OT: Solid state class A amps

**VolvoHeretic** · January 13th, 2013, 08:51 PM

I love my Crown DC300A behind my A7-500s.

**bowtie427ss** · January 14th, 2013, 10:04 AM

I have to preface by saying that model 19's are NOT my be all end all loudspeaker of choice.

However, after spending some time listening to my media thru my front end gear on his Firstwatt F5 powered 19's, my love affair with the Thermionic Valve(vacuum tube for the novices) came to an abrupt end, and i don't miss chasing my tail in that arena at all. Nelson Pass has implemented some "magic" in some of his circuit designs.

I love my Crown DC300A behind my A7-500s.

Solid state? Yes.

Class A? No.

Don't get me wrong, DC300 is a "Solid" amp and among vintage class AB amps is pretty good sounding, ultra dependable, and built like military hardware.

But, i think the OP was referring specifically to "Class A" amplification, the 100+ lb space heater kind generally.

**VolvoHeretic** · January 14th, 2013, 01:37 PM

Opps, I stand corrected.
(edit; I could have sworn it was class A, but I just checked and it isn't.)

**badtoby** · January 14th, 2013, 08:58 PM

No foul Volvo heretic always good to hear what others are using. Back in the day my neighbor played a hagstrom bass and a hammond B3 through a DC300 in to a pair of A7's and it sounded very good.

**badtoby** · January 15th, 2013, 05:14 AM

Sorry Bowtie didn't mean to snub you I had some thing come up in mid reply and had to cut it short. Anyway,I have to agree with you about the 19's as I seem to like the A7's more but have not given up on the 19's just my first impressions. The 511 horn sounds better to me and the 1200 hz crossover makes the 19 a totally different speaker. The 19 sounds like a home speaker where the A7's sounds like a live performance I guess you could say. As for tube vs sand I prefer sand because I have two fisher intergrateds that need work and I have no way to even test the tubes. Also when I attended tech school they no longer taught tube theory so I'm somewhat clueless and will probably stay that way. When I read about the pass amps having tube like sound it seemed like the way to go for me. It's good to know that others are using pass amps with Altecs because all the reviews I've read talk about using them with speakers I have never heard of. It's all about the synergy.

**bowtie427ss** · January 15th, 2013, 12:39 PM

Sorry Bowtie didn't mean to snub you

No snub taken, all is well and good.

No foul Volvo heretic always good to hear what others are using.

Absolutely agree.

That your DC300A is not class A DOES NOT automatically discount it from being a good sounding amplifier or being able to drive Altecs in a true hifi sense. It's a damn respectable amplifier across multiple applications, hifi included.