHB 108 that we compared the Lamm to was indeed the older version, so it probably does not compare to the current version. Therefore, take what I said with a grain of salt. (Although I will state that IMHO the DarTZeel NHB 108, (a 100 wpc stereo amp), does not have the power reserves to handle the bass response of a power hungry speaker like the Rockport Antares.) And I believe that Mike's speakers, (the Evolution Acoustics MM3, right?) are actually partially active speakers, (powered by an internal 1000W amp for the bass response), so his use of the DarTZeel amp is limited to the mid-range and the treble. I will also state that the DarTZeel's mid-range was the equal of the Lamm M2.2s, (which was surprising for a true solid state amp), but I preferred the treble of the M2.2. (Again though, that was comparing the older version.)

I have gone from tube to SS back to tube. The SS gear was very good but it was not in the tube league. I have heard your amp and it is in the upper level of tube gear and will be hard to beat. I will no longer be tempted to look at SS gear.