Slam possible with Tubes instead of SS ??

Blueskiespbd what is your definition of slam bass? I run my rolands on 2 sets of speakers;usher rw729's this is a monitor so they can only go so low;but the bass is tight and defined;on my other speakers the soundlab m2's they play down lower; results being a very tight bass with definition;such as a stand up bass,kettle drum,and organ;I am interested to hear your definition of slam though.

Rleff
To me slam bass is the systems ability to handle all bass effectively. Tight, well defined. You are sitting on the sofa and you feel the bass energy physically traveling thru the seat cushions and thru the sofa arms. This can occur at lower volume levels. I have always wanted a pair of Soundlabs.' Are you happy with the amount of bass they deliver?

So. Do the pass and Rowland amps provide slam bass ?
Blueskiespbd (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

I like bass slam. I was a drummer for a while in an earlier life.

I think the Pass XA-.5 series provide excellent bass slam with properly mated speakers, but I'm of the opinion that the speaker has more influence over slam than does the amp provided they are correctly matched.

The best slam I have had in my system was from Von Schweikert VR4 Hen III HSE speakers driven by either Moscode 401HR or Bryston 14B SST amps. I once used VAC Phi 110/110 tube amps with excellent results, but the slam was not as pronounced as it was with either the Moscode or Bryston amps. Those speakers have great slam.

Some tube amp/speaker combinations provide terrific slam. I'm thinking of Zu Audio speakers with some tube amps I've heard, and Classic Audio Reproductions T-1 with Atma-Sphere amplifiers. Both are high sensitivity designs with large woofers.

Blueskiespbd I am very happy with my soundlab m2's and they handle bass very well in my system;my sub is not used for 2 channel but only for LFE in home theater;I am that happy with the low freq in 2 channel audio.

FWIW Sound Labs have a high impedance at low frequencies which is why tube amps are preferred if you want them to play bass right. You can get them to play bass with transistors, but I think you will find that the way to do that involves having the speaker too close to the rear wall so you get some reinforcement. The problem is you wind up with a one-note bass.

The high impedance we are talking about is enough that a 600-watt transistor amp will only make 75-150 watts at certain bass frequencies. Sound Labs like some power though, so you really need about 150-200 watts to really make them play.