my quest for the "perfect" amp continue ...

[brianle]

Tried:
Musical Fidelity nuvista m3 pretty good, bored with the sound after a year
Ayre ax-7 a bit thin in mid range and vocal
Unison Research s6 lush , full body, sweet but lack of bass punch
Arc vs55 very good with Cary slp 98, a bit thin and lack of bass slam
Vtl st150 close to the unison s6 goodies + bass punch and slam. Hum noise through speakers :(
Rogue m180 a bit thin in body but excellent bass and quickness

And now the musical fidelity kw500. So far the best one is rogue m180 + Cary slp98 combo. Too bad the rogue belong to one of my buddy. When is it gonna end? :)

[BlueFox]

Maybe you need better interconnect or speaker cables, or speakers, or preamp, or power cords, or power conditioner. There is more than just the amp in the chain. Then again, there is Emotiva.

[falconcry72]

What's the rest of your rig look like? I'm particularly interested in your source and/or DAC.

Try a BAT!!! (Balanced Audio Technology). They make both tubed and SS amps. Mine is SS, and it is open, airy, highly dynamic, and has excellent separation and soundstage.

[brianle]

Speakers: Usher Dancer Mini 2 diamond. Probably not going to change for a while.
DAC: EE Minimax
Source: Squeezebox Touch
Pre-amp: Cary SLP-98

Since my Usher is staying for a while, I figure the next most significant upgrade would be the amp/preamp. I like transparent sound but with sweet high, full body, deep and tight bass. Is that too much to ask for?

[tonyb]

Maybe you need better interconnect or speaker cables, or speakers, or preamp, or power cords, or power conditioner. There is more than just the amp in the chain. .

Gonna agree with Fox here, every gear switch requires a venture into cables. Synergy can be elusive, but some cables seem to bring out more in a piece of gear than others. Finding "your sound" and rolling higher end pieces can be costly. Try diving into cables, at least you'll have a few pairs on hand to see what gells with what.

On a side note and just an observation, The Cary slp pre imho was never a big low bass producer. Maybe a change in tubes is in order too ? There's more to consider here than just an amp.

[marvda1]

what types of music do you listen to? ever thought about grabbing a pair of the Be tweeters?

[usp1]

For solid state try McCormack amps. I am not sure about the newer models but the old DNA-1 (Deluxe or with SMC upgrades) are excellent. There are some DNA-2 s as well but they are extremely rare.

[brianle]

Gonna agree with Fox here, every gear switch requires a venture into cables. Synergy can be elusive, but some cables seem to bring out more in a piece of gear than others. Finding "your sound" and rolling higher end pieces can be costly. Try diving into cables, at least you'll have a few pairs on hand to see what gells with what.

On a side note and just an observation, The Cary slp pre imho was never a big low bass producer. Maybe a change in tubes is in order too ? There's more to consider here than just an amp.

I would like to settle for the amp/preamp combo first before other subtle improvement. Agree that the Cary is not that great in bass but I would be satisfiedwith the Cary+vtl if the vtl didn't have the hum.

[brianle]

what types of music do you listen to? ever thought about grabbing a pair of the Be tweeters?

Mostly jazz, classical/pop/rock once in a while. I do like the diamond tweeters in most tube setups.

[brianle]

For solid state try McCormack amps. I am not sure about the newer models but the old DNA-1 (Deluxe or with SMC upgrades) are excellent. There are some DNA-2 s as well but they are extremely rare.

Thanks for your recommendation.

[cnh]

Ushers are a little "bright" in my brief exposure to them so that might be a difficult set to match up with an amp if you like "warm" like I do?

On the other hand, if you wait long enough, your ears will "age", you'll lose your high end and many of the amps you've tried will sound somehow "different, perhaps "better" since you can't hear above 14 khz anymore. lol

cnh

[mhardy6647]

d'oh, posted to wrong thread; sorry! :-P

[bobsauto49]

What's the rest of your rig look like? I'm particularly interested in your source and/or DAC.

Try a BAT!!! (Balanced Audio Technology). They make both tubed and SS amps. Mine is SS, and it is open, airy, highly dynamic, and has excellent separation and soundstage.

+1 I own BAT also,and from what ur explaining that u hear,and what u want,I think u will nail it with a BAT!

[lanchile]

Have you ever try Bryston? I have had so many commercial amps that I lost count, but the one that sounded better from all the others was a Bryston!. I remember long time ago having the same problem like you, The only amp that I was a little happier with was the Bryston, But again I was not 100% happy with it!.There was always something that I did not like in the sound so I went the diy way and I started to build amps until I got the one that I was 100% happy. The end.

[brianle]

Ushers are a little "bright" in my brief exposure to them so that might be a difficult set to match up with an amp if you like "warm" like I do?

On the other hand, if you wait long enough, your ears will "age", you'll lose your high end and many of the amps you've tried will sound somehow "different, perhaps "better" since you can't hear above 14 khz anymore. lol

cnh

lol ...

I don't have the "bright" issue when matching them with tube amps

[brianle]

+1 I own BAT also,and from what ur explaining that u hear,and what u want,I think u will nail it with a BAT!

thanks, I might have to give bat tube amp a try

[brianle]

I'm afraid bryston + usher diamond tweeter may not be a good match

[marvda1]

believe me, NOT A GOOD MATCH! what about usher r 1.5 or plinius?

[brianle]

yeah, been wanting to try the plinius class A amp. Haven't seen an affordable one on agon lately

[charley95]

www.decware.com He has some pretty interesting suff.

[bthogan]

My son, you must try a McCormack. it is your destiny.

(The older-model DNAs, mentioned above, are both affordable and magical.)

[Oldfatdogs]

Maybe something Belles ?
Dan