Dusty Chalk Posted May 4, 2006 Report Posted May 4, 2006 No, that's not a typo, but no, I don't truly mean "at any price" greater than US$200, I just mean this: I recently put my speaker rig back together. The Manley Stingray -- at 12 tubes, 8 of them power tubes -- is just way too warm for a closed room in the summer. I am seriously considering getting this amp as my "summer amp". What is the next step up from that? Obviously, it doesn't have any competition at the US$200 price point, but is there something in the "not much more" category that I should be considering? It'd be nice if it was a pretty strong amp (I.E. ~> 50 Wpc). The Dynaudios suck current like a Greek sucks down souvlaki. (With apologies to any Greeks out there -- that was a Slowdive reference.) I looked on audiogon, but I didn't see anything that struck my fancy... PS I couldn't decide if this goes in the speakers category or miscellaneous, so feel free to move it if this is an inappropriate venue.
TheSloth Posted May 4, 2006 Report Posted May 4, 2006 I rather like the QUAD 909 power amp. Very gutsy, but with a smooth and liquid midrange. That's rather a lot more than $200, but still well under $1k used. That was in an all QUAD system though, powering the 988's. Not wildly good at selling themselves, QUAD - they introduced a whole new line of ESL's at the end of last year, and haven't even put up anything on their website nearly 6 months later...
Dusty Chalk Posted May 10, 2006 Author Report Posted May 10, 2006 Alright, I went ahead and got the A-1D -- just received it today -- it's a little more rolled off than the Manley Stingray was in the top end, but I think the bass is better. Will know better (a) in the morning when I can listen at non-sleepytime volumes, and ( after significantly more burn-in. Offhand, I think this is a steal at US$206.74. And OMG, do I need to get an iPod? J&R sent me a catalog that is from front to back nothing but iPod accessories. Never have I seen a product so thoroughly accessorized.
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