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Tube amps you have heard with Quad 989

I listened to Quad 989s being driven by the new Plinius SA 102 amplifier, a 125 Watt high current SS design. The combination was pretty special, and belies much of what has been written about the Quads. These speakers were astonishingly good to my ears.

I would like to find a tube amplifier that works better than the Plinius, if there is one. The 989s can sound hard and unpleasant when paired with the wrong amplifier - innersound being a case in point.

Has anyone heard the 989s with tubes and liked them?
Are atma-sphere 60 watt monoblocks a possibility?
Has anyone heard them with the Wolcott Presence?

If you have any listening experience, you could save me some steps.

Thanks
judit

Showing 1 response by gregm

gregm
3,395 posts
 
Auditioned 989s (single pair) with the folowing gear thru a digital source (music: concerti & lieder only):

* their own tube electronics
* KR 8000 mono + KR pre/CAT Ultimate pre (preferred CAT)
* Pathos mono + pathos pre/CAT Ult. pre (ditto CAT),

* some SS gear (S-Line & Burmester) but NOT your Plinius so I can't compare, sorry! So, & for what it's worth:

My experience with the KR was the most fulfilling (esp. in louder orch passages). The Pathos was charmingly musical but (uncharacteristically) made me think of adding a sub to the system...
Strangely, the best sound overall to my ears in THIS experiment was with ss gear!
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