TRL Dude Dilemna

Agear...yes I am Norwegian...I find myself not consistent in what amplifier I prefer with my current setup (viva and mc402). I find that sometimes the type of music and more so my mood has an impact on what I prefer. If I am in a rock-out kind of mood I may prefer the power of the big mc402). I also have a pair of passive 15 inch Green Mountain subs that I drive with a Crown XTI-2000 amp that has a build in DSP. This lets me run the main speakers full range and bring in the pair of subs at 45-50Hz with whatever crossover slope I want....So I have many system permutations available to me to find that sound that satisfies me at the moment.

Yes Agear, some current SS and hybrid amps sound as you describe in your post. I like Electrocompaniet and my current Aesethix Atlas hybrid amp.

However, remember that these high achieving SS amps will not always sound this way on ALL speakers and in ALL set-ups. On certain speakers they will and on others perhaps not. More to the point is this, what I consider beautiful sounding another will deem boring or dull. The "blows another amp away" feeling is based soley on what we like/prefer as individuals.

I do not think any SS amp sounds like a SET amp however. Some will prefer the sound of well done SS amps with certain speakers, but SS amps don't sound like SET tube amps.

I like the original poster's idea of changing amps to fit his mood. Pull out the Mac 402 when he wants a big, bold, dynamic, loud and warmish sound. Fire up those lovely Viva amps for an intimate musical experience. I can sooooo relate!

After reading all this, my system's going to the dumpster!

Happy Holidays!

That is my point that there are SS amps being made today that can have the SET characteristic sound and the balls of SS so you do not need two amps. The ASR does indeed have both worlds going on and I am sure many more SS amps being built today can do the same.

MC and a HNY to all you right brain SET listeners.

Ho Ho Ho.

Tellefsen, that is what I suspected. It's too bad you have the impedance mismatch with the Dude since it imparts enormous drive and energy and would most likely improve the Vivas performance on rock and large scale music. Another obvious and logical solution would be to try a more efficient set of speakers (but that is a pain). That being said, I have heard SET systems falter with rock and large scale orchestral music even with 16 ohm 101 dB speakers. Yet another solution would be to have two systems. I am jealous of guys who are able to do that.

Just to clear the air, I have to state emphatically that I am not anti-set. It is not a technology that audio evolution is leaving behind. Some of my favorite rooms at Axpona in Atlanta were set-driven. I get it and I like it.

I think a lot of threads decompensate due to semantic issues. We talk by or around one another since things are poorly defined. So....when someone says an amplifier has a "purity and thereness" that is hard to match, what exactly does that mean? I have heard philes talk about their OTLS, SETs and SS amps that way. I think I know what that means but I want others to answer to see if we are on the same page.