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Ayre or Rowland Amp?

I am thinking seriously about stepping out of my tubed ARC VT100 MKII amp into something that doesn't require retubing. The Rowland 201s or the Ayre V5xe look interesting from reviews, but I haven't heard either. These will be fed by an ARC LS5MKIII (which I love) and will feed Watt/Puppy 7s.

There don't seem to be that many of either amp 'out there' so info is relatively hard to come by, especially on the newer incarnation of the Ayre.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

Bob Wood
128x128woodburger

Showing 1 response by keithr

keithr
1,304 posts
 
I think you will miss your tubes, honestly.

Might want to go to a BAT which is considerably easier to retube than the ARC. Also, a great combination.

And yes, I've owned the Rowland 201s. Sure, they are great to look at, but I found them fairly sterile and lacking a 3dness that tubes provide.
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