Who Makes The Best Solid State Amps

[Musicfan123]

Reenoip and Ynos make the best amps, period.

 

[dparrish]

I don't think there is any "best" amp brand. There are LOTS of best choices--it's a matter of taste.

You left out my favorite---Classe.


David

 

[TrevorNetwork]

I'm a big Bryston fan. I wouldn't exactly turn down a Levinson though.

 

[Geek]

Edited.


Cheers,
Geek

 

[Trawlerman]

Quote:

Originally posted by pbirkett I voted Krell. However, for a price / performance ratio, I believe that Rotel are the best. My £250 Rotel amp sounded better than a £500 NAD amp to my ears (and I was prepared to spend the extra on the NAD).

You took the words right out of my mouth.

I also voted Krell. In my system I have a pair of Tube Technology Genesis Monoblocks and a pair of Rotel RB970s.

I would say that the Rotels account for about 90% of my home listening and the Tube Techs another 5% and the sugden the same.


When I bought the Rotels back in 1997 they were £225 UKP which is a reasonable price. I got four them and still have them all running in my two systems. I demo'd them against the Audiolab 8000Ms and they were £900 at the time, I found that they were only marginally better than the Rotel but because of the price difference, I got all four of the Rotels for the price of one Audiolab.


Perhaps I should have voted Rotel after all

 

[Old Pa]

The best solid-state amps for my purposes are Bryston, and I already voted with my bucks. (Perhaps we should have a cognitive dissonance poll now as to what voters here actually own.) I own both solid-state and tube equipment; I was born and raised in the bad-old days of tube (and have the burn scars to prove it) and experienced the bad-old days of solid-state realtime, too. I prefer good modern solid-state equipment for loudspeakers (and it aint bad for headphones, either).

It all started with the decision to go with a Bryston B14ST 20 amp. Most relaxing and neutral to my ears, a good match for controlling extended bass of the B&W800s of my dreams, Stereophile Class A rated since its introduction, and, with its 20 year warranty (and they pay the shipping on return, too), an astounding value. My 20A version came with its test results as its specifications: 625WRMS/channel. Should be adequate.

Now, how to match this hunk with a pre-amp? Bryston BP25MC! Same great audio aesthetics, true balanced hook-up with the B14ST, integrated power control facility for both amps, another 20 year warranty, a decent headphone amp and out, and a killer MC amp section (eliminating two sets of interconnects and mechanical connections for those who know that these are fundimentally problematic).

One local audio shop I have occasionally gone to in the past has Krell up on its solid-state pedestal (although the salespersons' lip curl at any mention of non-tube equipment). This is one of those shops where a productive audio discussion is difficult because the salespersons of half my age and with one-quarter my experience all know better than I do, and it's always their suggestion that my next audio purchase be in low to mid five figures. I listened to their Krell gear critically for hours with my music and other components, looked at the Krell specs and features, and decided I really liked neither the sound nor the philosophy of Krell. I told 'em to piss up a rope, went with Bryston (purchased elsewhere), and have never looked back.

P.S. Second choice was Rotel, and it was damn close!