Solid State Power Amps That Sound Most Like Tubes?

Parasound Halo, McIntosh, Pass, Wyred......

Man, I have to say that some of these suggestions, and others, absolutely baffle me.

Could you explain two of your suggestions: I've had a bit of experience with Parasound Halo and W4S amps and neither even remotely have ever struck me as having even a wisp of tube characteristics. For that matter the suggestion of Bel Canto Class D also baffles me - those amps occur to me as linear, cool and neutral as any I've heard, especially the Parasound. I owned Ref 1000's for a few months, and have tried them with a few different permutations of associated gear as well as have heard them in my friend's system and at shows. What exactly about these amps reminds you of a tube amp?

If what you mean by tube sound is warm and inviting for long listening periods with no listener fatigue, then Electrocompaniet is what what you want.

Also Monarchy hybrid amps would work great.

Problem is all tube amps sound different. Some are very forward and "lite up" and others are laid back and a little dull sounding.

Please tell us what your friends likes about the sound of tube amps then we can help more.

I'm not a tube guy yet, but I am heading that direction (in the process of receiving some Quad II-forty monoblocks).

That said, I can give my opinion on a couple of pieces of non-tube gear.

I would highly recommend auditioning a Rega Elicit. The presentation is fast and non-fatiguing. What this amp does well will not be apparent on first listen-- a good thing. I have one and enjoy it immensely, but I thought I would also see how tubes perform, and thought the Quads would be a safe choice.

Also, I would recommend that your friend consider a Quad 99/909 combo or a Quad QC-24/909 combo. The 909 is a killer amp and emphasizes the midrange. I sold mine a while back and wished I hadn't on more than one occasion. The 99 pre has some pretty cool tone control options (I know we aren't supposed to like tone controls, but they are defeatable.) that may be helpful since they aren't the garden variety "bass" and "treble" tone controls.

I have also heard good things regarding the Peachtree Nova and Decco's driving solid-state amps. Underwood Hifi just announced a mod to the pre-amp section to make it better as well. Walter is pretty easy to deal and can provide some good advice.

One last option would be to look at Pathos gear. Something like a Classic Mkii or Mkiii should be sufficient. If your friend can locate a pair of Classic's they can bridged into mono as well, but this probably isn't necessary since the Classic already puts out 70 wpc. I have also seen other Pathos gear used well within this price range.

Hope this helps.

PMB

Right now there's a pair of Pass Aleph 60 monoblocs on Audiogon. Based on my past experience with these, I'd suggest they'd be great for these speakers. You'd get 90 watts per channel into 4 ohms, with monobloc separation.
I sold mine simply because I kept my Aleph 2s, which have more power..

The sound from various tube amps ranges the entire spectrum from very transparent and detailed to very warm, rich, and euphonic. I agree with posters who have asked what types of tube amps this friend likes in order to provide a better response.

I might be in the minority, but I don't believe that any SS amp will sound exactly like a tube amp, particularly for tube amps on the warm and euphonic side (think classic Conrad Johnson sound). There are some great SS amps, but if you like the sound of tubes, I really think you need a tube amp.

That's just my 2 cents.

Michael