Summertime SS amp that runs cooler than my current tube amp.

tldr; Please give me recommendations for SS amps that run cool but sound really good to you (I know that is a subjective term, but that’s what makes this fun). I am currently using a PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium pre and a Dialogue Premium HP power amp (EL34’s, nearly always in ultra linear mode). I intend to continue running the pre, it’s not overly hot. Speakers are Joseph Audio Pulsars with REL subs. No published sensitivity but not hard for the tubes to drive. My profile is up to date for the rest of my system. It seems like being in the vicinity of 100w is fine, more interested in sound than power. No specific price point. Hot room is keeping me from listening.


More background if you are interested: The room I am in is relatively small, about 210sqft, with an 8ft ceiling. I usually listen at an average listening position SPL of about 75db. I sit about 8ft from the speakers. The door is closed to maintain domestic tranquility. During the summer the outside temp can be in the 90’s F and occasionally reaches above 100 F. In the winter I can open a window to control the listening room temp but, in the summer, the outside temp is too high. The room is air conditioned, but the thermostat is quite a distance away, so with the door closed, the listening room becomes very hot but that doesn’t reach the thermostat.

Music wise, I listen to a wide variety, everything from ACDC to Ben Webster to Gregory Porter and Melody Gardot. I am lately most partial to small scale Jazz and vocals, but that will change. I like variety.


My current problem is that the heat is reducing my desire to listen.


I had SS gear in the 80’s and 90’s (Yamaha M2 & C2a, Adcom GFA 555, McCormack DNA-1, etc.). I took a long break from owning high end gear (life happens) and since returning a few years ago have been focused on tubes. I’ve never used a SS amp in my current system. I’m SS curious. This seems like a chance to keep the listening room cooler in the summer and also experiment with SS amps in my system. I’m very interested in trying Pass Labs for instance, but I doubt those will be cooler than what I have now. I’m just looking for some suggestions as a starting point. I did do a couple of searches on the site but didn’t find a thread that I thought answered my specific question. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Some different flavours:
Yamaha A-S2100
Naim Nait XS
Primare i30

All three are interesting amps to me, and all three have their limitations, as any design has. But different ones. I have been doing a lot of ss amp swapping in recent years (also tubes of course), I think it's fascinating how different they all sound.

 

Digital amps tend to run cooler than solid state.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. A question about the Naim Nait. I've never had experience with Naim but I have always heard it is intended to be used as a complete system. Do you find the amp works well with other components? I see it is an integrated so maybe that is less of an issue.

 

So, move to the other side of the Caldecott Tunnel, you ninny!

I couldn't live out your way. Several years ago, my wife volunteered me to help her former boss plant some mature trees at his home in Livermore (these came in 3' x 3' x 3' planter boxes). It was 115 F that weekend!!!!!!! I've never drunk so much Gatorade in my life (and I don't even like Gatorade).

Forget Pass! I'm in the Oakland Hills right next to Berkeley so a bit cooler than you, but we can still have 90 degree days here a few times a year (no air-co here, either). I used Pass X-600 monoblocks for work for many years and love Pass products. I wanted to buy them to drive my B&W 802s but they idle at 700W/chassis, so would bake my listening room just being left on (the smaller power Class A amps [XA-range] have the same idle power issue). I went with Classe CAM monoblocks instead which I think use some kind of plateau-biasing to keep the idle consumption down, but, as I recall, still over 100 W/chassis (unlike the Pass amps, the Classes are hardly warm at idle).

If I was you, and assuming you can afford to spend a similar amount to the price of your PrimaLuna, I would look at the Benchmark AHB2 (around $3k). Very low noise, very neutral, and can be bridged for higher power if you decide you prefer the sound and add a second amp later. From Benchmark's specs:

Idle Power Consumption = 20 W
Standby Power Consumption < 0.5 W

How cool is that?

Here are some reviews:

Benchmark AHB2 Amplifier

Benchmark Media Systems AHB2 power amplifier

Benchmark AHB2 Power Amplifier – Reviews | TONEAudio MAGAZINE

Benchmark AHB2 power amplifier

There are several users on the forum, so you could always start a specific AHB2 thread for feedback. Kal Rubinson who wrote the Stereophile review is also a member here.

If you are open to captwillard's suggestion, you could consider amps from the likes of Bel Canto.

 

Lots of headphone listening is my solution. My preamps are tube, but run muck cooler that the power amps.

 

My summertime amp which I have been using for the last 20 years whenever the weather gets too hot for tubes (and which doesn't make me miss my tubes too much) is a Classe 70. It's a great sounding little amp!

Alternately a tube amp which runs cooler than many SS amps do is a McIntosh MC225. If you relied on one of these amps to heat your room in the wintertime, you would freeze to death.

 

Perhaps tangential, but how about a window air conditioning unit that can be put in the window in that room for just long enough to get it comfortable? You could put the a/c in just long enough to get the room comfortable for a while and take listening breaks when you need to put it back in to cool the room down again? I know someone who has a window a/c unit to cool his small office and it's surprisingly effective. I suppose that if the sun is beating on that side of your house that the room might heat up quickly between a/c uses, though.

 

A-S1100 or 2100. They dont run that hot and sound glorious. I'd say they run medium heat. I've definitely had experience with SS amps that run much hotter.

Also I think you really capture a lot of that tube sound with these amps. I'm not saying it sounds exactly like a tube amp, but with eyes closed you could easily be convinced.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look at them all. Except the one about moving to Oakland that is...

 

Yes, Naim Nait XS seems to work fine with other brands. I do prefer to use Naim speaker cables with this amp (NAC A5), but my MIT Avt1 cables sound good too.

 

I don't know what your budget is, but if it's a bit liberal this one would be worth a look.
Moscode 402Au Tube Hybrid Amplifier
If the budget is tighter this one would be a good choice.
D-75D Power Amplifier

 

Nice to hear from Pleasanton. I lived at 536 Neal Street in the mid-fifties.

Nothing sexy about it, but my Rogue Sphinx runs quite cool, cooler than the Yamaha separates I had before (M-4/C-4). I like the sound.

 

hey, I'm in Dublin CA ... have A/C tho and not even a high end setup here (my upscale gear is in Eagle, ID). I've lusted for Parasound A21, the A23 could also be a choice, not that expensive ...?
I have Lavorgna's 'System 1' Audio Streams #7 to tide me over here, sounds good and doesn't generate heat!
from PDF @ Support « Parasound ... OK I don't know how hot these are compared to the PrimaLuna ...!

Parasound Amplifier BTU Ratings
Model Idle 8 Ohms 4 Ohms 2 Ohms Maximum
A 23 290 415 585 NA 1000
A 21 600 900 1380 NA 2000

8, 4 and 2 Ohms ratings are typical "real world" ratings and assume all channels are driven at the same impedance
Idles means the amplifier is turned on but no audio is playing
Maximum is the theoretical highest BTUs if the amplifier has all channels playing at full power

 

Parasound is another good suggestion. Here are the relevant specs. for the A21:

Power Requirement
Standby: 1 Watt
Idle (no music playing): 160 Watts
Typical Listening levels: 300 Watts
Maximum: 1400 Watts

So, burns more power at idle than Benchmark.

 

Benchmark AHB2 would be (and was) my choice- I love my 2 AHB2s

 

You wouldn't like it here in the Central Valley either just south of Sacramento. Triple-digit temps are a given here. In fact, we just came of a couple of days off over 100 degrees and it isn't officially summer.

Right now, it's 93 degrees on Wed., June 10, 2020 and the AC just kicked in, while I was typing. We're heading for 97.

 

My wife grew up in the Central Valley, so I've had some experience when visiting my mother-in-law's!

 

Long time Joseph Audio dealer here.....and the Pulsars have been one of my best selling speaker for years. (and one of my absolute favorite speakers)

Not sure of your budget, but I would be looking for either a new or used Bel Canto REF500s..... Or REF600M mono-blocks. Both of those work fantastically well with the Pulsars and would run basically cool to the touch. (the older REF500m would also work well)

And a great secondary option to those would be a Rogue Medusa or DragoN.

 

Belles-Aria

 

I lived in Santa Clara and Fremont back in the mid-'70's to late '80's. My first summer in Sacramento back in '87 was murder. I don't remember what the temperature was but I do remember my sister-in-law and her boyfriend visiting

for the week from Texas. They go: " Oh, this is nothing!" and I'm feeling like I'm about ready to pass out from heat stroke.

 

If you're patient, you can find an Audio Refinement Complete integrated - they have terrific sound, and they were designed to run cool.

 

I remember arriving in Scottsdale, AZ around midnight probably 20 years ago, and it was nearly 100 degrees at the time. Fortunately I was there for a conference that kept me in an air-conditioned hotel for the entire 48 hours I spent there.

 

The option of headphone listening is a good one.

There’s also the option of buying a small portable air conditioning unit to place beside or just above your power amps, while this is less energy efficient it is also cheaper than changing your amplification.

But if you’re dead set on a cool running solid state amp then I’d recommend you get a listen to one of the Devialet range. If I were ever to move from a small valve amp or a pure Class A solid state these would be the ones I’d go for.

If price is an issue, you could also look for a Peter Walker era Quad like the 405-2 or the 606. They are as close to the promise of a straight wire with gain as any amp has ever come and are built to last.

 

To the OP - I'm also a PrimaLuna and Yamaha owner. My Yamaha A-S3000 certainly isn't as warm (temperature and tonally) as the PrimaLuna, but still does a nice job with standard classic rock fare which is primarily what I listen to. And you'll enjoy the added detail and wider soundstage that the nicer Yamahas can offer. I've gladly been playing the hell out of AC/DC's "High Voltage" album through the solid state lately. More warmth definitely came out when I upgraded my cables a couple weeks ago so that's a recommendation I would pass along if you do down that route.

Yamaha was discontinuing the older A-S series models earlier this year to make way for the updated versions. You still might be able to find some of the old stock on a very good discount (that's how I purchased my 3000).