Best Pure Musical Amplifiers (power not important)

Randy Myers

Randy Myers

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I am curious what everyone considers the best pure sound quality/musical amplifiers that you have actually heard. I do not care how much power the amplifier has and to me power definitely does not equate to sound quality. I am most interested in what you believe are the most musical amplifiers that you have heard... the ones that pull you in and make you loose track of everything else but the music.

I have tried many different amplifiers over the past few years. I have noticed some pretty large differences between these various amplifiers... anyway, here are the top few that I have owned...

* Audio Mirror - Reflection 45s (SET ... simply wow)
* First Watt - F6 (didn't feel it had enough power for long term at the time, but so sweet sounding)
* T+A - Amp 8 (just a dam good little amp, built like a tank, fast, dynamic)
* Goldmund - Job 225 (incredibly fast, maybe cut corners on build for price, but nice sounding amp)
* Quick Silver - Silver 88s (unfortunately they were way to finicky and flaky, great sounding when they worked)

So just curious if other people have any amps that gave them that special something that helped them forget the world for a while; again, watts per channel is not a criteria here.
 
I'm confused on whether the question is "used" or "heard". Heard, is too many to mention.

One other thought, musical, is a subjective target. I was thinking about that today. For example, one of the top amps I was struck as musical was my Conrad Johnson. In more of a lush, swinging type of musical. Today I was playing some Classic Rock, Zeppelin and such, through the Hegel H590, and it is one of the top musical amps in a more realistic way, lack of a better way to say it, tangible perhaps, it has that snap to the snare, bass in the chest type presentation while remaining so clear and coherent. One of the more livelike presentations of musical.

I mentioned recently on another thread a Quad system I heard, that was quite musical. May not be what I'd call accurate but it was surely a nice sit back and listen though.
 
totally agree with Mr Peabody, 'musical' can have many different meanings and as for not caring how much power the amp has.......nonesense ! For if your speakers of choice(the ones which you are making this subjective judgement with) are not overly efficient, then yes power matters !

I'm willing to bet that most of us consider systems 'musical' when there is some amount of 'euphoric distortion' present !
 
Mr Peabody said:
I'm confused on whether the question is "used" or "heard". Heard, is too many to mention.
Click to expand...

I am mainly asking about amplifiers that you have heard or listened to for a while. Basically lived with long enough to believe you have a true feel to how the amplifier sounds (owned if you will but a loan for a time period would also qualify). I do not believe listening at a show really gives a good indication... bad acoustics, an environment you are not familiar with, other gear you don't know, etc., not enough time to truly understand the amplifier.

If power is a requirement for you to be absorbed by the music, so be it. But I do not personally believe power is a requirement for top sound quality, others may :)...

Of course "musical' as such is subjective; type of music, etc., is certainly a criteria, however I find that I can get deeply into many types of music. I have been totally involved with a nice Jazz vocalist (Holly Cole, Diane Krall, Patricia Barber, etc.) and I have been completely overwhelmed by a Led Zeppelin album... or an Alan Parsons piece... most any music can qualify. One of my favorite things is on Sunday mornings I enjoy getting a cup of coffee and listening to a nice piano piece... Fiona Joy is almost always the first thing played on a nice early morning Sunday relaxation session, for example.

What I am really referring to is being so "musical" that you forget the amplifier, you forget the world for a time. Just something, that to you was almost spiritual in how it draws you in. Just special sounding. I know this may be different for everybody but I am just hoping to have a discussion about what amps that you have "lived" with had the ability to "take you there".

Mikado463 said:
I'm willing to bet that most of us consider systems 'musical' when there is some amount of 'euphoric distortion' present !
Click to expand...

This may be true, because musical may not mean most accurate, but instead most inviting. I can say that I believe the T+A is more 'accurate' but the SET amplifiers are more easily 'musical' in my view. This will probably sound confusing, but I also believe that the T+A can get to this point, but it does not seem to be as natural for it as the Audio Mirror amps... But I believe I can only make these statements on amplifiers I have lived with long enough to make this type of judgement :)... This is why I am only talking about amplifiers that I own.

Simply put, what amps have had that special something for you :D...
 
Hi

This is a interesting question - I see it somewhat different in the sense of what amplifiers at a given time gave you immense pleasure.

Some equipment that has pleased me in the past no longer has that absolute magic which leads me to think it not the hardware that changes but your subjective perception of how you perceive the music.

For me the following were mind blowing experiences:

a) Jumping from a Quad 405 Mk2 to a Krell KSA100 Mk1. Within seconds after the first switch on I knew it was not leaving my house. That amp has been recapped and biased to 70 watts class A and is still working -25+ years later. Very clean sound with absolute control over the speaker. The later Krell's somehow lost that ability.

b) My introduction to valves: This was a transition from a typical hi-fi sounding presentation to a system that created the ability to emotionally connect to the music. The ARC Ref 110 was the first amplifier that gave me that experience and now has a special place in my heart. Needless to say with the wrong speakers it can sound like a disaster de luxe. I am sure there are better but for me a definite keeper and I am looking forward to seeing what this amplifier can do with a top notch pre.

Take care and best wishes to all for 2019 !

Jozua
 
Thank you Jozua. This is the type of experiences I was interested in hearing about.

I was a little worried about if the SET could drive my speakers well enough, however since I rarely listen at higher levels I decided to give it a try. It was just pure magic! I have never had a single piece of gear grab me that much before!

Really looking forward to getting them setup with their matching DHT pre-amp. I am just enjoying the back to basic purity versus the features that other equipment has offered.
 
I had a similar path years ago. I began with Krell, feeling at the time the control and slam was the most "accurate" to my ears at the time. Over time an audition of ARC with Martin Logan really impressed me, the presence was haunting, like the performer was in the room. That memory stuck with me and I guess I tired of the Krell, I began to explore tubes. I tried ARC and didn't like it in my system, not the same as my prior audition. On a whim and research I brought in Conrad Johnson and was instantly in love with what I heard, it was like soul was breathed into the music. Than a speaker change and I found my amps wasn't doing the job, back on the merry-go-round I went, LOL I listen to a very wide variety of music but sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't just go back to CJ. Personal reasons though I probably won't go back to tubes, nothing to due with sound.

Jozua said:
Hi

This is a interesting question - I see it somewhat different in the sense of what amplifiers at a given time gave you immense pleasure.

Some equipment that has pleased me in the past no longer has that absolute magic which leads me to think it not the hardware that changes but your subjective perception of how you perceive the music.

For me the following were mind blowing experiences:

a) Jumping from a Quad 405 Mk2 to a Krell KSA100 Mk1. Within seconds after the first switch on I knew it was not leaving my house. That amp has been recapped and biased to 70 watts class A and is still working -25+ years later. Very clean sound with absolute control over the speaker. The later Krell's somehow lost that ability.

b) My introduction to valves: This was a transition from a typical hi-fi sounding presentation to a system that created the ability to emotionally connect to the music. The ARC Ref 110 was the first amplifier that gave me that experience and now has a special place in my heart. Needless to say with the wrong speakers it can sound like a disaster de luxe. I am sure there are better but for me a definite keeper and I am looking forward to seeing what this amplifier can do with a top notch pre.

Take care and best wishes to all for 2019 !

Jozua
Click to expand...
 
Randy Myers said:
I am curious what everyone considers the best pure sound quality/musical amplifiers that you have actually heard. I do not care how much power the amplifier has and to me power definitely does not equate to sound quality. I am most interested in what you believe are the most musical amplifiers that you have heard... the ones that pull you in and make you loose track of everything else but the music.

I have tried many different amplifiers over the past few years. I have noticed some pretty large differences between these various amplifiers... anyway, here are the top few that I have owned...

* Audio Mirror - Reflection 45s (SET ... simply wow)
* First Watt - F6 (didn't feel it had enough power for long term at the time, but so sweet sounding)
* T+A - Amp 8 (just a dam good little amp, built like a tank, fast, dynamic)
* Goldmund - Job 225 (incredibly fast, maybe cut corners on build for price, but nice sounding amp)
* Quick Silver - Silver 88s (unfortunately they were way to finicky and flaky, great sounding when they worked)

So just curious if other people have any amps that gave them that special something that helped them forget the world for a while; again, watts per channel is not a criteria here.
Click to expand...

Can you explain what you mean by finicky and flaky?
 
My two present amps.

solid State
darTZeel NHB-108
Valves
Air Tight 300B Anniversary
 
Very interesting question!

The first SET amp that I immediately with connected emotionally was a DIYHiFiSupply Lady Day, a capacitor-coupled 300B amp with 6SL7 driver. And every time I upgraded it (AN tantalum resistors, AN and Blackgate capacitors, and lastly Electraprint silver-secondary OPT) it just got better and better. Maybe the best SET amp I’ve ever owned.

When DIYHiFiSupply came out with their “even better” LUX 91 Mono Max, their modification of the “famous” Western Electric 91 circuit, which was cap-coupled using a 310A driver and 300B, much of the magic was lost. More detailed but less rich and liquid. Couldn’t connect emotionally to it. Perhaps if I had upgraded resistors and capacitors? Who knows, but in my experience the emotional connection is either there or not there. Better parts can make the sound better, but are not the difference for the emotional connection. Maybe upgrading the OPT would have done the trick.

I found that emotional engagement again with the Bottlehead direct-coupled (no coupling cap between driver and power tube), parafeed 2A3 SET amp. Again, upgrading parts improved the sound, but the emotional connection was there from the start.

My first experience with push-pull amps didn’t go well at all. No matter what parts I upgraded (the caveat being I didn’t upgrade the OPT), I just couldn’t connect with the DIYHiFiSupply Ella EL34 amp.

For years I persisted in the belief that SET amps were inherently better than push pull amps. But that belief was shattered more recently by the Audio Note Kits EL34 triple C-core OPT amps. I love these amps and listen to them frequently. Just an immediate, intense emotional connection.

Same story for my VAC 200iQ amps, but even more so.

All of the above amps, even the SETs, have very different circuits and parts. But in my experience the most important factor as to whether I connect emotionally to an amp is the OPT.

As always, your experience my be different!
 
mep said:
Can you explain what you mean by finicky and flaky?
Click to expand...

Well, sometimes they would be fine, other times there was a static, other times a hum. I was never able to isolate the issues and it was very random. There were even times when something as simply as using the power recliner on my chair would send static through the amps, other times no. I tried many things to resolve the issue, cables, power, power from a conditioner, power straight from the wall, etc., etc. I could never ever isolate what caused the issue, but I definitely was able to isolate that no other amplifiers had the issue when doing a direct replacement at the time the QS were experiencing the issue. No other amplifiers have ever exhibited these issues, ever, for me in my system. I believe the QS that I had were possessed. :)

Other times the amplifiers would work perfectly and sounded wonderful. I even shipped these amps back to Mike Sanders for his review. He found nothing. I ended up selling the amplifiers to a Quick Silver collector. He was looking for a set of this model.

I actually was considering having Mike build me new amps because I liked the sound so much when I had these (when they worked), but then I came across the Audio Mirrors and have been thoroughly impressed.
 
Randy Myers said:
Well, sometimes they would be fine, other times there was a static, other times a hum. I was never able to isolate the issues and it was very random. There were even times when something as simply as using the power recliner on my chair would send static through the amps, other times no. I tried many things to resolve the issue, cables, power, power from a conditioner, power straight from the wall, etc., etc. I could never ever isolate what caused the issue, but I definitely was able to isolate that no other amplifiers had the issue when doing a direct replacement at the time the QS were experiencing the issue. No other amplifiers have ever exhibited these issues, ever, for me in my system. I believe the QS that I had were possessed. :)

Other times the amplifiers would work perfectly and sounded wonderful. I even shipped these amps back to Mike Sanders for his review. He found nothing. I ended up selling the amplifiers to a Quick Silver collector. He was looking for a set of this model.

I actually was considering having Mike build me new amps because I liked the sound so much when I had these (when they worked), but then I came across the Audio Mirrors and have been thoroughly impressed.
Click to expand...

Randy didn't you buy these amps used since they stopped making 88's in 2015?
 
Yes, I did. But the previous owner said he had never had an issue. He is a Sharkie and has always been honest and fair. Maybe something happened in shipping. They were sent to Mike Sanders who did correct an original hum, but these other problems never did go away for me. Mike had no answers either. Too bad because I really liked the amps.

However, even at their best I believe the Audio Mirror are a different level, for me personally. Just such inviting sounding amps and I made an immediate emotional connection. Club members who have listened to them say the exact same thing. One of the guys really loved the QSs and he is also amazed at the AMs...
 
Randy Myers said:
Yes, I did. But the previous owner said he had never had an issue. He is a Sharkie and has always been honest and fair. Maybe something happened in shipping. They were sent to Mike Sanders who did correct an original hum, but these other problems never did go away for me. Mike had no answers either. Too bad because I really liked the amps.
Click to expand...

Randy Myers said:
I even shipped these amps back to Mike Sanders for his review. He found nothing.
Click to expand...

So now I'm confused. Did the original owner send these amps to Mike and he found the hum and then you purchased them or did you send them back to Mike and he fixed the hum but couldn't find any other problems?
 
I found the hum that was there all the time. Mike Sanders took care of it. The original owner never had an issue.

The other, random static and slight random hum issues were never able to be resolved, Mike could not find an issue. It was like the amps were possessed. This is why I referred to them as finicky because some times they were amazing and other times they exhibited these issues, and I could never find anything that trigger the issues.
 
I really like the current Ampsandsound Casablanca I have now. I think I prefer the KT88 over my NOS Sylvania 6CA7.

I have found memories of my CJ Premier 140 with upgraded teflon caps. So big and full. They had great drive.

I have had others that were very nice but the 2 I noted spoke to me in my system.
 
Somewhat a hard question to answer on one hand as everything in the system and room plays a part.

On the other hand, it is what I am running now; D’Agostino Momentum Mono’s.

These are driving a pair of Wilson Alexia’s and match beautifully gripping the speakers with complete control reproducing music in a pleasant and non-fatiguing manner.

The Monos do add the dedicated power brining my sound today to a state I have not achieved before. My previous amp was a McIntosh MC452, and while that was no slouch and missed, it is hard to compete.






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Randy Myers said:
I found the hum that was there all the time. Mike Sanders took care of it. The original owner never had an issue.

The other, random static and slight random hum issues were never able to be resolved, Mike could not find an issue. It was like the amps were possessed. This is why I referred to them as finicky because some times they were amazing and other times they exhibited these issues, and I could never find anything that trigger the issues.
Click to expand...

Not that it matters now, but did you have the amps plugged into some type of power line conditioner? If so, did you try plugging them straight into the wall outlet to see if the random static and slight random hum issues went away?
 
I thought I mentioned earlier that I did try it both ways; through the conditioner and straight into the wall. No difference either way. Too bad because I actually liked these amps quite a bit, that's why even though I had issues I still put them on my "special" list :)....
 
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