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Solid state amplifier to replace the tube amplifier

Did anyone mention Leben 300 ?
EL84 valve amp but tubes last looong.
Rock solid, it don't have the usually tube characteristics.

Otherwise get a Rega IO home and find out its noise level, hard to find a better amp price wise, maybe an old serviced Creek or Myst amp ?
 
Peter_Tos said:
Hello.
I would be very grateful for your advice.
I am looking for a low power solid state amplifier that would work well with my Diatone KB610MT. Unfortunately, tube amplifiers are giving me too much trouble. I'd like the amp to just work and I wouldn't have to think about how soon I should be changing tubes and doing tune-ups. I might suggest that a solid state class A amplifier might be a good alternative to a tube amplifier. I need your ideas and recommendations. My speakers are quite high sensitivity and 1 watt is enough in my opinion.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

If 1 watt is enough most of the recommendations upthread are going to be too powerful.

Look at some of the lower powered First Watt amps or the Hiraga le Monstre.
 
The new desktop shiit anps. Cute as buttons, small, class ab, enough power and cheap.

not heard them but great sounding based on reviews
 
The Graham Slee Proprius monoblocks might give you what you are looking for, excellent sq., quality build and reliability. Home trials are offered so there is a no risk option to try.
 
The closest to a tube sound over heard from SS amps are Concert Fidelity's MOSFET based mono blocs. They are class AB with 180 watts BUT heavily biased to Class A. I’ve used them with my Horns FP10s (95 db/w/m) and they sounded sublime. I doubt they ever got near being out of pure class A and really made my Horns sing. They had more grip (as you would expect) over bass than my 20w SETs but lost transparency and some soundstage. Still sounded amazing though I preferred my SETs which are 20w and more or less plug and play (though not quite).
The ZL120 is no longer imported but the previous UK distributor is Paul Stratton at Z Axis audio (he build some of the best cables I’ve ever heard) and he has an ex demo set for sale. RRP should be about £18K but his are available for £7.5k. These are the ones I tried; I ended up buying his CF preamp.
 
MotelBlues said:
It’s my answer to most amp questions admittedly, but how about a Quad 303? I happily use one in my main system when my valve amp is on the naughty step.
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Always wanted to try one of these...

A bit of an ugly duckling - like a SAAB 900 - but for me, that is part of the charm.

I'm assuming one could probably also tweak a nice QUAD 303 with modern-day parts, to quite good effect...
 
boegelund said:
Did anyone mention Leben 300 ?
EL84 valve amp but tubes last looong.
Rock solid, it don't have the usually tube characteristics.

Otherwise get a Rega IO home and find out its noise level, hard to find a better amp price wise, maybe an old serviced Creek or Myst amp ?
Click to expand...

isnt a leben 300 a tube amp ? the op wanted a SS amp i thought
 
Peter_Tos said:
Hello.
I would be very grateful for your advice.
I am looking for a low power solid state amplifier that would work well with my Diatone KB610MT. Unfortunately, tube amplifiers are giving me too much trouble. I'd like the amp to just work and I wouldn't have to think about how soon I should be changing tubes and doing tune-ups. I might suggest that a solid state class A amplifier might be a good alternative to a tube amplifier. I need your ideas and recommendations. My speakers are quite high sensitivity and 1 watt is enough in my opinion.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Well just because your speakers are sensitive doesn’t preclude your putting a more powerful amp with them.

I mention it because there is one transistor amp which was explicitly designed to have the character of valve amps, at least according to the manufacturer. That’s the Audio Innovations Alto.


Be careful when investigating this, because there are two models and they are very different - the one I am talking about is black, not silver. I have one in fact.

Not expensive items, they come up, but maybe not as often as the silver one. Easy to try. Here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDIO-IN...d=link&campid=5338728743&toolid=20001&mkevt=1
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Heed Obelisk worth considering, I have the mk2 version, the Mk3 is slightly more powerful. I’ve not had a tube amp myself but have read that the Heed has similar qualities.
 
A Musical Fidelity A1. Buy one from Ebay with a good case, get it serviced and enjoy. Sweet as a nut.
 
Peter_Tos said:
Hello.
I would be very grateful for your advice.
I am looking for a low power solid state amplifier that would work well with my Diatone KB610MT. Unfortunately, tube amplifiers are giving me too much trouble. I'd like the amp to just work and I wouldn't have to think about how soon I should be changing tubes and doing tune-ups. I might suggest that a solid state class A amplifier might be a good alternative to a tube amplifier. I need your ideas and recommendations. My speakers are quite high sensitivity and 1 watt is enough in my opinion.
Thanks.
Click to expand...


Budget, room size and music you listen to will help folk make recommendations.

Good luck. :)
 
Exactly the Dilema I had, went for the New Java Hifi Single Shot. Will post a review in a few months maybe weeks.
 
I’ll cast second votes for Pass, First Watt Moonriver and the Lavardin. However, I’m surprised no-one has thrown in the Enleum AMP 23-R. Tube like solid state. 25W. Works brilliantly with high sensitivity speakers etc. and has a tiny footprint whilst looking stunning.
 
hifinutt said:
interesting , the Koreans make some great stuff . I had the stupendous silbatone here which is korean made . Not seen too much about this Enleum yet

Very good review here
https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2022/09/11/enleum-amp-23r-integrated-review/
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Absolutely loads of great reviews online from PTA, HIFi Plus, Twittering Machines, Darko and many more. I found the YouTube videos as informative. There are two interesting reviews which give pause for thought but which ultimately seem to me to make said reviewers look careless and unprofessional at best. Those are by ConvinceMeAudio on YouTube and GoldenSound. Former seems to confuse the sound signature of his Susvara with that of the amp. Latter has made a twerp of himself. Complained the amp slipped on surfaces but wholly failed to mention it comes with pads to prevent exactly that. Raised DC Offset on changing gain as a potential concern. Wholly dealt with by the manufacturer and a YouTube account called Passion For Sound. Mentioned pops on top of the expected clicks when changing gain but, despite being a measurement buff, failed to mention these only occur if your source is feeding more than 2V. Made a claim about lower mids which didn’t even near scrutiny on the audio clips used.

I’ve been paying lots of attention as I suspect this little beast is exactly what I’ve been looking for.
 
it may well be mike . I would be reluctant to invest though till its more well known. even if it comes from the Bakoon camp
 
I'll third the Moonriver, but if you don't want to spend that much, consider the Vista Spark, a tiny class a/b integrated putting out 20wpc. I'm using one with Rogers LS3/5a's and have used it with Triangle BRO3's, and it has a great synergy. Costs less than $500.
 
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