high power tube amps vs ss

Hi Bruce,

I suspect that the specified damping factor of 40 for the MC-352 (actually, it is specified as "greater than 40," but I'll assume 40 for present purposes) represents the output impedance of the amp for a given output tap divided into the speaker impedance that tap is nominally intended to be used with.

If so:

The output impedance of the 8 ohm tap would be 8/40 = 0.2 ohms.

The output impedance of the 4 ohm tap would be 4/40 = 0.1 ohms.

The output impedance of the 2 ohm tap would be 2/40 = 0.05 ohms.

The output transistors would presumably see the same load when an 8 ohm speaker (that is truly 8 ohms) is connected to the 8 ohm tap, compared to when a 4 ohm speaker (that is truly 4 ohms) is connected to the 4 ohm tap, compared to when a 2 ohm speaker (that is truly 2 ohms) is connected to the 2 ohm tap.

BTW, thanks for your kind comment earlier in the thread.

Best,

-- Al

Atmasphere, are you comfortable telling us which in your opinion are the 5 ss amps that come close? Just curious.

I'm a big fan of Nelson Pass, Ayre and Ridley Audio. That's my short list... I think there are a few other candidates out there but I've not been able to hear them.

Me too regarding Nelson Pass designs. One of the few SS designs that to my ears really get closer to making music sound real other than , to my ears, a tube solution (preferably of the OTL variety) ideally matched with the speaker. It always comes down to synergy when making choices and this is not so easy. There are many speakers with difficult load characteristics that are superb that will not electrically match with tube amplification. There is no simple answer to this complex paradigm. Melding components together in a manner that makes recorded music sound real is not easily achieved by Tube vs. SS discussion, too many factors involved in the equation that is evidenced by the same questions continually being asked, IMHO.

I really appreciate the contributions of Almarg and Atmasphere (Ralph) to my better understanding of these issues.

"My questions is: is there anything to be gained by switching to these higher power tube amps over ss amps?"

Maybe or not. It would all depend on what you specifically are shooting for and how well what you have meets your needs or not.

I do not consider Dynaudio speakers and tube amps to be a natural match by design in general, and would not do that without hearing first but that's not to say you might not find something to like there if you heard it.