Which SS amp has the most tube-like tone and timbre?

[MylesBAstor]

Myles,

Do you know if there is a VK-655(SE and non-SE) version coming out?

Sorry no BAT wasn't at CES because they had nothing new to show; perhaps this will mark thei return I'll see if I have Geoff's email and ask him.

 

[joeinid]

Sorry no BAT wasn't at CES because they had nothing new to show; perhaps this will mark thei return I'll see if I have Geoff's email and ask him.

Thanks. I see some tidbits here and there but nothing concrete.

 

[KeithR]

Why does this question pop up once a month on audiophile forums? I think folks should figure out if they want leading edge or trailing decay and go in that direction, because neither topology does the other well.

McIntosh is the only thing I've owned that comes close---as well as the FirstWatt SIT amplifier. Yes, I've owned Pass and Rowland--two commonly claimed "tube-like" amplifiers. I've heard the BAT SS numerous times---but then put on a 75SE right next to it and it's still very, very different (and I think better).

 

[caesar]

Why does this question pop up once a month on audiophile forums?

I haven't seen it here, but this is the only forum I frequent. To me, it's a case of "have one's cake and eat it too".

 

[nirodha]

Hello, nirodha. While I can not attest to all of Musical Fidelity's offerings, I can attest to this. After having many tube power amplifiers in my system, the MF AC3r Dual Mono I have was a definite change from the tube amplifiers I have had. While it may be the most linear of any SS amplifier I have had in the rig to date, it definitely would not qualify to me as an amplifier that sounds like a tube amplifier. I have no complaints with the tone or timbre but when comparing it to the various tube amps I have had, their is really no comparison IME. I will say this though...I haven't put a tube amplifier back into the rig since it was installed and while I do love me some tubes and I'm no longer using a tubed amplifier, my tube characteristics come from the tubed CDP, tubed phono pre and tubed pre-amplifier. This combination offers me a great end result as to what hits my ears but I can't honestly say that it matches the sonic characteristics of the tube amps I have had.

Tom

Hi Tom,
you are probably right. I mentioned Musical Fidelity out of memory...I had an integrated amp long (!) time ago and it definitely had a tubey sound. BUT that was my only first hand experience with the brand. And ... maybe it even was a tube/SS hybrid ?!? Another reason for mentioning the brand is that Fremer always describes MF as having a round, relax sound. A typical MF (Michel Fremer) remark on a MF (Musical Fidelity) amp... mmm...double MF...suspicious in one of his reviews: "While I would never mistake the Titan's sound for that of a romantic-sounding tube amp—or any tube amp—it produced a tube-like musical flow and textural suppleness completely free of clichés of solid-state hardness or starch." http://www.stereophile.com/content/musical-fidelity-titan-power-amplifier-page-3
Cheers Wim

 

[KeithR]

I haven't seen it here, but this is the only forum I frequent. To me, it's a case of "have one's cake and eat it too".

Too bad that just isn't possible. I think the easiest way is to go hear an SS CJ or BAT directly against their tube counterparts. It's apples and oranges.

 

[dallasjustice]

Hahahaha, no doubt! For me it takes a long time to really get to know what a given component sounds like, this aspect makes it even harder. Right now I am listening to some nCores... not sure they are going to live up to the hype. I am on the cost effective side of audio compared to most here (my amp is a Pass X 150.5, and sometimes, a rebuilt, modded PS Audio Classic 250), but I have had good opportunities to listen closely, in familiar systems, to amps I mentioned in my post.

Barrows, I know you are pre-ampless so I wonder whether there's any concern on your part about switching noise feeding back into your DAC? I know Bruno has done much to mitigate switching noise but I just wonder whether it could a problem without a pre-amp in between the DAC and ncore amps.

 

[Emre Üçöz]

Soulution 710 is definitely on that level. Despite that on WBF there is not much enthusiasm over Soulution gear, it is a a great achievement on sonic, transparency and dead silence.

 

[Jazzbo]

About 3 years ago at the advice of a friend in Mass USA I purchased a Threshold S-300 power amp and the Classe DR-5 pre amp. What a combination and I have not looked back. I am driving a pair of Peter Gunn modified Magnapan 1.6 speakers and have continued to get the sound I love and can easily live with. Though I've added a tube DAC to listen to my Parasound CD tape transport and a tube phono pre amp my Threshold and Classe are bottom line. Thanks much.

Jazzbo

 

[cakeaudio]

Vk-655se

Myles,

Do you know if there is a VK-655(SE and non-SE) version coming out?

Yes, the VK600 has been updated with many improvements and is now the VK655 / SE.

Disclosure: we are a BAT dealer -

 

[joeinid]

Yes, the VK600 has been updated with many improvements and is now the VK655 / SE.

Disclosure: we are a BAT dealer -

Thanks!!!!

 

[A.wayne]

Never tried the newer Bat amplifiers only the VK500's with bat pack , there were good on my monitors , but not good on the ESL's or my ribbons ...

 

[Imperial]

I did hear the Forsell Air Reference amplifier one time. The source was Electrocompaniet EMC-1up. Pre-amp I don't remember but it could have been a Primare I think, or was it an EC 4.7 pre-amplifier? Could have been... Do not remember.
Was it Nordost SPM cables? It might have been. The loudspeaker? Audiovector M3 Signature. This was just a fleeting moment in a demo situation.

Those Forsell beasts were something else... I shall never forget. That was a most kick ass combination. Electrocompaniet + Primare + Forsell + Audiovector strung up with SPM in that room, that very day...

Michelle Shocked - 'Quality of mercy' never sounded better....

But my best bet for most tubelike for sale today...?
YBA Signature. I would have a look at the newest iteration of the YBA Signature 200w stereo amplifer. Not super powerfull, but you can bridge them to 600w in mono configuration.
This is a 2011 design I think, last iteration was from 1986, so it lasted 25 years.

I also think that the phrase Tube like Timbre and Tone has changed as of late... the difference is not what it used to be, solid state and Tubes.
So most "tubelike" is sort of a diffuse subject... not carved in stone anymore.

And even if you do get that perfect amplifier you really have to make the right choice regarding loudspeaker cable too!
'Coz that is really gonna make or brake the combination.
You are gonna have to talk to the makers of both the amps and the speakers to get some inside tip on what to use, or ask the dealer or something.

Imperial

 

[dbster]

I've thought some vintage solid state were designed to sound like tube so they could sell the upgrade to solid state to the existing tube crowd. So McIntosh MC-2100 and Kinergetics KBA-75 seem to fit.The latter runs as hot as tubes since it is class A biased.

 

[Mosin]

Moscode something-or-other
Apt-Holman (? sp)
Counterpoint SA220
Hafler DH200
Carver's whatever-it-was, ended up with a tube/SS switch on the back or something like that

All having MOSFET or similar output stages, I think (not sure about the A-H).

And yes I know I'm dating myself...

Yes, you are!

The Apt Holman Model Apt One had Darlington matched pairs for outputs, not mosfets. Of all the amps mentioned in the thread that I have heard, the Apt One has the most tube-like sound of all. It sounds more like a classic tube amp than a modern one, however. It is like a more powerful Marantz 8B to my ears. It's very warm, and struts its stuff in the same places as those old tube amps. There is nothing etched about it, either. It is musical, but not overly detailed. I bought a pair for my YouTube system because of those traits, and because they can be had for pennies and tend to run cool. It's sound is vastly different from Haflers and Carvers...can't remember what the Counterpoint sounded like, though.