Haven't listened myself, but have heard Belles falls in this category.
Full-sounding SS amps (besides Pass)
Speaker interactions aside, what solid state amp brands/designers tend to have a fuller sound these days? Not necessarily warm or tubey per se, but fleshed out in the upper bass and harmonically complete in the midrange, as opposed to lean. E.g. an Australian ME Sound amp I have from a while back has this quality, without sounding overtly warm.
Obvious candidates: Pass, Luxman. What else?
Cost no object, feel free to throw out one-liners. Think of it as a poll. (Please don't answer tubes though, thanks. :D )
Obvious candidates: Pass, Luxman. What else?
Cost no object, feel free to throw out one-liners. Think of it as a poll. (Please don't answer tubes though, thanks. :D )
123 responses Add your response
@sufentanil ah yes, McCormack, have heard that one and would concur. Also have heard that about Plinius SA-100 but I hear the newer models are not as juicy? Or perhaps it's the integrateds that are a little cool. @twoleftears adding Sugden to the list. Class A also reminds me, I've heard Clayton is another good one. @gsm18439 @gnostalgick have not heard of those, will check them out. Keep 'em coming! :) |
Sad to see the McCormack line is no longer manufactured (I've been out of the loop a while) and SMc doesn't make an amp. :( @dweller I didn't realize BAT made pure SS designs, I assumed they were at least hybrids. TBH I have never been a fan of BAT (tube) sound at shows, but I haven't heard their latest. |
I switched out a very good single end 6550 vacuum amp with Valvet mono blocks a few months back. These are also single ended but SS instead of tubes. I'm very pleased with the results. Cleaner highs & solid bass without sacrificing the ever important mid range. The sound stage presentation & detail are better as well. They seem to be built well too. |
Ah yes, Edge. I evaluated the Edge G6 for a good long period a while back, before Tom Maker sold the company and split off. It was the best SS amp I had heard up to that point (and still great by today’s standards, I bet). @marqmike I’d agree it gets "somewhat close" in the fullness criterion, definitely a complete sound but a bit cooler than the likes of Pass. I’ve been itching to try the Maker G9. |
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Are you planning on going all sS? Or a tube pre with SS power? BAT SS does not have a brittle bone in its chunky little body. The bAT SS amps sound quite different than their hollow state offerings to be sure mated with their tube preamps are a true winning combination; PLINIUS; YPSILON if you can handle one tube per ch; GRYPHON is reported to be quite full across the bandwidth with its presentation; AYRE is liked by a fair number of folks; Dartziel has a rep for solid full sounding amps; Bermester 909 - 600 wpc. A previous note on the speakers being added onto they amp du jours, should not be taken lightly, as they can further or lessen a fuller sounding arrangement. Take care there. I’d be inclined to put ypsilon and Dart Zeel atop my list, were money no object. Good luck. Merry Christmas. |
@OP, SMcAudio upgrades all the old McCormack stuff. Actually Conrad Johnson still makes the McCormack. One of the least expensive ways to get a McCormack is to find a non working model and send it to SMc. They essentially remove everything and put in a new circuit board and whatever upgrades you want in your price range. B |
Sorry, I should clarify - I'd like to focus on currently-active brands/models. I'm interested specifically in things I could potentially review on my blog (http://taww.co). So stuff that is commercially available and supported. (That said, used/rebuilt stuff is great and as a side project I'm always fascinated by modification potential. My Bryston B60 and Ayre AX-7e have been tuned up quite a bit with simple mods. I don't intend to recommend these mods broadly, it is simply my own pursuit of a truer reference sound.) @blindjim agreed that tube pre + SS amp can be the perfect combo, and I'm not opposed to the idea. I actually own a pretty decent tube linestage for that purpose. But I'm looking specifically for amps that don't require the tube front-end to flesh out their sound. Doesn't mean they can't sound even better with a tube pre though - in fact I think the best tube pre's with the best SS amps can be the best of both worlds. |
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http://pbnaudio.com/audio-components/audio-amplifiers/olympia-ebsa-3 and its two smaller siblings :-) Good Listening Peter |
Hello Peter, unfortunately I have never had a chance to hear your amplifiers - they look great. I am curious about your design of big stereo amps instead of monoblocks, and also about the "bridged" implementation of your stereo amps - are these true differential amplifiers? Is there any effect on the input or output impedance of the amps when running them bridged? Also curious about your use of MOSFET compared to bi-polar output devices. My experience has been that MOSFET outputs sound softer while bi-polar outputs have provided better dynamics in the amps I have heard, but I am sure these observations have been influenced by more than the output devices alone. |
@pbnaudio - Hi Peter - I remember Marty DeWulf, whom I wrote for a number of years, was a big fan of your designs. They look amazing... if only you had something a little smaller, or better yet, my apartment were bigger. :-D @mitch2 I think MOSFET "mist" or softness is a thing of the past in a proper design. I've heard a number of more recent designs that have none of that and are indistinguishable from a good bipolar amp in speed and clarity. April Music Ai500 when properly biased (they had some QC issues) was one example, a few others I've heard but can't recall off the top of my head. @bobheinatz I just contacted Stéphane Even @ Neodio to see if he is seeking a US review. Really intrigued by his designs. |
taww, I believe Pass uses MOSFETs in his output stages. The two most recent MOSFET amps I have owned were Lamm's M1.2 Reference monos and the BAT VK500. The Lamm amps were the best of those two but still sounded a bit soft/rounded in comparison to the three other amps I owned at the time (2 bi-polar amps and a set of NCore monos). This may have been due to the hybrid design with a 6922 tube or the lower power of 110 wpc compared to the other amps that all provided at least 300 wpc. You are correct, I should hear some of the newer MOSFET designs for comparison.
I would also like to hear the Gamut M250i (250 wpc) mono amps that use only a single NPN high powered MOSFET per phase (i.e., two per channel). I am curious whether a single output device would improve clarity and naturalness over having banks of transistors that will never be exactly matched with each other. However, I am sure there are other trade-offs (pluses and minuses) as with any design, which is why we need to hear the gear rather than purchase based on topology or reviews by others. |
Mitch, Pass use Hexfet in the output stages, namely the IRF240/9240 (TO247) these are more of an industrial transistor then one designed specifically for Audio. If one pairs many of them in parallel in an output stage it becomes necessary to use source resistors to make them share current properly, if not one device will hog all the current and self destruct. In our entry-level Liberty Audio B2B-100 I too use HexFet, the IRF630/9630 (TO220) industrial devices too and they need Source Resistors too to play well together as well. http://www.libertyaudio.com/products/b2b-100-all-mos-fet-stereo-power-amplifier These types of HexFet need a lot of Bias current to sound good. Toshiba and Hitachi/Renseas make some Mosfet specifically designed for Audio, in our earlier series of Amplifiers I used the Toshiba J200/K1529 in the current series of amplifiers I use the modern day equivalent of the J50/K135 lateral MosFets made by Exicon 10N20/10P20 (TO3) these are made specifically for Audio - Renesas makes the same type MOSFET J162/K1058 (TO3P) These have a softer sound than the Industrial type Mosfet mentioned above, you don’t have to run quite as much bias current to make them sing, and if you match them close there no need for Source Resistors to make the share current. I prefer the sound of MOSFET output stages - to my ears Bipolar always produce a "lisp" "s" kind of sound. As with anything its in the execution of the design - Pass makes excellent amplifiers with the HexFet’s Good Listening Peter |
