Monarchy/Jungson/Sugden MusicMaster...?

Been looking at SS Class A power amps and the above names look plausible. A quick archive search shows that there are (or have been) owners here, would be grateful if you could share your thoughts on ownership.

Thanks very much.

 

My brother dik bought a new monarchy 20 watt class A power amp cost new £600.Sound was full and musical very valve amp sounding.All was good for a month or so then it started to distort on one channel and was returned for repair.After the repair dik had built a hi fi collective amp so never used the monarchy again.A few weeks ago i stole it off him for a play and slotted it in my system in place of my cyrus smartpower with psxr and right from the off i loved the sound and would say its very close to my world audio design in presentation.After about 1 hour of enjoying music at low volume the sound started to distort and i could smell smoke followed by a pop.The amp was dead and now resides back in its box in the sad cupboard.

 

I had a pair of Monarchy SM70's used in dual mono mode, wish I'd kept them. Very very good indeed, great resolution lovely detailed soundstage and double up as a room heater! You can email the maker direct and he's very helpful.

I'd imagine with esl 57's they'd kick ass.

 

Had the Jungson pre/power combination, was a very nice sounding combo. Easy on the ear, and very detailed, without being over the top. I liked it. It's only downside is the fact it's huge. Never broke down, always sounded great. You'll need a sizeable rack.
I bought it because I wanted a SS amp, that had the liquidity of my valve set up. It did a good job of that task. Not as liquid as the Manley, but it had a solider bottom, and probably was more detailed.

 

Thanks all so far.
The Jungsons are actually relatively powerful aren't they ?(80-100W) which is more than I need and hence bigger box than I need (that said my Quad 909 is hardly svelte) did you buy them new?

Monarchy are sounding good, but possible QC issues?

 

80W. I used them with the Heresy's so they never did more than tick over I suspect. I got them ex-dem from Shadow. I'd make sure if you do go down that route that you buy from a UK importer. I think they're a similar size to the Quad 909. It's about the same size as a PC box.

 

The Sugden 21A is a lovely thing, you could include that in your list.

 

I have a matched pair of the SM70 phase IIs (not the pro, but the later laser-etched front panel). They're very smooth and pleasant, although not the most dynamic amps in the world.

The open-loop output stage means that the output impedance is not as low as otherwise it might be. It is noticeable that they sound better on the end of very short leads, placed directly behind each speaker. Also, they benefit from being bridged using the XLR input.

I might be putting mine up for sale in the not too distant future, to be replaced with an amplifier that I've been involved with designing.

 

Yes, but (new) the 21a (integrated) is the same money as the musicmaster, and I rather like the pre that I'm using at the mo so if the power (musicmaster) is 'better' - it might be interesting.

 

Short leads amp-speaker = long leads pre-power? No problem balanced but with a TVC?

 

Just thought id mention i was using a hifi collective tvc when diks monarchy blew.

 

I don't have a pre. Go straight from DAC to powers.

 

First time the monarchy failed it was used with a EAR phono direct with its built in volume pot.

 

sugden all the way

 

what you using?

 

I had a pair of Monarchy SM70's on trial - I thought they were pretty mediocre in terms of rez, nice tone though, and would def hold your SD1s back a bit.

I still stick with my recommendation for class d! ... would suit the SD1s down to the ground.

 

So in what ways do you think class D would suit me but presumably doesn't suit you - given your current amp 'stable'? OK there's the valve-like-without-being-valves-thing (possibly), but what else.
Is there a particular example of the bread that you have had on the premises for, say, a month or so? (A month would mean you really quite liked it right?)

 

Well, avoiding replicating your sarcastic manner (why did you do that?) I've owned many class d amps, and I have enjoyed all of them.

If you want a list of my credentials, here are those that I have owned, in chronological order ... Veritas P400 (one of the very first commercial hifi class d switching amps), T-amp (plastic jobbie for £30 new - drove my £4.5k Kharma Ceramique 3 speakers very nicely), modded T-amp with mega PS (sounded identical to the plastic jobbie to me), Lyngdorf SDA2175 power amp and then SDAi2175 integrated amp, NuForce Ref 8 monoblocks, Esoteric AZ-1 integrated.

They all sounded very fine with (to my ears) a 'house sound' of slightly warm musicality, which nonetheless had good, naturally presented and relaxed detail.

I really do think one would work well with the SD1s and would suit what I know of your musical taste.

No, I don't have a class d amp at the moment - I sold the Esoteric a couple of weeks ago when my vintage MFs arrived. The MFs are much better at driving the difficult load that is the AP Virgo. Such grip is not needed though with the SD1s which are an easy load.

 

No sarcasm intended Jerry, just typing between the nth round of build-a-playground-with-bob-the-builder (my 3 year old is getting to like the laptop, his favourite bit is getting spud to fall off the climbing frame on purpose - it's here: cbeebies) if you want to give it a go
Would it be fair to say that trying one of the bargain boxes would give an insight into that type of amp in general, ie the house sound that you refer to, rather than trying something for under a hundred then dismissing (or accepting) the rest on the basis of that one sample?

I think the other thing to reiterate is that we have rather different approaches to the 'hobby'. I would - I think - be happy to settle down with a system if it got to a point of doing most of what I wanted mostly right. Yes I'm curious about how different stuff sounds, but I also like to feel I am progressing towards a point, if you see what I mean.

 

Sugden a21ai integrated (4yrs old) , Sugden SDT1 cd player - uses TDA 1541A DAC - sounds superb), 1960's R21 tuner, all serviced recently by sugden , and all sonically synergistic with my Zingali's -