an amp without "electronic" sound

No, not at all Chris. I think we're actually on the same wave-length, so to speak and no pun intended. I myself want TOTAL resolution, with no added "hyperdetail" or unrealistic treble, but also no euphonic colorations. With my recent move to Rowland I think I've gotten very near. I need more weeks of listening to validate my early impressions.

The question comes to my mind, since you know so much and seem to have a well thought out position, based on apparent actual listening experience, then what do you think meets your criteria as the OP here??? (I'm not poking you my friend, this is a real question).

Dave

hi chris ,
for me mark levinson 20.5 but ml 20.6 is much better .
Thanks ,

1 - Spectron Musician III SE Mk2,
2 - Jeff Rowland 312,
3 - Plinius Reference.

Dcstep, to achieve what Dazzdax is talking about you need an amplifier that has a remarkable combination of characteristics. It should be fast, which is a problem for a lot of tube amps, but it should be relaxed, which is a problem for a lot of transistor amplifiers. Detail and transparency of the kind needed for this resolution comes from very low level distortion at low power. Any distortion-inducing design elements (devices woth poor linearity, class of operation issues, etc.), in the circuit will impede this quality.

The amplifier is more important than the speaker in this respect, so you must get a speaker that works with the amp that has the right qualities, rather than the other way around. **Figuring out** which is the right amp to buy to begin with is another can of worms entirely :)

Atmasphere, I've been talking about detail and transparency all along. So what amplifier would you recommend? Rather than talking about concepts, why not get specific?

Dave