Choosing a Solid State Class A/B integrated amp


I have been committed to Integrated amps for over 10 years and have had a few, mainly Class a tube amps. I love what tubes, SET amps in particular, have to offer. The speed , mid range clarity and neutrality, can be pretty addictive. I have 2 integrated amps I use at the moment,both excellent, an Ayon Spark 20 watt SET and 50 watt hybrid Class A Pathos Inpol2.

The rest of the system is:
Mac Mini into an Ayre QB9 DAC for digital
TW Accustic Raven one/Ortofon 309D arm/Benz Micro LP cartridge
Daedalus DA-RMA speakers

Music choice is pretty eclectic, classical,Jazz,blues, singer Songwriter, not much rock, as such.

The system is great, but I know Lou at Daedalus likes higher ouput amps, particularly Modwright, despite his speakers being high sensitivity, so I would like to swap one of my amps for a higher output SS, or tube unit. .

My only exposure to a Class A/B SS integrated, was not a success. I tried the Karan K180 integrated and found it dull, slow and lifeless in my system, despite it's good reputation. Likewise, I have'nt often enjoyed the higher output push/pull tube units I have heard.

Any suggestions then for an integrated amp under $10000 new, though I would probably buy it cheaper, second hand. My ideal would be a Dartzeel H8550, which I have loved, every time I have heard it, but it's too expensive for me, even second hand. The new Modwright K200, is an obvious candidate. The reviews say is it is on the warm side of neutral, which I would like, but I have'nt heard it.

Give me some suggestions guys, thanks
david12

Showing 2 responses by frogman

****Tube amps can be fast? That's a new one for me. I clearly have a lot to learn. Can someone please elaborate on the op's statement?****

Of course they can be; it's surprising to me that anyone would think that tube amps, as a group, can not be. If fact, while I am not prepared to say that I think that tube amps, as a group, are faster than ss amps, I can say that I have heard more ss amps that sound lifeless than tube amps that do. While many ss amps may seem to be "faster" than many tube amps due to the fact that tube amps tend to sound rounder, more dimensional, and less "lean", they give the impression of speed. However, IMO, a good tube amp tends to be more dynamically sophisticated, and subtle. What gives music a sense of aliveness is HOW the music gets from point A to point B on the dynamics scale. Is it done seamlessly? IOW, can you hear every subtle incremental increase (or decrease) in volume from point A to point B? IMO, tubes, as a group, do a superior job of that. But part of the equation is the music being listened to. Classical music tends to have more dynamic subtlety than most commercial music. Anyone who doubts that need only compare the softest moment in a well recorded classical symphony to the loudest, and consider that there is a practically endless number of dynamic gradations in between that are an essential part of the music. Most electric music has a much narrower dynamic range with fewer dynamic gradations. If one listens primarily to rock music, it is much easier to not notice this dynamic compression.
****Tube amps can be fast? That's a new one for me. I clearly have a lot to learn. Can someone please elaborate on the op's statement?****

Of course they can be; it's surprising to me that anyone would think that tube amps, as a group, can not be. If fact, while I am not prepared to say that I think that tube amps, as a group, are faster than ss amps, I can say that I have heard more ss amps that sound lifeless than tube amps that do. While many ss amps may seem to be "faster" than many tube amps due to the fact that tube amps tend to sound rounder, more dimensional, and less "lean", they give the impression of speed. However, IMO, a good tube amp tends to be more dynamically sophisticated, and subtle. What gives music a sense of aliveness is HOW the music gets from point A to point B on the dynamics scale. Is it done seamlessly? IOW, can you hear every subtle incremental increase (or decrease) in volume from point A to point B? IMO, tubes, as a group, do a superior job of that. But part of the equation is the music being listened to. Classical music tends to have more dynamic subtlety than most commercial music. Anyone who doubts that need only compare the softest moment in a well recorded classical symphony to the loudest, and consider that there is a practically endless number of dynamic gradations in between that are an essential part of the music. Most electric music has a much narrower dynamic range with fewer dynamic gradations. If one listens primarily to rock music, it is much easier to not notice this dynamic compression.