tube amp dilemma with electrostats


I am just getting into tubes as i have a dedicated home theatre system but want to get away from that solidstate sound for 2 channel.I currently use the anthem p5 for the 5.1 sound. I want to use my modified shanling cdt100 cd player directly into the tube amp of choice to power my martin logan ascents.This is where the dilemma begins:a friend borrowed me his dynaco 70 to try out and i fell in love with tube sound but the dynaco is a little under powered [35wpc]i think for the logans .He thought that if he brought over his original mcintosh 275 and we tried it out that we would be in awe.Well we both couldn't believe that the dynaco sounder richer and warmer than the mac.We tried changing the tubes from kt88's to the 6550's and that made it a bit better but still not like the dynaco.the sound from the mac paired up with the logans was bright sounding, too close to solidstate.So i am looking for anyone that has had the experiance of a recommendation of a tube amp with the logans. I do not want to buy a number of tube amps before i find one that is a good match.For starting out i would like to spend up to 1500.00 for a used amp.Please give me some recommendations.
Thanks Les
les
I add my vote for ARC. I drive Acoustats with Ref 300's with NOS tubes, and I'm a happy camper.
I originally drove Martin Logan CLS's with Dynaco Mk3's
which were 60 watt mono amps.That combination was simply magical,until my Dynaco's bit the farm that is.But from
my experience you can get very close to the sound you liked with the ARC Classic 60 Tube Amp,Good Luck
I use to run the Cayin TA-30 with my ML Aerius i speakers. That is really similar to the PrimaLuna. It sounded really smooth, great soundstage and had that tube, warm sound that I fell in love with. The only negitives, was that it could not be driven to loud levels. It sounded great at moderate levels, but when I wanted to push them, it wasn't pretty. Depending on your listening habits, the PrimaLuna might be a very good amp for your ML.

I have since invested in 100 watt mono block tube amps. It has what the Cayin lacked, namely volume. It also has a wider soundstage. I now have the TAD-1000 mono block amps and the TAD-150 tube preamp. The pair ran just about $2,500.

Jeff Aguilar
Les,

Just ran upon your post and thought (even if it's late) I'd throw in my two cents.

After going thru many different amps (both ss and tube), I wound up purchasing an Audio Research VT100 MkII. Wonderful. Simply wonderful. Full, rich, big-bodied sound, with a huge soundstage. It's just a wonerfully musical sounding amplifier. Forget all the audiophile mumbo-jumbo about this or that, and go for the music first!!

It'll wind up costing you a bit more than the $1500 that you were looking to spend (I paid $2400 for mine here on A'gon, but it was in premo condition, with relatively new tubes). I usually see them going for around $2100.

First, I tried a VT100 MkI, which I really liked. The MkII version of the VT100 doubled it's power supply (which tightens the sound, and gives it more punch than the MkI), added an IEC connector to allow you to use your own choice of power cable, added a really silent fan for tube cooling and added some rings on the driver tubes to help with tube microphonics.

I also listened to the MkIII version, but I prefer the earlier MKII and MkI versions (the MkIII uses FET's in place of 6922 driver tubes, and as such I felt it lost some of the rich, big bodied sound that I liked so much with the MkI and MkII versions). I'm sure there will be others who would disagree with me regarding the MkIII. This is just what I hear, both in my system and others.

My only reservations on the VT100 MkII is a slight softness with the transients in the bass, and somewhat of a closed-in top-end (which may be a synergistic match with you electrostatic panels). Right now, I am addressing these slight problems with power cords, feet, and interconnects, with great results.

Let me close by saying that even with the above problems, I simply love the sound of this amplifier. If you look-up "musicality" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of the VT100 right next to it. It's truly an amp worthy of your consideration. I really don't think you'd be disappointed.

I hope this helps.

Louis