T & A V10

I'm currently putting together a short list for amplifiers for my 'retirement' system. I've more or less decided to go the valve route, as the naturalness & air on offer from valves seems not to be available from solid state.

I'm interested in the T&A V10 and would like to hear any feedback from anyone who may have experience with this amp.

I am also considering the McIntosh MA2275 and the Graaf GM50B. Any other suggestions would be welcome. I'd like remote control, preferably of source and gain. Build quality is important to me as is ease of ownership (I don't want to be faffing about with re-baising valves, etc, etc). My system will be CD based, but exact player will be dependent upon amplifier chosen (I firmly believe that the amplifier is the heart of any system).

I have a fairly small listening room, and will probably go for the Harbeth HL-P3ES2 (I've driven the predecessor to these with a 40W push-pull EL34 with no problems, so their inefficiency shouldn't be aproblem with any of the amps mentioned above).

Budget is £4-5K for the amp. I prefer to go new, for the peace of mind of a proper warranty.

Any suggestions/comments or experience with any of the amps mentioned would be very gratefully received.

 

linear man,
check out some of the new chinese offerings a good place to start is Catty Link otherwise you're looking at stuff from the usa (conrad johnson, audio research, etc. for good valve stuff). only heard the t&a v10 at shows but it sounded ok.
if you aren;t going to have any analogue sources you may want to think about a cd player / dac with a built in volume control (wadia, s.a.t., audio synthesis, etc.), skipping on a pre-amp and going 'direct injection' so to speak into the power amp.
at the end of the day you should be prepared to do a bit of travelling and demo extensively.
cheers


julian.

 

I had the T+A V10 in my system on home dem last year partnering my then Quad 988s... very nice indeed. However, I found the 2nd hand Graaf 5050 + a passive preamp (Audio Synthesis Passion Ultimate) was utterly magical, more so than the T+A. So I would definitely want to hear the Graaf GM50B before deciding.

 

I'd echo the sentiments that on a huge budget like that, you really want to get around plenty of decent valve shops and have an ear wig

 

Dont dismiss all solid state offerings either

 

You really must hear an MA2275. It is a superb sounding amp with great build quality and long valve life. Personally, I would probably take this amp over anything else regardless of price.

Cheers, Robbo

 

Interesting ~ I've heard anecdotal praise of the McIntosh amp but I've never jeard any of their amps (which is amazing, as I've now been an enthusiast for well over 30years and have heard and/or owned a very great deal of equipment!). I'm based Hampshire (UK) ~ would you have any particular dealer you could recommend?

Any specific thoughts?

I'd like to try and get down to four-five contenders max if at all possible. Are there any specific dealers that you would feel happy to recommend?


Thank you all for your replies. I'll certainly be conducting some serious listening over the next 6-8 weeks. As the complete system will be in the region of £10K, this is indeed a very large investment, one which will hopefully immerse me in music for many years to come.

 

The Graaf..drool..................

 

The best sound I got from the Harbeth HL-P3ES when I had them was with a humble 25W Sugden A21a... lovely. But TBH I didn't try valves in those days. Solid State that might go well with them might be Lavardin IT or new Sugden A21 SE.

 

ok I'll give it a go.

Shops to go to:

1) Definitive Audio, Nottingham
2) Walrus, London
3) Midland Audio Exchange, nr Birmingham
4) KJ West One, Central London
5) Sounds Of Music, Kent

A few Brands/Models to try

1) Border Patrol P20
2) Graaf - consider 2 x GM20 second hand, monoblocked
3) a Mac, as mentioned
4) Cary 845 monoblocks
5) Viva Solista


I'd try and avoid anything too 'flea power' with harbeths personally.

Of course, nearly everything is available 60-70% cheaper than rrp from Audiogon. Thats where I buy, although you need to get a voltage conversion done.

 

I dont really know about dealers, I am afraid. I think there is one near the hampsire/berkshire border but I am not sure.

Here's a review to whet your appetite :- review

Cheers, Robbo

 

Do you mean Noteworthy Audio Robbo?

(Aylesbury)

I should have put that one on my list..

 

Re solid-state, remember that Densen has a lifetime warranty, and Bryston offer a 20 year warranty, so they would be the one's to go for if you want a comfortable, hassle-free retirement.

The amps bottleneck suggested are mouth-wateringly good though

DT

 

As is the T+A, which comes from a company which has an extremely good reputation for no-nonsense engineering and superb reliability. They've also consistently scored highly for customer satisfaction and quality.

Not wishing to cast aspersions, but for a 'retirement system', I'd want something trouble-free, and I'm not sure all of Chris' suggestions will be able to clear that hurdle.

 

That's my feeling too! I'd much prefer an integrated, rather than two/three/four boxes!

I gave Densen some thought on the SS front, but they don't have an integrated at present (although a B110, 130 and 150 are promised, there are no release dates of which I'm aware). They'd be a different sound to the valve options, but could be worth an audition.

After further research the McIntosh is probably out of the running as it's now the best part of £6K, which is just too large a chunk of my budget.

I think this is going to come down to the T&A or the Graaf.

Thanks for the thoughts ~ keep them coming! (along with thoughts on possible other small monitors in place of the Harbeths, but with a similar approach)

 

humbug !

valve amps are things that need new valves, fiddling, twiddling, and assorted knit pickering at various stages of life..including Graaf and T&A. Even the MAC, which has more safety circuitry than a battleship isn't fit and forget.. or the Border Patrol which is totally hardwired.

If you want hastle free, I'd reccomend something like bryston or densen aswell, or something else class B that doesnt get hot.