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Amp for tannoys part2

Rockmeister

pfm Member
I'm making a pair of tannoy 12" monitor gold's. They'll be ready in the late spring. If I love them, then they'll stay and I'll probably make a final swap of amps to an integrated perfectly sympathetic to them. I'm hoping for around 92/93 Db sensitivity and i need at least an MM phono stage built in. MM/MC is fine.

Budget is quite generous since I'll be selling some speakers and the current Luxman 505 amp.
Maybe £5000, new only.

I have 3 amps on my shortlist so far.
Class A, 1 valve, 2 SS.

Luxman L 550 AX11. Class A. 20wpc. MM/MC stage. Around £5000
Sugden IA4. Class A. 33wpc. MM stage. About £5250
And the valve option so far.
Quad Q11. Class A. 25wpc. MM stage. Around £3500.

Heart says Quad.
Head says Luxman.
Compromise choice = Sugden.

All ideas welcome :)
 
sugden sounded fantastic with my tannoy eaton , there is also the a21se which i used . very dynamic and real grunt. personally i find the remote a bit vague on them .The ia4 is great value s/h
 
Cheers Nut. I know about the remote...used one years ago on demo and it's STILL not so good today, which made me cautious as to the overall engineering. Probably wrongly, but a corner cut is a corner too far for a last amp.
Sound wise they are lovely.
 
I’d wait until you have finished your build, keep the lovely Luxman 505 and once you have heard that in room you’ll be better placed to decide whether to stat put, go valve, class A or whatever.
 
I’d wait until you have finished your build, keep the lovely Luxman 505 and once you have heard that in room you’ll be better placed to decide whether to stat put, go valve, class A or whatever.
I know Tony, I intend to, but I'm working 2 or 3 hours a day on the build and deserve a small fantasy :)
 
I'm making a pair of tannoy 12" monitor gold's. They'll be ready in the late spring. If I love them, then they'll stay and I'll probably make a final swap of amps to an integrated perfectly sympathetic to them. I'm hoping for around 92/93 Db sensitivity and i need at least an MM phono stage built in. MM/MC is fine.

Budget is quite generous since I'll be selling some speakers and the current Luxman 505 amp.
Maybe £5000, new only.

I have 3 amps on my shortlist so far.
Class A, 1 valve, 2 SS.

Luxman L 550 AX11. Class A. 20wpc. MM/MC stage. Around £5000
Sugden IA4. Class A. 33wpc. MM stage. About £5250
And the valve option so far.
Quad Q11. Class A. 25wpc. MM stage. Around £3500.

Heart says Quad.
Head says Luxman.
Compromise choice = Sugden.

All ideas welcome :)

How did you get to this list of Quad, Sugden and Luxman?
 
ha..sugden would wake the dead with their fast dynamic sound let alone soothe them to sleep

I'm really wondering how you come to this sound impressions. I know we have had this before but because you recommend Sugden in every "what amplifier" thread and for every speaker. I feel free to post my impressions to for a balanced point of view.

I have had the completely opposite impression from 3 different Sugden amplifier (A21SE, Masterclass AA Monos + PRE, Optima 200). None of them was very fast nor very dynamic or with grunt.

I also have never ever read any review or post from another person (except you) who described Sugden with this attributes. :eek:

If someone asks me for a fast dynamic amplifier I would say Croft, Naim or Exposure but not even think a second about Sugden.

If someone is asking for good tone and timbre, a pleasing sound which isn't fatigue in any way then I would recommend Sugden without a doubt and that is also how Sugden is described in reviews.;)

And also again, I don't write this to offend you or in a bad manner. It is only my POV.:)
 
Ah I understand have no fear , Noel in his hi fi world review described the a21se as very fast amp and I would echo that experience. Far too much for my sensitive impulse but very very dynamic and grunty with the Eaton. One day we will have to have a listen together!
 
can`t put my hand on that review but david price in his dec 2007 hi fi world review of the new sugen masterclass Ia4 wrote of its transparency and cleaness. then he said " moving to Prefab Sprouts `Tiffany`s and the sugden dived into the songs percussion -sounding razor sharp and lightning fast. its arrestingly quick off the blocks . ...In my system the Ia4 wasn`t so much bright in the upper midband as `well illuminated` ...

well recorded music was sheer bliss ; Goldie`s inner city was delivered with a speed and authority that took my breath away . ...."

summing up he wrote FOR - breathtaking clarity -dizzying speed-tonal accuracy -phonostage
AGAINST resonant top plate -volume control action -size "

this echoes what i found with my impulse horns and the a21se , the noise floor was so incredibly low that instruments were very clearly delineated and it had some real grunt , so reminded me of the incredible grandinote proemio pre amp that so impressed on its stay here . in the end it was a bit too much of a good thing and a slightly more gentle amp instituted !!

when i find noels review of the a21se i will post some more excerpts from it
 
How did you get to this list of Quad, Sugden and Luxman?
Good Q. Part experience at audition,part ownership (currently Luxman) , previous experience of class A, wantingsomething long lived...EAR are lovely amps too, so are Audionote, Leben, Accuphase, but my shortlist of needs rules many out so simply pondering. What would you add?
 
When I heard the new Legacy Ardens, Mark Jones put them on the 20 wpc class A sugden amp currently available now....can't remember the model name...anyway I was quite shocked at it's control and deftness. When we moved up to a very pricey Luxman pre/power, while better, it affirmed the Sugden's abilities. SO I don't think you can really go wrong with them.

That being said, in that price range you have loads of options;

Naim Supernait 3 (proper cabling)
new Rega Aethos? (with addt'l phono stage)
used Vitus?
Linn Selekt DSM w/phono, etc. (Don't count it out)
 
Go on Rocky, push the boat out. Pass Int-25 if and when available in the UK.
Once only I’ve heard some P I amps. Onlytime I thought something beat my memory of Accuphase. Its more ‘sell the wife’ than pushing a boat tho.


Mind you....
 


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