What are your thoughts of the Tower design of amps


I see more and more amps being made in a Tower design, like your PC. What are your toughts on this trend?

It would seem to me that people would like them less as they more than likely would not fit in their current stereo stand. Therefore, my opinion is that they should remain the way they have. It appears some of the logic may be that they are easy to place side-by-side for mono configuration.
brianmgrarcom
It is all marketing gimmick. The tower design is inherently unstable and just doesn't make sense. It will be prone to be effect by the impact of a hugh amount acoustic energy during high dB musical presentation.
Based on my observation, if the manufacturuer cannot make it sounds good. The only way to attract consumers is to make it look good or interesting........... My advice is to stay away from them.
I have only seen one of these ("G" something, can't recall the exact name). Though this "upstanding" tube amp was directed/marketed towards the audiophile/budget group (per the press release) the specs seemed to be the same as a previous "horizontal" amp by the same company which was marketed/directed for PC speaker use and which retailed for less. When I asked the A'Gon dealer/seller of this item if it was the same electronics in another chassis, I received no response/reply. Guess this speaks for itself. Don't know if it would be possible to organize an efficient layout in this format as the heat generating parts (tubes, transformers and power supplies) would be competing for upper level placement as far as heat dissapation goes (this would also impact the length of the internal signal path cables I would think). Even with a SS amp this would seem to be problematic (to me anyway), though I am not very knowlegable in this area and this is just a layman's opinion. That said, for mono block power amplifiers there might be a nitch for this configuration (if the kinks were worked out) as many of the "new" floor standers with skinny front baffles might be more attractive (if nothing else) with such a thin and upright mono amp placed behind them (again for user's into exceedingly short speaker cables which is "part" of the joy of using mono blocks). This upright configuration also became popular in old stereo consoles (early 60's), though the "upright" was achieved only by looking down @ the faceplate which was now vertical instead of horizontal on the top of the unit, but this trend seemed to die out quickly (which means that it was probably just a different styling conceived in order to attract interest). As far as traditional racks go, good point, as I can see no way to incorparate such a design into mine, though since I use both tube amps and a TT on the same rack I am also in a bit of a predicament and may end up placing the tube amps above the rack (maybe on wall shelves) in order to keep the "heat" @ the top. In this case vertical amps (with a small footprint) might be a bonus). Being on a tight budget though my final deciding factor is always the sound and price (not ergonomics).
Dekay, you bring up a point I overlooked, placing a mono amp by the speaker, the tower design may be nicer. Of those that come to mind of the tower design, all are mono's but one.

Mark Levinson 33 and 33H monos
Classe Omega monos (I think thats the name?)
Theta Citadel monos
Red Rose Music (Rossette 1 Integrated)
I'm also with Brian- that tower design is more suitable for mono amp than for stereo that will eventually occupy less floor area.
I think you guys nailed it Brian. I've never seen a tower type amp that wasn't a mono-bloc-- and I do like the looks of the Levinson H amps and also Classe's new 200 and 350 monos. Cheers. Craig