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Rich; organic true balanced amp w good detail $6k

Suggestions welcomed & appreciated- here are the Criteria:

- fully balanced architecture
- rich, organic sound, extended bass, silky highs, but not at the expense of obscuring detail
- No OTL (too many tubes/heat)
- SS (Class A bias) or tubes OK
- 20-200 wpc ok, the lower the better though all things being equal- well built power supply crucial
- stereo amp easier to put on my Sistrum rack, but mono-bock architecture also considered if better performance
- $6k or less used would be ideal, but would consider up to $8k used if there are no world-beating contenders at the $5k-$6k used price point

Preamp is a modded Sonic Frontiers Line 3- extremely neutral, hence the desire for a richer-sounding amp to balance. High efficiency speakers from Coincident- large open concept room (main floor of house). Re: tubes, have used ARC VT-100 MKIII- good- airy w big soundstage, but meatier mids would be better. Also had Wyetech Topaz 20-watt SET, superb, if slightly lean in the mids (and not fully balanced, but shows you how powerful 20 watts can sound with a well-built power supply) For SS, am considering Pass XA.5 series (they now can run balanced from what I understand?); Clayton Audio M-200 (but unfortunately over the price-range).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions- I have an open mind, so bring it on!
sutts
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Sutts, you are starting to confuse me. It seems like some recommendations are dismissed because they are not balanced (Pass XA-60, Moscode, Manley,etc.). While other single ended amps like the Belles, Lamm and EAR intrigue you. A little help here?
For me, true balanced is a must. My digital front end only outputs balanced, my preamp is fully balanced. Personally, there are enough fully balanced choices out there that I do not see the point in breaking the chain. YMMV.

BTW, the Clayton M-100's that I owned a while back are NOT fully balanced, but do offer balanced inputs, like VAC, EAR and others. The newer M-200's are fully balanced though. If these really interest you, you may try contacting Jonathan at Goldman Audio. He has mentioned to me that he has a demo pair for sale.

Cheers,
John
tvad
9,467 posts
 

01-07-08: Jmcgrogan2
While other single ended amps like the Belles, Lamm and EAR intrigue you.
Haven't we established that the Belles and Lamm amps are balanced, or are you discussing fully differentially balanced versus non-differentially balanced? Also, it has not been established whether Belles or Lamm monoblocks are differentially balanced or not.
sutts OP
668 posts
 
Thanks John- sorry if any confusion caused- I will admit being curious as I have not heard the majority of the recommendations, but have read good things about several of them. Staying the course for true balanced would be ideal though, and the Clayton is the one that intrigues me the most- thanks for the dealer tip.

Tvad- Monarchy? I believe they also make an SE-160? Have you heard the Monarchy amps up against anything else?
swampwalker's avatar
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swampwalker
5,132 posts
 
Sutts- Maybe the power requirement for deep bass (esp. w/HT) can be met via the subwoofer amp, running your mains hi-passed and/or with mains and center set for small via the processor.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Sutts, I have not heard any Monarchy amps...only read about them. The descriptions of them seem to echo your requirements, so I brought them to your attention.

The Belles amps are transparent/neutral. If you're looking for forward mids, then they are probably not for you. However, I still believe they would be worth trying in your system if you can make a good purchase on a used pair.

Also, a push-pull tube amp run in triode mode would provide the mids you seek, however the bass will generally be a bit fuller and looser than the same amp run in pentode mode. Still, there are several good push-pull tube monoblocks that offer both pentode and triode operation and would provide plenty or power for the Coincident loudspeakers. You could run them in pentode when watching movies, and run them in triode when listening to music.
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