2. amps-preamps
  3. 1287896525

Best Balanced Tube Amp To Pair With Meridian G02?

As the Subject title says, I am trying to decide what my best options are insofar as my best options for power amps to pair with the Meridian G02 preamp. I was just able to get one in mint condition, with warranty, at a steal of a price.

I want to pair this with a tubed power amp that has great soundstage, that classic midrange magic, and a rich, but not slow, or rolled off sonic character. Ideally, I would also want a balanced tube amplifier, as the Meridian is maximized for balanced performance, although it will handle single ended.

What would you recommend? My max budget for the power amp is about $3000.00, used, to maximize my buying power. Of course, less is always fine too.

Thanks for any expertise, recommendations or assistance.

Specifications for the G08 are included in the link:

http://www.meridian-audio.com/data/G02_ds_scr.pdf (Open in New Window)
nightfall

Showing 3 responses by rrog

rrog
1,958 posts
 
I do not know why, but a solid state preamp and a tube amplifier sounds backwards to me. Most folks like to add a tube preamp to a solid state amplifier to give some tube flavor to the sound while retaining the wide bandwidth and solid bass performance of their solid state amp.

I'm a believer in matching amp and preamp whenever possible, so, I recommend a Meridian G56 or G57 amplifier. Both are available used on this site.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Nightfall, What price range were they in?
rrog
1,958 posts
 
I usually don't mix, but it sounds like something I might want to try. That's what this hobby is all about, right? It is probably easier to find a neutral sounding solid state preamp than tube type preamp.
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