Ecka - you are correct in your assessment - it is not the last word in anything - it is solid, very enjoyable piece for the system and listening environment I have - as well as what I had to spend. (The 5150s sometimes come through on Agon at some pretty compelling prices) If you have OTL or Pass xxx.5 money and you want the ultimate, you should go that way |
Reading some earlier threads and the above contributions, one gets the impression that this amp is a good honest outperformer but not one that I should consider for an absolute high end setup . Any comments from people familiar with this amp in regards to my statement please. How does the Monad compare with the very best SET or SS amps out there and how does it compare to the 5150. Thanks |
I have had the Butler 5150 (5 channels of 150 watts) in my home theater for several years now. It could be characterized as having a sound (in my rig) akin to a push-pull tube amp with a dash of solid state seasoning. Then again, I do absolutely no critical listening with this rig and speakers are modest (Definitive Tech); never hooked it up in my main music system. A good, solid amp which serves my needs quite well. |
Actually the very same Butler as in car amps CWlondon I bought a used 2250 to run my HT and I am very pleased with it. It is solid, has a lot of power and is very musical. I won't try dazzle with some description of the perfect combination of tube and solid state blah-blah... I don't think that's what this unit is about. In fact, it is decidedly non-tubish in many ways. The tubes are soldered in place - no tube rolling. They run blue not orange - thermionics. So the operating temperature is warm not hot - certainly nowhere near as warm as a Class A solid state amp. As far as the thread mentioned above goes, I have never felt as though it overwhelmed the system. It went into an existing system and that's the way it has stayed. The differences were immediate and palpable. I liked it better so I kept it. FWIW It has a good power cable, good power conditioning and sits on a 3" thick slab of myrtle. What it does do well is handle uncompressed BluRay soundtracks. And it really kicks butt on 2 channel music since I biamped the mains. I think its an honest 150w. |
Search the forums under " Butler" and this should bring up some info for you. Here is one to get you started : http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1137696533&read&keyw&zzbutler |
