New amp needed - giving up tubes!
CraigS720
everything I want in a speaker and see no need to change. However,
after years of driving it with a Conrad-Johnson MV75a-1 (the bottom
is Bryston) I must admit I'm getting sick of changing tubes.
I recently had the amp modified (a very nice job by Bill Thalman) and
a new 6550A from ARS blew as soon as I got it. I ordered new 6ca7s
from Conrad Johnson and one was gone in two weeks. I guess after 30
years in this hobby I just want to enjoy the music and have fewer
frustrations. Life's hectic enough as it is! (g)
So, while I never thought I would say this.....I would appreciate
some recommendations for transistor amps to drive the EMIT/EMIM
panels of the Inifnitys. Sunfire? Bryston?
Thanks for the help.
The rest of the system:
Audio Research Sp11 Mk2
Marantz 63se/MSB Dac Link
SOTA Star Sapphire/Sumiko "The Arm"/ AT OC-9
Bryston 3B
RPG Skylines and ASC Tubetraps
Craig
Steve Zipser
Probably the one and only solid state amplifier line that sonically
posseses the same magic as your tube amplifier is the PASS Labs Aleph
series of amplifiers. They are probably the most highly reviewed
amplifiers made today, and have garnered 'amp of the year' awards from
Stereophile twice in the past five years, were called the best work
with transistors ever by Harry Pearson of the Absolute Sound (an
avaowed tube lover), Amp of the Decade by Dick Olsher (another tube
fanatic), and instant classic by FI Magazine.
They are single ended, pure class A amplifiers that use a very simple
two-gain stage circus circut that maintains the purity of the music.
They have a website where you can find a lot of information
http://www.passlabs.com
and there is plenty of info and reviews at
http://www.sunshinestereo.com/passamps.htm
As for their interfacing with the Infinities, the designer of the
RS-1B's, Arnie Nudell, is a tube amplifier lover, and designed his
speakers with tube amplifiers. Now the PASS amp, being very simple in
design and being a single ended amplifier 'speaks' with the voice of
tubes. It has the body and depth and dimensionality of the finest
tube amplifiers, but it also has a superbly extended, yet very sweet
high frequency response. I have several customers using Pass amps
with RD-1B's and IRS Betas (their successor in the Infinity line) and
in all cases the customers are extremely satisfied.
It is great to have an amplifier with that tube magic, but does not
require tube changes, suffer from changing sound with aging, and other
maintainance issues with many tube amplifiers. On the other hand, my
modern, Premier Series Conrad Johnson amplifiers do NOT suffer from
these problems ;-)
Cheers
Zip
Sunshine Stereo, Inc.
Please not that I am a PASS Labs and a Conrad Johnson dealer
Rick Blank
they work great as stereo amps and even better as monoblocks...the
only thing I gained when I swapped in a set of the Pass 100 watt monos
for the BEL 1001 MkIII's that I have was a lot greater ambient
temperature in the den!
Are the BEL amps cheap? No, at around $4K a pop new, that can't be
cosidered cheap. Are they easy to come by? Very rerely do used ones
turn up, although there are a pair of the Mk II's at the Galen Carol
website in the "steals" section (www.gcaudio.com), new ones are all
handbuilt by Richard Brown and there is a waiting list for new ones
and for upgrades. Visually there is no difference between the MKII's
and the MkIv's. Soundwise, the earlier ones are very, very good, the
newest ones are fabulous...Brown will also upgrade the amps to the
latest version, so, one can buy one (or two) of the older versions,
have them upgraded, and be out a lot less than buying a new one or
ones. Don't quote me, but, I think upgrading is about $500.00 per
amp, it may be more, or it may be less, but that's what I have heard.
I used to have a set of the RS2-B's and many transistor amps can sound
overly bright on these speakers. My Adcom 555-II that now powers the
pair of Dahlquist DQ1-W subs was such an amp....The BEL's are VERY
clean, extended and much more powerful sounding than their 50WPC (as a
stereo amp) rating may suggest. They are revealing of ancillary
equipment and cables (I use JPS Labs Superconductor series cables,
some of the Cardas cables give a "warmer" sound more reminiscent of
tube amps)....The ML Aerius-i's love these amps...all in all they are
a great amplifier....TAS loved 'em, too...one of the better kept
secrets of hifi.....
SAW
like these amps (have them at several price\power points). They are
a laid back sounding amp with very good to great bass power and a
wonderful midrange. Highs are smooth compared to most SS amps (by
this I mean no grain) "I" have auditioned in my home. Have fun.
CraigS720 wrote:
> I have owned the Infinity RS1-B speaker system for years. It has
> everything I want in a speaker and see no need to change. However,
> after years of driving it with a Conrad-Johnson MV75a-1 (the bottom
> is Bryston) I must admit I'm getting sick of changing tubes.
> I recently had the amp modified (a very nice job by Bill Thalman) and
> a new 6550A from ARS blew as soon as I got it. I ordered new 6ca7s
> from Conrad Johnson and one was gone in two weeks. I guess after 30
> years in this hobby I just want to enjoy the music and have fewer
> frustrations. Life's hectic enough as it is! (g)
> So, while I never thought I would say this.....I would appreciate
> some recommendations for transistor amps to drive the EMIT/EMIM
> panels of the Inifnitys. Sunfire? Bryston?
> Thanks for the help.
> The rest of the system:
> Audio Research Sp11 Mk2
> Marantz 63se/MSB Dac Link
> SOTA Star Sapphire/Sumiko "The Arm"/ AT OC-9
> Bryston 3B
> RPG Skylines and ASC Tubetraps
[quoted text deleted -- deb]
Jophl
amp.
My impreesion after hearing it is that it possesses a great deal of
the tube magic; the midrange is very liquid and the highs very
smooth. This amp does not veil details though - all information that
is intended to be recorded are conveyed with ultra realism. I have
been using this amp for the past 1 year and I must say that I am
very, very pleased with it.
The previous amp I was using is the ARC VT60. After changing my
speakers from the Proac R1 to the R2.5, more power is needed so an
upgrade for the amp is needed. I chose the 100.2 over the VT100
because firstly, the VT100 is too bulky and looking at the large no.
of tubes makes me uncomfortable. Moreover, the bass response of the
100.2 is better than the VT100. I think in your case, 2 100.2s will
make a perfect match to the rest of the system.
I have also auditioned the Pass amps but I found them to be
underpowered for their rated outputs. Also, they run very hot and
that makes me a little worried with their reliability.
Hope this helps.
Fred Whitlock
you're using. If so I can tell you that the Classe
amplifiers sound quite similar to the C-J tube amps. In
fact they may be a little "tubier" sounding than the C-J
tube amps. At any rate it would be worth your while to
visit a Classe dealer and listen to one. Good listening.
Fred
AudioNow!
http://www.audionow.com
Mike Morris
Re: message below on the ARC 100.2. This post is right on target in
my opinio--Icouldn't agree more. The 100.2 is a wonderful
amp--surprisingly so for me. I had auditioned the ARC D130 and
didn't care for it much. Still, just for grins one day, I listened
to the 100.2 and was amazed by the difference. Typical ARC--smooth
treble and a wonderful midrange; however, I was most surprised by the
punch in the bass (which I felt was lacking in the D130). Anyway, if
you like the smooth, musical sound of tubes, I'd recommend you check
out the 100.2. Not cheap (around 3500), but I don't regret the $$ in
the context of my system.
I also agree with other posts that suggested the Classe line--I liked
them as well (not quite as much...a little too laid back for me, but
still very nice). I wasn't able to directly (same room, etc.)
compare the Classe and ARC however.
Those would be my starting points if I were in your shoes.
Good luck,
Mike
Arthur Shapiro
seemingly asked the obvious:
Have you considered that your fine CJ amps were either modded
improperly or have simply broken? Rare as a failure might be, one
can't expect a 100% uptime. Why not have CJ take a look at 'em?
Art Shapiro
CraigS720
modded the amps works for conrad-johnson so I assume he knows what he
doing with the amp.
Also, it just wasn't a problem after the mod but before as well.
Yearly $350 tube bills were getting aggravating. I know we must
suffer for our hobby (g) but I guess I'm just getting tired of it.
The tubes in my Audio Research SP11 Mk2 preamp have not been a
problem.
Thanks to everybody who offered suggestions on a new amp. Steve at
Sunshine Stereo was especially helpful. It is a pleasure to
participate in this group (much like the old Compuserve audio forum).
The nonsense and ugliness that goes on in the other groups is too
much for me to bear.
Thanks again.
Craig
kel...@my-deja.com
operation, no global feedback, SS. Very smooth and
musical but with bass control the CJ Premier 12 can't
begin to match. And they are not space heaters.
In article <7n5ai5$k...@news01.aud.alcatel.com>,
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Kevin Deal / Upscale Audio
>I have owned the Infinity RS1-B speaker system for years. It has
>everything I want in a speaker and see no need to change. However,
>after years of driving it with a Conrad-Johnson MV75a-1 (the bottom
>is Bryston) I must admit I'm getting sick of changing tubes.
>
>I recently had the amp modified (a very nice job by Bill Thalman) and
>a new 6550A from ARS blew as soon as I got it. I ordered new 6ca7s
>from Conrad Johnson and one was gone in two weeks.
If you want new gear...go for it. If your problem is tubes, buy from
a place that is reputable and knows what they are doing. As I
recall....that amp was originally 6550 based...so why would you go to
a tube that has lower max voltage and dissipation ratings like an
EL-34?
If you want to reduce your tube bills...use a KT-90. It's hands down
a killer tube in your amp as well as other Conrad Johnson amps. And
they never seem to wear out. They seem to be the Energizer Bunny of
power tubes and since they sound wonderful it's a natural.
Kevin Deal
Upscale Audio
www.upscaleaudio.com
Chris Lee
I purchased a new amplifer recently. Before the purchase I had
listened to several amplifers--Classe CAP-150, Krell 300i, Copland
CTA501/CSA28/CSA8, Sunfire, B&K ST3030, Pass Aleph 5, Golden Tube
SE-100, Anthem, and YBA Integre DT etc.
Of all these amps, the only ones that were able to really impress me
were the YBA and the Pass. I didn't spent much time with the Pass, but
from what I heard the Pass had a warm and pleasant sound--very tube
like. It had enough power to drive large JMLabs with ease, and the
sound could be very majestic and authoritative depending on the music.
Except Pass, YBA, and Sunfire, the rest of the group sounded too
bright for my taste. The Krell had very good bass and control, but is
not an amp that I'd recommend as being musical. I didn't like the
Classe either. The music appeared too be a bit too analytical. The
Sunfire, which I owned, was very powerful and dynamic. But the YBA is
a much better performer in all other aspects.
I ended up purchasing the YBA. The Pass not withstanding, the YBA is
the most satisfying amp I've listened to in a very long time. In fact,
it is one of the very few solid-state amps that I can bear to live
with, and certainly the only one in its price range. Music sounds
neutral, detailed, and VERY smooth. Even at low volumes there would be
suffiecient details and clarity (but not overly resolved) that
increasing the volume is never necessary--each intrument has integrity
and concentration in space, and the location of each is amazingly
defined. The soundstage is wide and VERY deep, sometimes extending
7-10' behind the plane of the speakers. Bass is tight and controled,
but the sound remains at ease and musical.
I can't say enough good things about this amp, and the most important
thing is that you listen to it yourself. I'd also listen to the Pass
if a warmer sound is what you prefer. Both are world class performers.
Regards,
Chris
----------
In article <7msqn3$s...@news01.aud.alcatel.com>, crai...@aol.com
(CraigS720) wrote:
> I have owned the Infinity RS1-B speaker system for years. It has
> everything I want in a speaker and see no need to change. However,
> after years of driving it with a Conrad-Johnson MV75a-1 (the bottom
> is Bryston) I must admit I'm getting sick of changing tubes.
>
> I recently had the amp modified (a very nice job by Bill Thalman) and
> a new 6550A from ARS blew as soon as I got it. I ordered new 6ca7s
> from Conrad Johnson and one was gone in two weeks. I guess after 30
> years in this hobby I just want to enjoy the music and have fewer
> frustrations. Life's hectic enough as it is! (g)
>
> So, while I never thought I would say this.....I would appreciate
> some recommendations for transistor amps to drive the EMIT/EMIM
> panels of the Inifnitys. Sunfire? Bryston?
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
> The rest of the system:
>
> Audio Research Sp11 Mk2
> Marantz 63se/MSB Dac Link
> SOTA Star Sapphire/Sumiko "The Arm"/ AT OC-9
> Bryston 3B
> RPG Skylines and ASC Tubetraps
>
> Craig
rneil...@my-deja.com
Plinius SA 50 III and/or SA 100 III an audition as well. Check the
reviews of these amps on audioreview.com if you'd like a "third"
opinion. The difference between the Pass sound and the Plinius sound
is very interesting. Both have their fans and have their points. You
do need to hear both. Mosfets are not for everyone.
Joe Duffy
<rneil...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> If you're going to consider Pass Labs amps, by all means give the
>Plinius SA 50 III and/or SA 100 III an audition as well. Check the
>reviews of these amps on audioreview.com if you'd like a "third"
>opinion. The difference between the Pass sound and the Plinius sound
>is very interesting. Both have their fans and have their points. You
>do need to hear both. Mosfets are not for everyone.
would you please give a brief comparison?
thanks,
joe