Pass labs XA100.5 a very detail and relaxed sound thru all
frequencies. Never hard on your ears.
frequencies. Never hard on your ears.
a solid state amp that is recessed in the treble
i am a reviewer.
i have reviewed all components in a stereo system except a solid state amp.
i have heard some. they remind me of the novel, "dr jekyll and mr hyde".
what i mean to say, is that they do a good job, in the lower frequencies. however, somewhere in the midrange on up, probably above 1000 herz, they sound, hard, shrill, aggressive and unpleasant.
so, for me to consider a solid state amp for review, or even to purchase, as i have noticed, my tube amps warming up my listening room, i seek a solid state amp that sounds like it is attenuated in the treble, or seems to lack some detail in the treble.
i realize that for many audiophiles, i am looking for what may be considered very dark or veiled, but i would probably consider such an amp listenable.
any thoughts.
obviously i could call many manufacturers for advice, however, if there wer an amp that a number of listeners considered a bit lacking in treble extension, i would call the manufacturer and attempt to review it, assuming the amp was not already reviewed too many times.
your input is appreciated.
solid state amps have been a challenge for me , as i have not encountered any that i would want to own.
yes, i realize that a solid state amp will sound different than a classic sounding tube amp.
but, i may get lucky and find a solid state amp i can live with.
my speakers are the quad 57 and magnepan 1.6 .
i have reviewed all components in a stereo system except a solid state amp.
i have heard some. they remind me of the novel, "dr jekyll and mr hyde".
what i mean to say, is that they do a good job, in the lower frequencies. however, somewhere in the midrange on up, probably above 1000 herz, they sound, hard, shrill, aggressive and unpleasant.
so, for me to consider a solid state amp for review, or even to purchase, as i have noticed, my tube amps warming up my listening room, i seek a solid state amp that sounds like it is attenuated in the treble, or seems to lack some detail in the treble.
i realize that for many audiophiles, i am looking for what may be considered very dark or veiled, but i would probably consider such an amp listenable.
any thoughts.
obviously i could call many manufacturers for advice, however, if there wer an amp that a number of listeners considered a bit lacking in treble extension, i would call the manufacturer and attempt to review it, assuming the amp was not already reviewed too many times.
your input is appreciated.
solid state amps have been a challenge for me , as i have not encountered any that i would want to own.
yes, i realize that a solid state amp will sound different than a classic sounding tube amp.
but, i may get lucky and find a solid state amp i can live with.
my speakers are the quad 57 and magnepan 1.6 .
- ...
- 42 posts total
Try any class A biased, low-to-mid power, SS amp. Electro monos, the small Plinius... Any well maintained vintage class A amp probably could bring on happiness. Another good if unlikely candidate is a wide bandwidth amp: Spectral for example. Stay away from Krell, M-Lev, & the like. Accuphase would probably not fit the bill either. I'm guessing you don't really needed a "muted" amp -- just one that doesn't sound shrill to you in the 2-6kHz region... After all, well designed tube amps reproduce high frequencies very well indeed, so if these frequencies are muted you'll miss them... even if the 57s don't go up very high. I have actually enjoyed 57s with class A SS amp, hence the blurb above. |
Not sure that you are asking the right question. I think that the right question would be what solid state amplifiers would be a good sonic match, and avoid excessive brightness, with YOUR speakers. The reason I say that is that in comparison with most tube amps, most solid state amps will tend towards brightness with those particular speakers, due to the interaction between their much lower output impedance and the impedance characteristics of the speakers, shown here and here. The Quad's huge impedance decrease that occurs as frequency increases, and the low impedance of the Maggies at high frequencies in comparison with its large impedance peak in the lower midrange, will cause an amplifier having low output impedance/high damping factor (such as most solid state amps) to sound brighter than one having higher output impedance/lower damping factor (such as most tube amps). That said, back in the day the famous Mark Levinson HQD system paired his ML-2 pure Class A 25 watt amplifiers, having huge current capability, with the ESL-57 (and a separate woofer and high frequency tweeter). Perhaps the Pass XA30.5 would be a comparably suitable choice today. Some of the higher powered amps in the XA series, as were suggested above, may also be good choices, while perhaps also being better suited to the Maggies, but you would have to be careful to avoid overdriving and possibly damaging the Quads. Regards, -- Al |
- 42 posts total