Amplifiers:A Keeper for Life. Do you know of one ?
Just wondering, with this audio merry-go-round of buying and selling, if anyone has an amp that will be a keeper for life. I haven't yet but came verrrry close once...
Have had many amps. ML, Plinus, ARC, VAC, Threshold, and a few others. Have found audio heaven with the Cary 211M ANV custom built to order by Cary with mundorf silver/oil caps, teflon tube sockets, silver cryo treated fuse holders all put together with Cardas silver/cooper solder. Unbeleiveably musical, one of its kind and a keeper.
I've had my absurdly heavy ARC VT-130SE for 15 years. If I tried lifting it off its stand to deliver it to a prospective buyer, that effort might just do me in. So this amp might qualify by default.
I second Onemug's response. Sold off most of my Marantz tube gear but kept the 8B. I think I'll pass this along to my son. The finest amp I've ever heard. And the construction is leagues better than most of the stuff out there!
The first amp i ever owner: Dyna SCA 35. Sweet EL 84 tube amp. I know, not the latest word, but the end of all travel is to return whence we came and know the place for the first time (T.SD. Elliott).
The Berning ZH270. Simply because it is dependable, has auto biasing, is clear and transparent with no obvious deficiencies, is easy on tubes. Is it the best? No because that is always subject to change depending on speaker load and taste, the reason why folks often change, there is no best. I have heard other amps I really like in given systems but the Berning is just a great design that never fails to amaze me after 8+ years of owning it. I can see no reason to change it, it is too special.
If you wanted to sit down and just listen to music, my Bedini 25/25 driving Quad 63's with the dual mono preamp was magical. I'm not sure that I could justify any of my more expensive audio purchases over these.
I haven't come across such an amplifier yet. My Tim Rawson built First Watt F1 comes close (as long as I have single driver speaker) but this due to the fact that I value the product more than the ~$600 it would generate selling used--not that its a world beater.
One observation I would make though--A lot more components would have 'keeper for life' potential if we didn't frequent forums like this...
The worst thing I can do in terms of long term satisfaction is sitting before my system with my laptop, surfing the forums and listings while I listen. Somehow I do it nearly every day though.
All right -- maybe not for life but -- with budget in mind here is what I did today and why this is a HOBBY.
Own -- Jolida 302B integrated tube amp. Fully modded by Underwood Hifi -- Love the sound for the buck. I have stuck with it -- had it stored a couple of times now and have it back out. The hobby part? Well today it was setting the bias again. I hadn't done that in a while and thought I better. Yeah baby too true. Recommendations for bias settings are between 34 and 44 mV. Not mA but mV. So I found mine was set at the high end of that. Took them down from near 44 to 36 just to see -- oh my.
The tubes? A matched set of Svetlana EL34s -- wonderful musically in this amp for vocals especially. Once I got the bias down -- boy I had forgotten how wonderful it is.
More on the hobby portion in another forum but with the bias at the lower end of the range -- musical beyond measure. Lovely, lovely sound. More adjustments to the system made today too. Oh yeah -- Matched Mullard NOS 12AX7s and some Telefunken 12AT7s round out the current tube arrangement -- great compliment for the system. I keep other tubes around -- just to roll in and out. Love the JJ Tesla Blues -- as much for the look at night as anything but they do work well in the power slots.
Lots more on this but I'm keeping the Jolida -- note the modded part carefully -- it made all the difference.
I owned an origional Son of Ampzilla power amp in the late 70's. I also had a GAS Thalia preamp, and a GAS Sleeping Beauty moving coil cartridge. That system made such beautiful music. I can only guess that James Bongiorno has built an even better Son now.
As I haven't heard this new amp yet, I stand by my post that my Odyssey Stratos Extreme-Extreme is the BEST solid state to ever grace my living room. 165wpc into 8 ohms, 330wpc into 4 ohms, 60 amps peak to peak and sounds like a great tube amp with much better bass and control.
Technics se-a3000,su-c3000 combo .Many people criticizing for being harsh,but i found perfect match with Harbeth SHL5.Pure true realistic harmonic with amazing 3D soundstage,very good separation of instruments:drum plate is drum plate,drum is drum,guitar sounds like guitar,piano like piano,bass guitar like bass guitar,amazing vocals.And all that creates very musical experience.
Hey guys, this is more to ask advice than to give it. Now i have a100w Yam h/t w/ Klipsch speeks. I know not to impressive but for me it was a real upgrade. Thinking now I want back into old school I was given apair otf Infinity sm112s, Iknow they lack the bottom but for free I'll take um.Now the amp I'm leaning towards an adcom gf555 200w/c. Money is the over riding factor, Macs, Krells and others are just fantasy. ANY help in make and model would be appreciated. Thanks,your not so audiophile new freind LEW
Check out teh various IcePower or other Class D amps like Wyred and their ilk on this site. You can get all the bang you need in an amp at a very attractive price without having to deal with the hassle and expense of large energy sucking monster amps!
Here is my humble idea for a keeper amp, ready for this? Ead 8300 amp by Noble electronics. Greg and Tom are two of the best engineers of high end electronics that I have had the opportunity to meet. I have owned a lot of high end amps, My latest were hand built in Denmark, they listed at $24000.00 per pair. I had three pair. Why, my speakers use eight channels of power. I use Magico reference speakers. The sound of the Noble electronic defies all that I have experienced with musicality, air, timbrel accuracy, pace, spacial placement of performers, bass, mid's treble it has it all, and after 35 years of high end as an audiophile, I know a little about this craft. I am in shock and awe of it's performance. Now I wonder about these prices and hype of many high end companies.To Greg and Tom, you deserve a first class salute, for integrity, honesty, and fairness. I have had what some would call it all, this amp takes the top cookie. I must say that I had most of my parts upgraded in my amp, cost a little but is it worth it. Call them and talk to them about getting one for yourself. This is my experience, in my system and to and for my ears. I am not telling anybody to do anything, understand, this is my personal opinion and experience. I am not open to dicussion, just a heads up no rudeness intended. I am sure that Nobles electronics will be glad to answer any questions you may have. Cheer's Ezra
An old-fashioned guy like me is VERY partial to Bill Johnson's early designs. If you can get one of his Peploe Industries mono blocks, don't let go of them.
And, I am, and have been since the 70's a great fan of his D-series amps. Yea, I know some of the Levinson's are considered better. But his D-series were very satisfying to listen to.
I have a pair of the original Quad II amps that have on/off switches and RCA inputs. They can be used with amy preamp and will always be in my possession. Had them now for 12 years.
Parasound Halo A51. Great specs, plenty of power, and very well built. Good looking too! And most importantly, WAF. So yeah, it's gonna be a keeper for life.....Cheers....RT
I own 2 Mcintosh MC2000's consecutive serial #'s. These are the most BEAUTIFUL pieces Mac ever made, its rare, its tubes and only 1200 to 13000 made worlwide! When you talk about collectability I think it beats most amps listed here. Oh yea...they sound pretty good too! I use mine as mono blocks....
Bryston B60 is a keeper for life for me. Either it's life or mine, whichever comes first. I'm 34, and by Bryston's track record, it'll probably outlive me!
There's better amps out there. But isn't there always better? If I win the lottery, if amplification goes through a renaissance, or if today's amps somehow become obsolete, it'll stick around as a second system amp.
I had it updated to the current SST status a few months ago for $125. In the 5 or so years I've owned it, I've never looked forward, backward or sideways.
Im not close minded and think I'll never prefer anything else or go through a phase where I want tubes, but again, I'll never get rid of it.
Or at least won't get rid of it until I have a son that's wise enough to appreciate it.
This thread made me think back to my first hifi shop experience...
I went in looking into buying a complete system. I didn't know much about hifi, but I like to think I knew what good sound was at the time. I wanted my music to sound like it does when I see my favorite bands live. That's still my philosophy, so I guess I was onto something.
That great dealer told me to put the majority of my budget into the amplification. Sources come and go - the best CD player will be on borrowed time after a good 10 years of constant use. Formats come and go. Speakers come and go - surrounds rot out, rooms change, and so on. The best amps from 25 years ago arent outclassed by what's currently on the market. They may have gotten incrementally better, but there hasn't been an amplification revolution by any means.
He was onto something. I understand the source first crowd. I understand the speakers first crowd. I think the best investment by far (other than the music) is the amplification. Not even close IMO.
Tidal Impact monos; two levels above my present Intra and probably financially out of reach for life. In which case I will retain either the Intra or climb one higher after all with the Tidal Impact stereo.
The one and only "Grant 102S" from Roy Grant of UK. Since I've owned and kept this amp since the early 80's and longer than any amps I've owned, it's definitely a keeper for life. It has been a work horse in my sound room driving difficult speakers from Infinities, Martin Logans to Dynaudios without a hiccup. Dollar for dollar, this amp can hardly be equaled. I am curious if there are other owners or previous owners who have or had this amp. Would appreciate to hear from you.
Air Tight ATM-3 monoblocks. Owned them for over 20 years. Never had to replace a single part, except tubes. Got a fantastic deal on them new---less than one third of the price they're going for new today.
Meitner STR-50 Plus modded. Or any Meitner 55, 100,101. All meitner amps are the best over all sounding amp ever. Its just a great sounding amp. It sounds as if it has a tube pre section in its sonic presentation. I will never part with my Meitner STR-50 modded. Oh! And I still have a set amp and a Cary and Copland tube amps and Ive had many SS amps but as the SS comes and go the Meitners stay. Just in case you dont think I have auditioned other amps.
Well, this is just my own preference, but I'll never part with my Citation 7.1s. I might add one in fact. The only other amp, in my price range, that I'd like to own is an Aragon. Now if you're asking about price is no object, fantasy amps, that might be a different story... but then again I'll never own those, so I don't usually worry about that.
My Esoteric A100 is quite beautiful. I think I'm gonna keep it a while. My wife just wouldn't understand another amplifier or any piece of gear for that matter as I've told her they were all the best and it was the last (this was usually followed by "it is a once in a blue moon opportunity"). Of course i haven't changed wives so sometimes I mean It. Enjoy your listening!
In the solid stae realm, all the Clayton Class A amps are great. The sweet spot is the Clayton M200 at MSRP $9,500 of 200 watts/channel of pure Class A goodness.
Next on the list would be the McCormack DNA-500 with a bit denser and more liquid sound. Not quite as accurate to the signal as the Clayton's, but it is still great.
The Modwright KWA-150's are also very good, as are their new KWA-100SE's at MSRP $3,995.
In the low-watt tube realm the Coincident Technologies Frankenstein's at 8 watt/channel amp is incredible. Paired with many high sensitivity speakers, such as Coincident's own Super Victory, Total Victory IV, and the Pure Reference will provide the listener with glorious sound.
Upping the tube wattage to 70 watts, Coincident Technologies Dragon mono amps are great. A great stereo tube amp is also the Einstein The Light in the Dark at 80 watts into 8 ohms and 115 watts into 4 ohms.
My newly purchased chalice audio 'talisman' SET amps.....mono blocks...will be my last amps unless I upgrade to their big brothers ...'grail' ...mono block SET amps at 50 watts...which may be the best amps made...the 25 watt 'talisman' easily drive my tidal ' contriva diacera-se speakers.
I keep driving hours into the woods and leaving my Cary SLI-80 in random locations but the following morning the integrated amp is always back at my front door deftly playing Keith Jarrett's "Koln Concert" ;-) Sigh. Art ps: in triode mode on 8 ohm setting.
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