Recommendations for cool running, sweet sounding amp(s) ...

If someone wants to send me their JOB amp, I would love to hear it. Somehow I doubt that it would kick ass on my Krell KSA-250 which has been recapped and brought back into spec by Krell, but I'm damn sure willing to give it a go. The power transformer in the KSA-250 weighs 83 lbs which is why it can output 4000 watts into .5 ohms. The power transformer in the KSA-250 weighs more than 5 Job amps combined.
 
mep said:
If someone wants to send me their JOB amp, I would love to hear it. Somehow I doubt that it would kick ass on my Krell KSA-250 which has been recapped and brought back into spec by Krell, but I'm damn sure willing to give it a go. The power transformer in the KSA-250 weighs 83 lbs which is why it can output 4000 watts into .5 ohms. The power transformer in the KSA-250 weighs more than 5 Job amps combined.
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Perspective is a curious thing that eludes most when it comes to an interest of passion.
How much was the Krell & how much did the upgrade cost, also as an aside that is pertinent to remember, if things in consideration are to be fair, how much electricity does it use/cost to obtain optimal performance. I don't doubt that the Krell would sound better although at a considerably higher cost. Don't forget inflation...... Hell, back in the day the job would have been worth $400 in the mid 80's
 
mep said:
If someone wants to send me their JOB amp, I would love to hear it. Somehow I doubt that it would kick ass on my Krell KSA-250 which has been recapped and brought back into spec by Krell, but I'm damn sure willing to give it a go.
The power transformer in the KSA-250 weighs 83 lbs which is why it can output 4000 watts into .5 ohms. The power transformer in the KSA-250 weighs more than 5 Job amps combined.
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Bigger and heavier is not necessarily better Mark.

Size does not matter.
 
elegy said:
Coolest running (and best sounding) amp on the market today is the CH Precision A1 amplifier. A single A1 will drive any speaker on the planet and will never break a sweat. Since it has adjustable gain and feedback you can basically tune it the way you like. You should definitely read the recent TAS review of CH Precision because it's spot on. Magico used CH Precision digital at a recent CES but not sure if the A1 was out yet. Dartzeel also runs cool but I chose CH over it as it's profoundly better sounding. It's super fast and controlled but musical and linear at the same time. You can see in the Magico/CH video that the A1 is using very little power to drive the Magico S5, which is kind of shocking....

A1 review: Wizard High-End Audio Blog: Review: CH Precision C1, A1 and D1


Magico and CH Precision: CH Precision A1 Amp Gigawatt PC-3EVO Power conditioner Stillpoints Magico Soulution Vitus Audio - YouTube
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Yes, Florian challenged me to lift the new main transformer and I declined. Back problems for sure if I tried. LoL

Yes, the special features of the CH amps are the adjustable local and global feedback which basically tailors the amp to whatever speakers you own. The other neat thing is special temp monitoring transistor that enables continuous input and output stage biasing which ensure optimal bias under ALL operating conditions. There may be more, but I would need to check my notes. I hope to do a small profile early next year on them for PTA.com
 
The Audio Research DS450 and DS225 don't get a lot of press or forum talk but both are fine sounding amps that run very cool. They also sound good when first turned on and don't need to be left on to sound good.

I use the mono 450's on a set of Maggie 20.7s with great results.


Caelin Gabriel
President
Shunyata Research
 
mep said:
If someone wants to send me their JOB amp, I would love to hear it. Somehow I doubt that it would kick ass on my Krell KSA-250 which has been recapped and brought back into spec by Krell, but I'm damn sure willing to give it a go. The power transformer in the KSA-250 weighs 83 lbs which is why it can output 4000 watts into .5 ohms. The power transformer in the KSA-250 weighs more than 5 Job amps combined.
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If you have hard to drive speakers, then no question, the Krell or the Rowen, absolute amps are the way to go. 4000w stable down to 0.5ohms. Heck, even my modded Nad will do about 750wpc down to 1 ohm stable. However, the Job may best both for overall sweetness of sound., especially for older ears. Younger ears may be more sensitive to the very HTF, say over 20khz with horns, for eg.

So yeah, the Job can compete "down there down and dirty" with demanding loads in the LF range, but for normal speakers 87db/6ohms, it seems to be a golden ticket. For A-G Duos and other such horn configs, it seems to be a match made in heaven! I have a pal scrambling to get a used Duo right now. It seems like he had a religious experience! LoL
 
Good to know there is a lot of quality out there in SS land, with more to come. ;-)
 
Wow Caelin! I bet that sounds great.



CGabriel said:
The Audio Research DS450 and DS225 don't get a lot of press or forum talk but both are fine sounding amps that run very cool. They also sound good when first turned on and don't need to be left on to sound good.

I use the mono 450's on a set of Maggie 20.7s with great results.


Caelin Gabriel
President
Shunyata Research
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The good news is that most present-day Wilson's are super easy to drive. So if you go that route, I feel like your options will increase exponentially. Good luck in the hunt! Meanwhile, I wish I had the free crash to give that JOB amp a listen. It sounds like a real gem for the money.
 
CGabriel said:
The Audio Research DS450 and DS225 don't get a lot of press or forum talk but both are fine sounding amps that run very cool. They also sound good when first turned on and don't need to be left on to sound good.

I use the mono 450's on a set of Maggie 20.7s with great results.


Caelin Gabriel
President
Shunyata Research
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joeinid said:
Wow Caelin! I bet that sounds great.
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Joe, you're missing out!!:P:P
 
joeinid said:
Ha!

I plan on hearing Ray's 20.7's. I am sure they are great. There may be a pair in my future. I'll wait for the 20.8's ;)
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You need to take a trip to CES and the SHOW and check out all the gear there. That is the most efficient way...
 
Thanks for this thread Joe... I'm in the market for Cool running :P (AKA Summer) amp(s) also.
current short list includes Class AB Bryston and Sanders... probably leaning towards Bryston of some size.

I am going to hate retiring the ARTs for a few months as they continue to be fantastic...but I expect in late July It'll be an easy decision to give them a break. :)
 
My pleasure Ray. I often think about you and hope you are still loving the ART monos. I am, but my audiophile nervosa about tube heat and tube life kick in occasionally. With my listening habits, the big CJ amps are not always practical. But there is nothing and I mean nothing that can touch these glorious examples of tube love. The first company that captures that sound in a cooler running SS amp will make a fortune.

Rayooo said:
Thanks for this thread Joe... I'm in the market for Cool running :P (AKA Summer) amp(s) also.
current short list includes Class AB Bryston and Sanders... probably leaning towards Bryston of some size.

I am going to hate retiring the ARTs for a few months as they continue to be fantastic...but I expect in late July It'll be an easy decision to give them a break. :)
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Mikado463 said:
another reason to consider Plinius……………biasing switch from A - A/B would accomplish this nicely. A pair of SA-103's would drive the speakers you mention easily……… as would a pair of Spectral MonoBlocks !

George, you can't be serious about Class 'A' Pass gear …'running cool' !!
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+1 on this. I run a pair of Plinius SA-103 in mono and I'm completely smitten in love with them. They'll put those speaker drivers in a headlock and give'em noogies until they cry uncle! :D I moved to them from the MC601s and haven't looked back once. Being able to run them in both class A and class AB at the push of a button is awesome as well. In class AB, as expected, they run very cool and still sound incredible.
 
Thanks Casey,

I'll have to check out the Plinius amps. I've looked at them a lot but need to hear them.


Lunchy said:
+1 on this. I run a pair of Plinius SA-103 in mono and I'm completely smitten in love with them. They'll put those speaker drivers in a headlock and give'em noogies until they cry uncle! :D I moved to them from the MC601s and haven't looked back once. Being able to run them in both class A and class AB at the push of a button is awesome as well. In class AB, as expected, they run very cool and still sound incredible.
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