solid state vs tubes--with a twist

Not head to head, but,

I heard the Mark Levison black monoblocks that were huge and put out like 25 watts Class A and 300 as heat and they were the most impressive solid state amps I have ever heard (of course dealer showroom and perhaps I was in a good mood but it truly was a memorable demo). I forget the model (ML2 ML25?) early 80's.

I have heard from tube guys about Bedini (sp?) monoblocks that are supposed to be sweet.

Me, no contest, tubed cj for sure, but let me know if something knocks your socks off!

Have Fun!

I am looking to find one that sounds close to the classic tube sound.

I won't be surprised, if i am told that none exists. But then, maybe there is one, hopefully in production.

IMHO, you said it yourself, "none exists".

There are several solid state, (or hybrid amps), that do some things as good as, or even better than, some tubed amps.
(The hybrid Lamm, and the full Class "A" Pass Labs, amps immediately come to mind).
But none of them have that classic tube sound that you state you are looking for.

If you find one, let us know!

Good Luck in your search!

I don't care for ss amps but the best I have heard are Odyssey Kartego and Stratos amps and Nelson Pass class A amps
Alan

Pass or McIntosh.

I have a friend that owned a N.E.W. DCA-33 class A single-ended battery powered solid state amp (boy, that was a mouth full) that is as close as I've heard to a tube sounding solid state amp. He recently bought a N.E.W. DCA-66 amp that has twice the output of the other model, and sold the DCA-33 to me. I have not used it in my system yet, which is ALL tube, but plan on comparing it to my amps sometime when my schedule permits. The amp comes with a battery box that holds four 12v batteries and has a charger built in. The output is 33 watts per side and sounded much more powerful than that on my friends Silverline 90db spl rated speakers. N.E.W.(nirvana electric works) is no longer in business, but you can have it serviced by Cary Audio who had something to do with the original company. I see them come up for sale from time to time for around $400.00, I belive the original price was around $2000.00. If you come across one you should check it out and see if it does as I say.
Good Luck, Tish