PX25 SET amps-Art Audio, Audion, Wavelength???

Thanks all for your comments. I know of one Audiogon member that had terrible luck with an Audion product and worse luck trying to get the distributor and manufacturer to resolve it (but I guess every company has one skeletan in the closet) so I'm a bit leary but on the other hand Gliderguider does speak hightly of his Ottawa dealer. Tron is almost non-existent here so reselling would be difficult. Which leaves Art Audio and Wavelength. Given the stellar reputation of Gords designs I'm surprised that there aren't and reviews of his PX25 amps . . .

Paul - by the way, I did speak with Gord at Wavelength the other day and he suggested that for our FAB Model 1 speakers that his Cardinal X2 amp would be better for it than his Triton Blue amp (but he didn't elaborate as to why). Just something I thought you'd find interesting . . .

Anyone else have PX25 experience or recommendations?

Thanks, Kevin

I've listened to the Art Audio and Audion PX25 amps in my home. Where are you located? If you are buying in the US, Audion's US distributor here in Los Angeles has an excellent local technician and he stands solidly behind everything he sells. You should not worry about Audion reliability. I have 6 Audion products in my various systems and have had no problems with them.

Of the two amps, the Art Audio is the more romantic sounding. It is warm and euphonic, certainly very good. The Audion is the more accurate however. It is fast and defined, highly resolving, especially the hand-wired Mark II version. I've heard it with KR PX25 tubes and it was sensational if you prefer an objective presentation of fidelity. The bass from this amp is about the tightest I've heard from a triode tube amp and in fact it didn't sound triodey at all -- very much better on the bottom than any 300B. The PX25 is a slightly lean sounding tube, not lush like the 300B on top. But mids are breathtakingly clear, an Audion strength. I'd go with the Audion.

Phil

agreed with Kenzoe- I ordered an Audion preamp a couple of years ago, and there was delay after delay. The distributor actually refused to refund my $$, saying 'the order had already been placed' over in the UK, even though it was months later the product arrived- whatever- point is, I will not deal with Audion again- besides, there are better products out there...

We owned an Audion amp for eight months, during which time it was 'repaired' four times, the last of which took over three months. Eventually, the amp was returned to us in worse condition than it was when we had driven six hours to hand-deliver it for repair. I won't go into further detail--Kevinzoe, you already know the story--but this was the worst customer service experience I've ever had, bar none. They were downright ruthless, both the manufacturer as well as the distributor. It was unfortunate, because the amp sounded great...when it played. Joe Fratus (Art Audio) and Gordon Rankin (Wavelength) have outstanding reputations for good reason. That's where I would put my money.

After a bit more thought, I'll throw up a more concrete opinion. Unless you have a good local dealer with excellent technical capabilities I'd be wary of buying Audion. My story turned out OK in the end, but there were serious bumps in the road. The amp arrived with both assembly and shipping damage that required replacement parts ( a cap and power transformer) to be obtained from Audion. That added about two months to the already extended delivery time. Fortunately the repairs were done here and didn't require the amp to make two more Atlantic crossings. If I hadn't had such a good dealer I'd have been in real trouble. I'm glad the things turned out well, because the amp I got is exceptional in every way, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend that someone else expose themselves to this kind of risk.

I have no way of choosing between Wavelength and Art Audio, but if I had to do it again I would definitely choose one of them.