SS amp with Merlins plinius ?

Hey Lindisfarne...did it ever occur to you that it could be the fault of your Naim equipment?

Just playing devil's advocate. After all...everyone has their own opinions, you know.

sorry for your experiences, but you simply didn't experiment w/ the merlins enough.

i'd have said the same thing, until i tried enough products w/ them to make them sing. i'd be hard pressed to find a better match to my VSM-Ms than my SS 350a.

bottom line: merlins DO work w/ SS, just not all SS. (like any other speaker)

(i didn't have room for the T-8s, and i'm afraid of reliability issues w/ tube amps).

rhyno

is the Pathos Twin Towers. Absolutely STUNNING with the Merlin VSM's. Only 35w/ch but it is a tube/ss hybrid which operates in pure class A. Another bonus is that the Pathos is one of the most beautiful pieces of audio gear in the world IMO (if that sort of thing is of any importance to you).

Rhyno, like the late FDR once said "There is nothing to fear but fear itself".

I'll be the first to e-mail you when I have a problem with this amp but I don't expect I will anytime soon as it is very conservatively designed. It is a misconception by many that a well engineered tube amp is any more problematic than a well engineered ss design. They DO run hotter than AB ss designs and they DO require tube replacement. Some more than others depending on how hot the tubes are biased. ARC, expect to change more often. I'm betting that the output tubes on this amp will last at least 5 years since they are biased so much lower than their rated setting. Over the 11 years I have run tube amps, the problems have been almost negligible. Don't let tubes worry you. They are typically easier to work on than ss and cheaper to fix, so long as it isn't the output transformer, uh-oh. Don't have one on an OTL amp, that's good. Have a speaker whose impedance dips below 4 ohms? They don't produce current like ss, not good. So the fact is in the right application they are a very special product capable of a very special type of musical magic.

Replacement output tubes on the Transcendent would cost 160.00. Don't worry, be happy. Glad you like the Belles, sounds like a winner, but being a tube groover I must add "for ss" :^). Pair and compare and see how each fare. I sure would like to hear the bass with that 250 watt Belles myself.

how goes it wil?

i came close to the T-8s, but it'd have required a new rack too, and the thought of the output heat in houston is a lot. couple that w/ the fact i'd have to rewire my crossover for the T harness. and lastly, OTL reliability questions, which even though seem fairly low risk, just make the overall package less attractive.

frankly, the 350 has me totally happy. happier w/ it than i am w/ the joule pre. what a nice amp. it simply does nothing wrong. and you should hear the way the bass tightened up and gained impact, even when my old amp was a 100wpc SS conrad johnson!

oh, i just picked up entec subs. 2-lf20s, going to x-over at 100hz. once i get them integrated (bam is out), i'm expecting something special.

doubtful i'll be upgrading speakers again. the only gripe i had w/ the merlins is they're not up for big rooms. well, 2 entecs should solve that problem...

rhyno