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72.36.1.26
... than the Lindell Audio AMPX?
The AMPX is now rated at 40 wpc (used to be 20 wpc). This is my minimum power requirement.
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Just cave in and get a good class A tube amplifier. All those SS makers trying to sound valve like - usually all fail in the end. :)
How do you compensate for toob drift and deterioration, wait a min , with silver output trannies ..
:)
You replace the tubes every so often. And you get an autobias amplifier that keeps them right all the time. And Silver transformers help.
SS amps also drift and develop problems. Ask repair techs about the problems both SS and tubes have - the latter if they're good have easier to fix failures. Quite often when a SS amp has issues - it's a boat anchor.
I have at one time or the other have owned /used/modded every topology known to earthlings and love them or not SS amps are far more reliable and stay within their performance envelope much, much more than toobs...
Toobs need to be changed fairly often to maintain top performance, the more revealing the system the more the frequency. SS amps do go off , but they stay spot on far longer than toobs and yes they can be rendered into a boat anchor when faced with a catastrophic failure, then the chassis and PSU make for a great project :)
BTW, when output trannies say bye bye in a tooby it's pretty much buying new again and not to mention the higher buy in and maintenance cost over time..
Before you lash out I'm not devoid of toobs , currently have in house, always have and isten to both digital and analog , including Analog tape , no ideologue in house, as both monopole box speakers and dipoles work and can deliver, every horse has a course, some more than others ..:)
Regards
Not unlikie cars - you can purchase a very good Toyota Tercel which was in their time ranked as the most reliable car on the road. A very good SS.A Bugatti (Audio Note Gaku-On) may very well be in the shop more but actually provides performance.
I realize performance is a debatable aspect of sound but I have heard the top of the line Krell, Momentum, Levinsons, Edge, Soulution, Contellation, Pass Labs, Analog Domain, YBA, Classe, Sim Audio, Bryston, Electrocompaniet, Diavalet, Bel Canto, MSB, MBL, Naim, Boulder, Spectral, Parasound, Musical Fidelity, Sugden Masterclass.
I've never really had an audition with these amplifiers where I walked away saying to myself that I would want any of them as a last system kind of sound versus even $5k SET amplifiers.
I also can't help going by personal, albeit anecdotal, experience where I have not yet had a tube amp that I have owned since 2000 fail but I have had three SS amps fail (albeit one was a Marantz receiver). Check that I had a flagship Pioneer Elite that was DOA when I first plugged it in and to be replaced with a new one.
I think the issue with tube amps are cold solders and they appear to be much easier to repair when they fail. I had a tube fail in my OTO - $8 to replace tube. 13 years so far.
I don't hate SS - it's relative discussion. As a friend and dealer of both for 40 years once noted after we listened to some raved about SS amp he was selling "This is very good" then a pause "for solid state." And it's worse when SS amp makers advertise or imply that their amp sounds valve-like because they are basically acknowledging what the reference sound for music playback is and then trying to design their SS amp to sound like it(valves).
People have owned tube amps for 50 years without replacing a single part. See old school McIntosh. And if I can buy a $5k SET amp that beats a $50k SS amp - well I can make an awful lot of repairs for the $45,000 I save! Granted I totally acknowledge that the sound is subjective.
It really does depend on how much better you perceive a SET amp to be over a SS amplifier. If I believed that SS was even close - I would probably opt for it to not deal with tubes - tubes are a pain in the butt.
But back in the day I was prepared to shell out for a Bryston Preamp and Bryston 3B combination. Not only is Bryston Bulletproof in reliability they carry a whopping 20 year warranty and are made in Canada with a big dealer network.
Unfortunately when the play button was pushed - a lowly SE tube integrated won out by enough of a margin to make the warranty come across as a gimmick. It's not a gimmick - it just felt that way at the time after the auditioning.
Again I don't really disagree with you. Unlike the car industry which tracks failure rates and types of failures and cost of failures - we all largely have to rely on anecdotes on which fails more - and we don't get to see the failure rates by brand - we know with the Lemon Aid guide in Canada that cars made by certain makers are utterly dreadful for failing. But there is no guide for audio.
I have not heard about too many failures of high end tube brands - I have seen several of the Chinese brands go up in flames - When I first tried tubes I was interested in a Jolida 202. A Vancouver dealer had one second hand and cheap - it had caught fire and was repaired. (it was REAL cheap). But I went to audition it twice and it failed both times. So yeah - not exactly great.
Edits: 04/12/16
If I believed that SS was even close - I would probably opt for it to not deal with tubes - tubes are a pain in the butt. - RGA
Errr, Agree, pain in the Butt for sure ...
Edits: 04/13/16
Dunno 'bout that.
I had an Se 45 meshplate amp for a while.. driving My tannoy Golds.
It proved a bit too boomy for my tastes.
My Frstwatt F6 is a Whole lot 'better'.
Just as beautifully detailed (yes) but with decent dynamics
It's a keeper.
your car analogy is so far out of wack, I have to assume you dont nor have ever driven high performance cars.Also notice i said nothing about sound or preference of, such subjected measures are not debatable, my objective observations on the other hand are easily replicated and observable by any non biased party ..
Seen ... :)
Edits: 04/13/16
Hey my Kia Sedona had a V6! :) That was PERFORMANCE man - 0-60mph eventually.
This is just my $.02 but I would be quite sure that the new version is really 40W per channel and not 40W Total as advertised. Also confirm that the rating is RMS and not peak. I've built a few Class A SS amps and based on the pictures I've seen there certainly doesn't appear to be enough passive heat sink to support 40W Class A per channel.
HA
> ...based on the pictures I've seen there certainly doesn't appear to be enough passive heat sink to support 40W Class A per channel.
It seems to me that some newer Class A circuits have successfully reduced the amount of wasted power that these things need. I've recently had a Sugden FPA-1 on loan and it remained remarkably cool for a Class A amplifier. In the event I bought an Accuphase A-36 Class A power amp that also doesn't allow me to fry eggs on its case! In fact it's on a shelf with only an inch above it (although it's otherwise open) and it still stays such that you can hold your hand on it.
Yes, the Lindell website is a little bit unclear about this.So, I checked it out at B & H photo. B& H clearly specs the Lindell as "40 watts total". Assuming that B + H is using up-to-date specs...
It seems that you are probably right and I am probably wrong. Now I must definitely decide if I want to buy different speakers. Or do I buy a different class A amp, or two..?
Edits: 04/08/16 04/08/16
There seem to be 3 effectively identical amps - Lindell AMPX, Audreal PA-20 and Xindak PA-M Mk II. I'd go for the Xindak as I gather all 3 are built by Xindak and this (and Audreal) don't have the extra-wide rack-type front panel and have XLR inputs as well as phono.
There's a dealer in China that offers the Xindak PA-M (probably not Mk II)at a ridiculously low price - try $563!
I had it on my list of possibles for a Class A amp to power my 102 dB Avantgarde Uno speakers, but decided to go a bit further upmarket. I tried an excellent Sugden - the Masterclass FPA-1 (integrated IA-4 sometimes come up on Ebay) but eventually settled on a more costly option the Accuphase A-36. I found this rare amp offered by a Danish dealer and had it shipped to UK.
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
Similar to louie3 I'll suggest checking out Monarchy. They offer two models of monoblocs selling new for well under $2K.But I'm not familiar with the Lindell so can't comment on a comparison.
"You can't know what the "best" is unless you have heard everything, and keep in mind that given individual tastes, there really isn't any such thing." HP
Edits: 04/08/16
I haven't heard the Lindell, but you might want to check out what $2k will buy you in the way of a First Watt by Nelson Pass. Mark at Reno Hi Fi (no affiliation) has been a great help to me in the past, and offers in-home trials. You might particularly look at the M2 (25 watts into 8 ohms; 40 into 4) or the F6 (25/50).
I have the M2, which drives the Sonist Concerto 4s that you and others turned me on to last year.
Happy listening,
Jim
"The passage of my life is measured out in shirts."
- Brian Eno
The amp is as good as whats its driving , what speaker type and load do you plan on driving with your purchase ..?
Recommended power 40 - 150. In my small 11 X 18 listening room I'm hoping that a robust 40 or 50 watt amp class A might do the trick for me. I would be utilizing active subwoofers from about 60 hz on down...
Edits: 04/08/16
85db, 4 ohm min were the specs listed , kinda vague, i would go for 100 watt/ch @4 ohm as my min requirement for an amplifier.
There is an Ayre 3x in the trader - 100 WPC...
Happy Listening
Nice, zero-feedback MOSFET design but not "Class A" AFAIK. High-bias class AB, maybe.
Very few amps are full class-a to clipping and then again only at 8 ohm , you will not find a full class-a biased amp at 4 ohm..
So high bias class-a/ab is about it ....
consider a used Pass Aleph 30
I had a Pass Aleph 3. Intoxicating, but not able to push quite a range of speakers in any decent sized room.
You can get a used Pass X-150 for just under 2k, and it's a horse (also made later than the Aleph, so capping is more distant).
After a run of amps: Dyna Mk III, SAE 31B, Dyna 410, Dyna 416, Threshold Stasis 3, Pass Aleph 3 over ~20 years, I've stopped looking for about 15 years after I got the X-150 since I don't need anything better.
It's run ML SL-3's, Verify Parsifals, ProAc Tablette's, and Triangle Celius 202's with nary a burp. It just missed a pair of ML CLS IIz's but a friend drove those with an X-150 and it was just fine - however his Aleph 5 did not do very well with the ML's, so he got an X-150.
that model is not class A per original request.
The X-150 runs pure class A up to 50 watts - well in excess of what an Aleph 3 can put out, and then goes up to an over 150 at A/B. Sorry that's not going to do it for you.
unfortunately, that is an overly optimistic view. :)
It leaves class A around 10 watts per Pass Labs . The point five version is but an improvement over the original.
I spoke with the people as PASS as I own a X250.5 and it runs CLASS A to about 25 watts, then AB....But with my Wilsons I hardly ever go into AB mode as they are stable and pretty efficient.
I would wager a guess you are exceeding 25 watts on dynamic peaks not on RMS usage of course ....
If I turn it up loud. The meter on the front is for when the amp goes from class A to AB. I very rarely go past that line. Only when I'm on a tear...That's with the Wilson's. When I had the revels hooked up they sucked up the power...
...and know from the source
As do I with the embedded link to the Pass Labs website with the exact specification!
If I remember correctly,there is/was a Symphonic Line RG-1 MK 3 popped up on AudioGon.
100 wpc class A.Sweet amp,dynamic and good tonal balance.Had both single-ended and balanced inputs.
Tom:cat
I have been very, very pleased with a pair of Monarchy Audio SE 100 MK2s that run mostly in class A.
I have other amps for my ESL 63s, but find myself coming back to the Monarchys every time I change amps.
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