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Help What Say You - Amp choices

I have been pulling my hair out the last few weeks listening to amps at different stores. My final three choices are the Rogue Audio M150, McIntosh MC352 (used from a friend) and the McCormack DNA-225. All are well built. No problem there. All presented a great warm sound. My dilemma is that I keep hearing about how tubes don't have the same weight, authority or control of bass as solid state. And I can't honestly say that I heard a difference going from stereo to monoblocks. Granted, I can't hear them all at the same time due to different audio stores, but I don't feel like the Rogues were lacking in the bass area, yet neither the McCormack or the McIntosh seemed overwhelmingly powerful in comparison to the Rogue. Any help, suggestions, medication (LOL) you can recommend is greatly appreciated.
hawk28

Showing 1 response by musicslug

musicslug
430 posts
 
I would add that if no single set-up (and we're talking systems here, since everything besides the amps is NOT equal, right?) jumps out at you as 'the one', that could mean a few things:
1. you're just not all that picky and could be happy with any of these amps (nothing wrong with that!)
2. you should keep looking until something blows you away (i.e. you're not done with your search yet)
3. you haven't listened 'properly', as in all the above posts' suggestions about bringing your own favorites. when I audition things, I bring music I've heard 100+ times: as soon as it starts, I immediately can hear the differences, and if it doesn't impress me as a definite improvement (i.e. I have to really think hard about it...) then it's not 'it'
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