I owned the GM-20 OTL along with Graaf's 13.5B preamp until I very recently. I sold them simply because I needed more power to drive my not so efficient Kharma CE 2.2 speakers (89-db, 8-ohms) in a fairly large loft setting. I replaced the GM 20 with an Air Tight ATM-2 (80wpc) stereo amp, and the replacement for the preamp is a Supratek "Chardonnay" from Australia which has yet to arrive. I really enjoyed the Graafs. If you are a "near field" listner and/or have a small listening room, you will love the sound of GM 20. In my view the Graaf sound is a bit more accurate than the Air Tight.
Opinions on Graaf Amps
Does anybody have any expereince with Graaf OTL amps? I'm especially interested in the little GM 20 but don't have a chance to listen to it where I live. Has anybody heard it? In my search for a new amp I have listened to the Carys (572s) and found them overall too bloomy. I don't like tube amps that try to sound like solid state (i.e., Audio Research or BAT) but I also don't want the tubes to color the sound too much. I've tried the Atma-Sphere S 30 which sounded terrific in my system, open, airy and very musical, but it just runs too hot. So now I am considering the Graaf or perhaps an Air Tight. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
My system:
Joule Electra LA 100 MK-III
Merlin VSM + BAM
Audiomeca Keops as transport and Audio Logic 2400 DAC
JPS Super + speaker cables, FX interconnects, and Power Cords
Many thanks,
Dr V
My system:
Joule Electra LA 100 MK-III
Merlin VSM + BAM
Audiomeca Keops as transport and Audio Logic 2400 DAC
JPS Super + speaker cables, FX interconnects, and Power Cords
Many thanks,
Dr V