Axis VoiceBox S mini-monitors, they are really great! See post #57!

yes, my mistake

 

Line Magnetic 501IA (100wpc)

 

...or this one, but I think you need two of them

LM-1 212

 

Cozy in winter. Anyway, Rogue baby!

 

Man, this thing makes those classic Audio Research amps look positively feminine in comparison...

 

They base their stuff on old Western Electric designs at Line Magnetic. Or so I have read.

 

0.0 WAF

 

Orson Welles used it to transmit the War of the Worlds radio broadcast......

 

If buying used is an option, for musical drive and fun as well as a lot more power than the 50 watts suggest, the YBA dt Integré is hard to beat. From the old days of YBA, when the company was still on Yves-Bernard André's hands.

The old Passion Integré model is also a safe bet, although not quite as engaging. And more expensive.

I'm also a SET guy now, but I will never depart with dt. I would prefer also not to part with the Passion Integré but at one point I probably will have to. Can't defend having two discontinued kick-ass amps sitting around idle.

 

I know it's not tubes, but I would have a close look and listen at the Pass Labs INT-60 integrated amp.

 

Yikes! They used to be $2500-ish. Time and money fly.

 

Hi Steve!

The natural answer is REDGUM Audio amplifiers. Both Axisvoicebox and REDGUM Audio Black Series integrated amplifiers are made in the same factory, and they are voiced together. The problem, of course, is that they are solid state. But they're on the warm side of neutral.

REDGUM Black Series consists of three integrated amplifiers--the $2500 RGi35ENR (65wpc), the $3500 RGi60ENR (125wpc) and the $4500 RGi120ENR (175wpc). These are all high-current amplifiers that are designed to work well with amplifier loads that dip below 2 ohms, which is why people in Australia love to pair their Magnepans with REDGUM.

In fact, REDGUM and Axisvoicebox will be at AXPONA next month with plenty of new products. Room 532.

I've used the Axisvoicebox S with a number of amplifiers with success--everything from the 45wpc Unison Research Triode 25 in ultralinear mode to the PureAudio Duo power amplifier (25wpc pure Class A and 100wpc in AB), all the REDGUMs and a few of the higher-powered Unison Research Unico hybrid amps. The Axisvoicebox S, at 83 dB and 5 ohms, can work well with 50wpc, but 100 is better.

 

It's still my favorite McIntosh product.

 

No!! The natural answer is the Line Magnetic LM-1 212, it's a review sample HELLO McFly!! ...So Mr Hoffman's only challenge is boxing that bad boy up once his "review" is done and getting a crane to move it.

 

The current Rega Brio!

Dang, those are cool-looking monitors. Must have nice ribbons, if they sound as natural as you suggest! Do they match LS3/ 5A's in the human voice dep't?

 

Sigma 160i

 

I second the Mac MC275 V!

 

I have a Brio and a pair of Voiceboxes right in front of me. The Brio can drive the VBS well, but the VBS can be a little revealing of the Brio's shortcomings, such as a slightly grainy treble. Here's the thing about the Axisvoicebox--you can pair it with very expensive amplification and it will just get more and more revealing. I've put $25K in amplification on them and absolutely loved the results.

The ribbon tweeter is from Fountek, by the way. The woofer is Peerless Nomex.

John Reilly, the co-designer, was inspired by the LS3/5a when he designed the VBS.

 

Does it have to be tube? Ayre AX-5 Twenty might be nice. If tube is desired, Octave V 80 SE.

 

I second this recommendation. I'm a huge SET guy, and the Quicksilvers give me the same levels of transparency and realism.

 

Steve if you haven't heard the Vinnie Rossi Lio system they have a virtually noise free, natural sound that is the most life like I have ever heard.
Vinnie Rossi - LIO custom modular audio component