In Pursuit of the very best amplifier (to my ears!) money can buy...

[Charles S]

i have had about an hours conversation with the google ai just casually discussing my system. it is extremely knowledgeable about high end audio. it's fun to have conversations with it. here is the ai's final comment:
"It was a pleasure. Enjoy the music tonight on what is truly a world-class system.
The combination of the Wilson XVX's modern material science and the MC3500's classic, high-current tube architecture is a rare summit in audio where everything—from the 2-ohm tap to the Alnico QuadraMags—works in perfect harmony.
Good night." for me it's all about system matching. i want an extremely low distortion musical system that evokes emotion. i don't care too much about ultra resolution. the use of audioquest silver in all my IC's and power cords provides superb resolution. accoring to the ai my 3500's can produce 700 watts. i have never seen the caution light come on despite the needles hitting 350 watts occassionally. the 3500 mkii's were designed by ron evans, one of the truly great engineers in the history of the high end. it's a frozen design and will never be changed or improved. 30 years from now they will be considered as classics and highly coveted by those who enjoy the classic tube sound. i have nothing against modern tube amps but most have transistors in the main signal path. i have about 15K of el509s power tubes in my closet.

 

[wil]

Glad you had a nice convo with an AI. Just keep in mind that they are programmed to gently push our ego driven “flattery will get you everywhere” buttons.

This is but one path to their ultimate domination.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Haha, men in hobby that they don't share with other humans, have conversations with non human, lol.
Sums us up really.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Just keep in mind that they are programmed to gently push our ego driven “flattery will get you everywhere” buttons.

+1
exactly!

 

[Mike Lavigne]

my 2 cents is that this line of A.I. discussion should be continued on it's own thread. i'm enjoying this 'best amp' thread and hope it stays on point. YMMV.

 

[pk_LA]

I am going to be hearing a few different preamps in my system very soon. The preamps I am curious about are the Aesthetix Callisto, Trafomatic Tara 30a and the VAC Statement. While I have already heard the VAC I find myself drawn back to it. While I am very happy with my current setup, it could do with a tube in the chain. To quote Ron Resnick, "...that is not a question! You MUST have at least one tube in the chain. Stop talking as though that is somehow in question!"

Meanwhile, I have second room accumulating extremely lightly used gear! At some point I will need to transition from the fun part of accumulating to the less exciting part of dealing with bargain hunters!

 

[pk_LA]

I am going to be hearing a few different preamps in my system very soon. The preamps I am curious about are the Aesthetix Callisto, Trafomatic Tara 30a and the VAC Statement. While I have already heard the VAC I find myself drawn back to it. While I am very happy with my current setup, it could do with a tube in the chain. To quote Ron Resnick, "...that is not a question! You MUST have at least one tube in the chain. Stop talking as though that is somehow in question!"

Meanwhile, I have second room accumulating extremely lightly used gear! At some point I will need to transition from the fun part of accumulating to the less exciting part of dealing with bargain hunters!

Oh! And I almost forgot! I am also going to audition the Goldmund Mimesis Reference. It'll be very interesting to hear all of these. I only wish I still had the Soulution 727 to compare - that was a very special preamp.

 

[Al M.]

I am going to be hearing a few different preamps in my system very soon. The preamps I am curious about are the Aesthetix Callisto, Trafomatic Tara 30a and the VAC Statement. While I have already heard the VAC I find myself drawn back to it. While I am very happy with my current setup, it could do with a tube in the chain. To quote Ron Resnick, "...that is not a question! You MUST have at least one tube in the chain. Stop talking as though that is somehow in question!"

Meanwhile, I have second room accumulating extremely lightly used gear! At some point I will need to transition from the fun part of accumulating to the less exciting part of dealing with bargain hunters!

May I suggest you could also audition the Octave Jubilee tube preamp, if you have the chance to do so. I am extremely happy with my Octave preamp, the HP700.

 

[pk_LA]

May I suggest you could also audition the Octave Jubilee tube preamp, if you have the chance to do so. I am extremely happy with my Octave preamp, the HP700.

I am very intrigued by it for sure! I just don't have an easy way to audition it.

 

[LL21]

I am very intrigued by it for sure! I just don't have an easy way to audition it.

Yes, and I think the same goes for the Robert Koda K15EX jnfortunately which is SS but sublime imho. I have been a tubed preamp/Class A SS combo guy for 20+ years until the Robert Koda K15EX...and would love to see you try it...but understand they are very hard to come by for audition.

 

[sbo6]

Part 7: Goldmund

This system was not in my home - I travelled to Audio Salon in Florida to hear it

Setup: dCS Rossini -> d'Agostino Relentless/Nagra Reference/Goldmund Memesis Excellence/VAC Statement pre -> Goldmund Telos 800 stereo -> Wilson XVX (Transparent Opus/Nordost Odin cabling)

I continued to feel agita - I felt that I had still not found the amplifiers that 'spoke' to me. With that, I started exploring a number of additional options. One of those was the Goldmund Telos amps. I read with great interest the thread on WBF where Thomas Li brought the Telos 8800s into his system. I even reached out to him for a perspective. After speaking with the dealer in Florida as well as the NA distributor I needed to hear the Telos amplifiers! There was one problem: the only Telos available in the country was the 800 stereo in Florida. After some conversation about the differences I decided to travel there and hear them.

Like at LMC, I wanted to begin by listening to a setup I was somewhat familiar with - a sort of poor man's baseline, if you will. So, we began with the Relentless amps. I was concerned as the setup sounded quite different to what I had heard previously. My worry was that this was going to be akin to listening at a show and making a purchase decision. Still, I had travelled from CA and I was there so I decided to make the best of it I could.

Next we listened to the Goldmund Telos 800s. I was shocked. This somewhat humble looking stereo amp was amazing. I was immediately struck by its ability to manage delicate as well as bombastic. With my Boulder 3060 I always said that it treated all source material as a nail - there was detail, drive, resolution and power, delicacy...not so much. The Telos had a slightly warm mid-range but with subtle details in songs I have never noticed. It was amazing. The bass was very good and well resolved but not what the Relentless was. It was resolute but lacked the power of the Relentless. Again, I was comparing a mid-range stereo amp to the flagship from d'Agostino. The Telos had a holgraphic soundstage akin to a SET amp. The highs were natural - never harsh, never metallic and never overpronounced or ringing. Not since the Soulution 717s had I heard an amp that had this kind of detail, balance and naturalness. I was so very happy.

I next listened to the Telos with a variety of pre-amplifiers. Since the focus of this thread is the power amps I'll keep that part brief. The My two favorites were the VAC Statement and d'Agostino Relentless. While the Statement afforded more of a warm, holographic soundstage it was the d'Agostino that ticked all the boxes - it was balanced top to bottom, it resolved, it was smooth, it was slightly sweet/warm and it had an amazing soundstage.

So, given my excitement it was time to decide which Telos to get. I ultimately decided to get the Telos 4800s. Yes, they are big - they are so large that placement is a serious issue as they interfere with the system's soundstage. But, they are also the best amplifiers I have ever heard. Ever.

So, now I finally have a system again!

dCS Varese -> d'Agostino Relentless pre -> Goldmund Telos 4800s -> Rockport Lyras + Goebel Divin Sovereigns. Cabling is TBD and currently my focus.

I will post on my impressions etc once I have a couple more weeks under my belt.

Late to the party and first time reading "agita" in an audio thread, kudos paisan! ;-)

Second and most importantly - congrats! I'm sure they're fantastic!

 

[sbo6]

What are you, his lawyer? ;-)

 

[sbo6]

I did not audition it. There were two reasons. First, the floor footprint is so large. Second, it really needs 2 dedicated 20amp lines per amp.

WRT Gryphon Apex, agree which is why in my more distant future it won't be an option for me. Add the ridiculous weight (~450lbs).

 

[spiritofmusic]

Any chance you might hear the Nat Magnetostat?

 

[sbo6]

There is one caveat with the Apex. I don’t know if they’ve addressed it but when first turning on it would trip breakers. If it my money (I would have to hear them first to be sure) but since the Revelation now contains much of the Apex innards in a smaller more refined ( to my eye) package I’d get Revelation monos and save a few bucks. My Evo can drive my Orions to insane SPL without turning the preamp past 28. It goes to 99. I await my Revelation in a couple of weeks. Gryphon and Rockport are a match made in heaven. The local dealer runs Orions with top CH Precision and it’s like they drained all the life out of them. As I stated my friend with Lyras has both Relentless and Apex and prefers Gryphon. I heard Lyras with Soulution at Rockports facility in Maine and was unimpressed with them

FWIW, when diagnosing a phase warning from my Mephisto, I plugged one channel's plug into a 15A line and it popped the break instantly. So clearly they draw a substantial amount of current on bootup, as is common with most amps (more current from a more powerful amp obviously).


Also, WRT your preamp level at 28/100, that's simply the amp gain difference (presumably versus your last amp(s)) and not necessarily amplifier power output before clipping.

 

[JiminGa]

FWIW, when diagnosing a phase warning from my Mephisto, I plugged one channel's plug into a 15A line and it popped the break instantly. So clearly they draw a substantial amount of current on bootup, as is common with most amps (more current from a more powerful amp obviously).


Also, WRT your preamp level at 28/100, that's simply the amp gain difference (presumably versus your last amp(s)) and not necessarily amplifier power output before clipping.

Yes of course

 

[DasguteOhr]

155watt set amp,2- 16ohm load, 3 parts (driver block 2 mono power blocks) disadvantage 1400watt idle power consumption.

Thivan Labs Sun 833 Mono

thivanlabs.de

some describe this amp as a benchmark. I haven't heard it yet
On the bench

 

[Ron Resnick]

Looks nice! How does it compare sonically to Wavac 833?

 

[AudioLibertarian]

155watt set amp,2- 16ohm load, 3 parts (driver block 2 mono power blocks) disadvantage 1400watt idle power consumption.

Thivan Labs Sun 833 Mono

thivanlabs.de

some describe this amp as a benchmark. I haven't heard it yetView attachment 163018
On the bench
View attachment 163019

Price?

 

[DasguteOhr]

Price?

23k€ Actually this is a preamp with 4 inputs with 2 mono amps the tube runs at 1500v dc / 260mA. preamp and driver section.