Your Favorite Amplifier

What's your all time favorite amplifier stereo or monos thank you i ad the pleasure of owning quite a few very decent amps in my 40 years in the audio circle starting with very cheap to expensive but never could afford my dream amps and those are the Jeff Rowlands model nine mono blocks i heard these a few times and i heard a $ 200,000.00 Dollars system that for my tastes did not even come close to them so i am still dreaming of the day that i could have a pair in black in my living room here is a photo of my dream amps




André Panneauman Sévigny

 

How about a pair of le$$er Rowlands?

I like Rowlands because of the way they look as well as anything sonic, esp. the burnished-gold looking ones.

I heard a Rowland preamp or linestage, with an aragon power amp, and a pair of Maggie IIIas once in the late '80s or early '90s in a hole-in-the-wall strip mall store in Rockville, MD once. Just perfect the way this system made Tennstedt's Mahler 8 sound.

 

Can't speak for modern amps, but, IMHO, the Harman Kardon Citation II is my favorite vintage amp. This is a tube amp with solid state rectification that is conservatively rated at 60 wpc. Very neutral coloration for a tube amp. Delivers great detail and dynamic range with the tightest bass you will ever hear!

The link below will take you to a short review of this amp by SDS Audio Labs.

http://www.quadesl.com/refurb/refurb_hkCitation2.html

HG

 

I like single ended triodes.

The amps I've owned for the last 5 years are Ron Welborne's Laurel IIx with the Ultimate Upgrade sporting the latest production Western Electric 300B output tubes (thanks TONEPUB), JAN Sylvania VT229 (6SL7) driver valves from 1944 and NOS Mullard GZ37 rectifiers.

In the SET vein, I'd love the ML2.1 by Vladamir Lamm. These output about 18w which is double what my current amps are capable of, so I'd expect a nice lift in the bass. Unfortunately, at $29,000 list price I'd get a nasty drop in the bank balance. I've thought about them each time I've seen a pair for sale on AudiogoN, though.

(photo linked from Stereophile)

 

For myself my favorite amp is the one I have had for years and don't plan on changing it. VAC 70/70 MKIII Signature, I run the 300Bs from VAC, which are fab'd to their specs and the 6SN7s I run 5 different NOS types although I like the NOS RCA black plate silvers the best.

 

I've owned the Quicksilver MS-190 since June of 1983, although it is not the only amplifier I've owned since then. This one just keeps making music like there's no tomorrow, AND has sent many a contender to the throne of the best sound amp in the world back to whence they came; the most recent contender to go home with its tail between its legs was the highly overrated MC275. It's the most dynamic amp I've ever heard, and is able to recreate a sonic image so lifelike that I have to provide visitors with straps to keep them from dislocating their jaws. It's rated at 95 WPC into 4 or 8 Ohms, and uses 8 EL34s (4 per side) to do its stuff.

 

?!..,..

I haven't heard listened to very many amps, but of the ones I have heard, I prefer my MC40 tube monos.

 

My Odyssey Stratos Extreme monoblock power amps.

Quiet perfection. Musical nirvana.

Hukk

 

I would have to say Audio Research Reference 110 based on recent listening but I also think the 1200 watt McIntosh monoblocks sound great.

 

I would add that I have been impressed with a friend's Art Audio amp as well.

 

I've never even heard one, but every art deco nerve fibre in me screams out "Yes!" whenever I see a pic of an Atma-Sphere Novacron:



Chris

 

Yes, but does it go to "11"?

 

The one I own.

 

I've owned a few Carver and McIntosh amps over the years (the MC250 has been my favorite classic SS amp to date), but nothing really exotic. My all-time favorite amplifier is my current one right now, the 8 watt per side BEZ Model T3B class-A 300B SET stereo amp. It's not exotic, it's not expensive, and it's not even in production anymore (not sure if designer/builder Edmund Lam of Hong Kong is still in business)...but it sure does it for me and my horn monitors! Crystal clear, smooth as silk, and dead quiet, plus it sounds absolutely wonderful to my ears. It's not state-of-the-art, and I'm sure it could be improved upon with the DIY crowd, but I love the open, warm and dynamic soundscape it provides. I happy with it!

 

Thanks. Very helpful.

 

My favorite amplifier hasn't been built yet.....but of those that have so far, the nicest I have heard was a much modified Marantz 8B from the days when they were stiil not so valuable you wouldn't think of modding one. It had WE 350As and an all triode circuit. My favorite solid state amp was a heavily reworked Quad.

 

Sansui AU-717. Sounds great and fits my needs perfect!!

 

I agree.....that looks like a Raymond Loewy design if I ever seen one.

 

I love my Halcro DM 68s -- terrific resolution, dynamics, speed and, of course, no distortion. The highs are ethereal. And they run almost cool.

 

Heathkit W5M.

 

darTZeel NHB-108

Made in Switzerland. Whether you are a solid-state fan or a vacuum tube fan, it does not matter.

This amplifier is one of the very best sounding amplifiers in the world simply because it has the best of both worlds.

The only negative thing about it is the price.

 

Those

 

my first choice

 

More from the house of Krell.

And a little zumthing from zee olde country