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Post by robbiegong on Jun 29, 2022 15:56:49 GMT
Best amps you've heard, to your ears of course ?
Not had many but best to my own ears have been Sansui 919, which was re-capped and re-built from bottom up. It wasnt even 'burnt in', ie: hardly any hours on after the re-cap and re-build but sounded lovely from the off. Very clear, detailed and open sound.
Sansui Au a707DR, my current amp since 2018 and has always sounded right, balanced, detailed, lots of depth to the sound, musical, non fatiguing.
Recently had the pleasure of a week with a Belles Aria Integrated - Excellent amp! best sound I've had in the house, nudging the 707DR overall.
Very engaging, gets right to the heart of the music, good natural instrumental tone, super tight, punchy and tuneful bass, I have never had an amp resolve and unravel individual parts and layers the way this things does. It is almost perfect in my experience/opinion, sounds more powerful that its 75wpc, that said I did fancy a little more muscle / weight occasionally, which would make it pretty much bang on, and as a last amp for me.
I enjoyed the Belles Aria so much that my heart is set on the 125wpc Aria Signature, as soon as funds permit.
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Post by antonio on Jun 29, 2022 16:18:55 GMT
Without doubt the Audionet Humboldt which I have the pleasure of listening to every day  |
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Post by lurch on Jun 29, 2022 16:19:43 GMT
For me it has to be a Mk1 MasterSound Reference 845 integrated that I heard at the final Scalford in 2017.
Having heard it I rushed round the rest of the rooms as nothing touched it. Spent the remaining 3.5 hrs in that room listening the the beguiling liquid sound it produced.
For heard here at Lurch towers it has to be my current Nords, they've seen of my IA MB845SEs that I've had here for 4.5 years and a recent Krell 250S, phenomenal amps and serious vfm, for me they just do everything right.
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Post by misterc on Jun 29, 2022 16:28:34 GMT
Recently a new reference which is commerially availble for a stereo amplifier M700S from Tad, its the amp we asked them make 10 years ago they have now got around to it  Easily one of the best stereo amplifiers currently available power outputs not withstanding. |
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Post by hifinutt on Jun 29, 2022 16:38:25 GMT
Best amps you've heard, to your ears of course ? Not had many but best to my own ears have been Sansui 919, which was re-capped and re-built from bottom up. It wasnt even 'burnt in', ie: hardly any hours on after the re-cap and re-build but sounded lovely from the off. Very clear, detailed and open sound. Sansui Au a707DR, my current amp since 2018 and has always sounded right, balanced, detailed, lots of depth to the sound, musical, non fatiguing. Recently had the pleasure of a week with a Belles Aria Integrated - Excellent amp! best sound I've had in the house, nudging the 707DR overall. Very engaging, gets right to the heart of the music, good natural instrumental tone, super tight, punchy and tuneful bass, I have never had an amp resolve and unravel individual parts and layers the way this things does. It is almost perfect in my experience/opinion, sounds more powerful that its 75wpc, that said I did fancy a little more muscle / weight occasionally, which would make it pretty much bang on, and as a last amp for me. I enjoyed the Belles Aria so much that my heart is set on the 125wpc Aria Signature, as soon as funds permit. yes Belles are superb amps and the aria seems to attract a lot of love . i didnt know there was an aria signature . certainly loved my belles monoblocks |
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Post by hifinutt on Jun 29, 2022 16:39:40 GMT
best amps i have heard was audio research ref 5se with power amps i forget [ possibly msb s200 ]
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Post by jandl100 on Jun 29, 2022 19:57:52 GMT
Ayre AX-7e integrated. It sounds unhyped and natural, relaxed in a good way, a natural sense of decay to notes, music just flows out seemingly without hindrance. Soundstaging is smoothly layered and realistically focused. Yeah, spot on. But I doubt that will stop me from trying others.  |
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Post by peterthebutcher on Jul 2, 2022 10:50:46 GMT
Not had many amps (just 4 from 88-98) and in the past 3 years 3, inc my new PS Audio M700's
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Post by misterc on Jul 2, 2022 10:52:16 GMT
But I doubt that will stop me from trying others. 
Jerry, I feel that is the undersatement of century 
You are sir, the grand master of equipment changers, the Jahbulon of box swappers, the Great Architect of all kit interchangers.
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Post by mrian on Jul 6, 2022 15:50:04 GMT
Propably not the best technically but the amps i liked enjoyed the most were
Leak TL12.1 monoblocks rebuilt by GT
Meridian 103D small form and great sounds
John Wood KT88 monoblocks unfortunately fixed bias made them less user friendly
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2022 9:51:07 GMT
Surely, a good amp should not be heard?
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Post by macca on Jul 7, 2022 10:02:41 GMT
Surely, a good amp should not be heard? Agree but not everyone subscribes to that philosophy. Hello Audionote owners! Plus how good an amplifier will sound depends on the load it's being asked to drive. Speaker/amplifier relationship is very complex. Like a marriage. |
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 7, 2022 12:29:23 GMT
A perfect amplifier should not be heard.
Best of luck in that quest.
Back in the real world, they all have a complex and load dependent flavour.
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Post by macca on Jul 7, 2022 12:58:58 GMT
A perfect amplifier should not be heard. Best of luck in that quest. Back in the real world, they all have a complex and load dependent flavour. well I think that you can get close to it, if the amp is agnostic to whatever load is presented or if you use loudspeakers with high and near constant impedance. Will there still be some flavour on top of that? Mmm... maybe. Not enough to worry about though. |
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 7, 2022 14:01:23 GMT
A perfect amplifier should not be heard. Best of luck in that quest. Back in the real world, they all have a complex and load dependent flavour. well I think that you can get close to it, if the amp is agnostic to whatever load is presented or if you use loudspeakers with high and near constant impedance. Will there still be some flavour on top of that? Mmm... maybe. Not enough to worry about though. Personally, I've never heard any amp that sounds like any other. But if your belief system makes you happy and saves you money then, excellent, you're on to a winner! You still enjoying your Krell? |
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Post by macca on Jul 7, 2022 14:36:17 GMT
well I think that you can get close to it, if the amp is agnostic to whatever load is presented or if you use loudspeakers with high and near constant impedance. Will there still be some flavour on top of that? Mmm... maybe. Not enough to worry about though. Personally, I've never heard any amp that sounds like any other. But if your belief system makes you happy and saves you money then, excellent, you're on to a winner! You still enjoying your Krell?  Yep. Wouldn't swap it for anything. In fairness you go for amps that interest you, often boutique, never seen you get something from the Matsushita/Sanyo identikit world. |
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Post by robbiegong on Jul 7, 2022 19:55:55 GMT
Surely, a good amp should not be heard? I always expect the word 'heard' when used in the context of a question like this, to not be taken literally. The question is simply about amps that people have found let music play through them in a way that is 'right' to ones ears, does not impart a particular trait to the point of hindrance, resolving, tonally accurate, an amp that is spot on in the way it delineates the recorded music and all the individual parts thereof |
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,063
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Post by Bigman80 on Jul 7, 2022 21:42:59 GMT
Valve: Croft Series V with mods.
That amp has been the best valve amp I have heard, and that included some huge CJ's, Some very expensive Audio Note Silver things, Primaluna, Tektron and many others.
Quite simply because it didn't have anything lacking. Really transparent. Literally pulling huge amounts of detail out of the recording. It was absolutely stunning. Organic, natural, resolving, spacious sound, oodles of fluidity.......honestly, I regret selling it, but I didn't use it when the 686 was in situ and I needed the money for other things. Also, it wasn't cheap to replace the glass with good valves, which I wanted to do.
It's for sale at the minute, and if I had the money lying around with nothing to do, it would be back here 100%. A superb amplifier. LF control is never perfect with valve amps, but it's a beautiful sounding device.
Solid state:
You know, it's hard to not pick the Neurochrome 686. Technically superb, sonically even better.
Is it perfect? It could be.....but I'm guessing it isn't. Trouble is, if there is something it isn't doing, that it should be, I haven't heard anything else highlight it, or convince me that it did something better.
There is one aspect I would love to have, and that's the grip and tautness of a good Class D Amplifier.
I've heard a few now, and they all have it. LF is tight, punchy, resolution is exceptional and the speed it can move at is something else entirely.
I am certainly not complaining about the quality of 686 LF performance. Far from it, but Class D seems to be ahead of any other amp in that department.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2022 7:06:19 GMT
Surely, a good amp should not be heard? I always expect the word 'heard' when used in the context of a question like this, to not be taken literally. The question is simply about amps that people have found let music play through them in a way that is 'right' to ones ears, does not impart a particular trait to the point of hindrance, resolving, tonally accurate, an amp that is spot on in the way it delineates the recorded music and all the individual parts thereof Unless you get the speaker/room interface correct then you have not “heard” the amp properly. It is the most important aspect to get right, and I doubt I have it 100% correct, but at normal listening levels, it sounds great. At higher levels (close to uncomfortable) then the room acoustics take over. Two amplifiers come to mind. The AHB2,:which I heard driving some ESL63s. This made me realise that perhaps a good SS amp was the way forward, so I dipped my toe back in the water with some -86s, which took me on to the 686. I have not heard better recently, but I don’t go to shows and not many of my friends have a system better than mine. I wish I had more exposure to other systems, but such is life. |
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Post by antonio on Jul 8, 2022 7:45:37 GMT
@cageyh Not having access to other systems can be a blessing in disguise, you have a very good system that you enjoy, relax, go for a swim and listen to the music. |
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Post by macca on Jul 8, 2022 7:51:09 GMT
One thing I take away every time I go to a show is that the systems in the best rooms, acoustically, are those that sound the best. Regardless of the partnering equipment. There's the odd exception where the speakers are poor (usually some incredibly expensive boutique design) but they are rare.
Also the odd one or two where they use a turntable as source and it isn't that great, probably because it is not set up properly.
Can only think of a couple where it was the amplification letting the side down, and that has always been valve amps - soft, soggy bass and rolled off top. OFC some people like that. (not saying that is the sound of valves, just certain valve amps combined with certain speakers).
Like for instance Alchris Audio always use EAR amps to demo their speakers - big mistake IMO.
So yes, assuming the amp can drive the speakers properly and they are using a digital source, the overall sound quality is almost all about speaker/room. If that's wrong you will never get good sound, It doesn't matter how much the rest of the set-up cost or how well it performs on the bench or in reviews. Any little difference in amp or DAC 'sound signature' will be totally swamped and becomes irrelevant.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2022 8:07:51 GMT
@cageyh Not having access to other systems can be a blessing in disguise, you have a very good system that you enjoy, relax, go for a swim and listen to the music. That is the plan. It is the first day of the summer holidays, so we are off to the pool in about 20 minutes. |
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 8, 2022 8:27:43 GMT
... Any little difference in amp or DAC 'sound signature' will be totally swamped and becomes irrelevant. I do get where you are coming from. I agree with your logical reasoning, it is the way it should work, it's just that in practice it doesn't actually work out that way for me. Subtle (usually) though the differences are in comparison to other variables, I find that the 'amplifier sound' is crucial to my enjoyment of a system. Not usually in a 'Wow, that's great' kind of way, but in a settle in and enjoy a whole album response. There have been notable exceptions, eg. some screaming treble, others I just find myself bored stiff, or an immediately discernable 2D flatness. So subtle differences, perhaps, usually. Sometimes. But nonetheless crucial. |
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Post by macca on Jul 8, 2022 9:53:49 GMT
... Any little difference in amp or DAC 'sound signature' will be totally swamped and becomes irrelevant. I do get where you are coming from. I agree with your logical reasoning, it is the way it should work, it's just that in practice it doesn't actually work out that way for me. Subtle (usually) though the differences are in comparison to other variables, I find that the 'amplifier sound' is crucial to my enjoyment of a system. Not usually in a 'Wow, that's great' kind of way, but in a settle in and enjoy a whole album response. There have been notable exceptions, eg. some screaming treble, others I just find myself bored stiff, or an immediately discernable 2D flatness. So subtle differences, perhaps, usually. Sometimes. But nonetheless crucial. I find the same thing, but there are so any variables that I'm not going to say it is down to some sonic signature of the amplifier. Especially since my best speakers are also the most demanding load for the amp. There's no way by just listening that I can conclude the differences are down to the amps 'sonic signature' and not just because it cannot drive the speaker optimally. Now if I had some speakers that were very revealing but also have high, flat impedance and benign phase characteristics I could do a more meaningful comparison, but I don't. Also I'd have to make sure the amp wasn't clipping and ensure that the volume level was the same with each amp I try. I have found out the hard way (wasted time and money) that it doesn't pay to jump to conclusions. Having said all that I still prefer the KSA50S to the KSA100 and neither amp will have any bother whatsoever with the speaker load. So please don't think I am dismissing the idea of amplifier sonic signature. |
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Post by macca on Jul 8, 2022 9:58:06 GMT
oh and there's another variable which is the pre-amp and its compatibility with the power amp. You can't listen to a power amp without a pre-amp.
Or even with an integrated - I prefer the sound of the NAD 320BEE with the Philips pre-amp as opposed to its own built-in pre-amp.
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 8, 2022 12:07:04 GMT
I guess where I've (astonishingly) had the same speakers for over a decade, and a multitude of amps have graced my system over those years, it's probably more justifiable identifying 'amplifier sound'.
I understand the loading issue, but as I'm as happy using a 10wpc amp as a 400wpc jobbie I've come to the conclusion that my speakers are easy to drive.
Of course, the amplifier sound may well change when presented with a variety of more challenging loads, so my conclusions will likely be less valid for other systems.
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Post by sq225917 on Jul 8, 2022 15:02:40 GMT
I'm with you thete Oli, class d for the bass and nuerochrome for the rest.
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Post by lurch on Jul 8, 2022 16:39:40 GMT
Hopefully some of you guys will be going to the WAM show (1st Sunday in October) as I'm exhibiting and you'll be able to hear why I've dumped my MB845SEs, and kicked out the Krell 250S recently in favour of the Class D Nords.
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Post by antonio on Jul 8, 2022 17:21:00 GMT
lurch These Nords seem to be the new love of your life, pleased you are enjoying them.
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 8, 2022 17:50:11 GMT
Yup, I'm planning to be at the Wam show, 2nd October.
I told the Mrs it's in Stoke, "Ooooh, I'll come along, too, and visit the Wedgwood museums". OK.
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Easily one of the best stereo amplifiers currently available power outputs not withstanding. 
