This Mactone tube amplifier hid in the shadows of its glorious, beautiful stablemate, the XX-7000 preamplifier, but it deserves its place in the spotlight for delivering a sound that was gorgeous and alive. Neutral and honest, the BorderPatrol’s presentation is uncommonly open and immediately captivating. Matched with Living Voice speakers, which BorderPatrol sells here in the US, the P21 EXD “disarms with its truth-telling,” and reveals the true potential of the 300B vacuum tube. (Yes, a tube amplifier can do all that.) The Snappers are also a tube roller’s dream since they can be so revealing.īorderPatrol P21 EXD (starting at $9,325 USD) The Snappers are smooth without being rolled off, with surprisingly little editorializing so that you can clearly hear what the other components in your system are doing. The ability to switch between triode and ultralinear modes makes these monoblocks two amps in one, in more ways than one. Manley Labs Snapper monoblocks ($8,400 pair USD) Oh, and don’t forget about that lifetime warranty.” An Editor’s Choice winner. “Factoring in the extra power, bigger everything, and all that extra user versatility, the McGary Audio SA2 hits it out of the park. Fit and finish are impeccable, and befitting an exceptional beautiful device as this, and with its silky 30 watts per channel it can be used with a wider variety of loudspeakers. Mike McGary has created a timeless classic of a tube amp–warm, seductive and romantic in all the best ways. You still get those vivid LTA colors in the music, and that ultra-transparency that is utterly addicting. But it’s more powerful (46wpc into 8 ohms) than past LTA designs, and it has a somewhat different sound that puts more meat on the bone. This ZOTL amplifier weighs next to nothing–it’s lighter than the matching and much smaller ZOTL preamplifier from LTA. Yes, it’s all in Class A, which makes this power amplifier an intriguing choice for audiophiles who have systems that can really sing without a bunch of juice.
“These are deeply impressive designs that create an emotional connection to the music” is how we described Nelson Pass’ little amp, which produces 25 gorgeous watts per channel. Plus, you can build these amps with all sorts of options-yes, they’re made to order! Choose from a variety of power supplies, wiring, output boards and caps, and even with all the boxes checked they’re still a tremendous bargain. We loved using these affordable monoblocks as a “mid-tier solid-state reference,” since the only real concession is the casework-which is still pretty nice.
These beautifully finished and compact monoblocks might be Class D, but that didn’t matter-the Thors were still offered reference quality sound “that can make you happy with a remarkable range of speakers, all the way from horns and electrostats to conventional cones.” Merrill Audio Thor monoblock amplifier ($4,800 USD) We found that it was an “imaging Godzilla” but what we loved the most was its value–you get 100wpc from tubes, with the short signal paths, high parts quality and plenty of useful features. “Vacuum tubes how I love thee, let me count the ways,” we exclaimed after using this Hungarian amp. Better get ‘em while they last, since only 250 are being made!Īudio Hungary Qualiton APX 200 ($4,700 USD) The sonics are all there: deep, heaving bass a lithe, yet smooth midrange and crystalline clear highs. Rated at 17 watts per channel into eight ohms, it actually drives challenging speaker loads with surprising aplomb.
Perhaps our favorite effort yet from the bench of First Watt/Pass Labs legend Nelson Pass, the SIT-3 is most likely the last of the VFET amps to be produced by that outfit.
BEST POWER AMPLIFIER IN THE WORLD FULL
The music was surprisingly tight, dynamic, and wonderfully full in tonal texture, and the build quality was exceptional as well, as evidenced by McGary’s lifetime warranty on the product (minus tubes, of course). McGary hit the ground running with this “best amplifiers” entry. The new McGary SA1 push-pull vacuum tube amp is the first product offering from new designer Mike McGary, and we fell in love with the way this 30wpc design mated with the hard-to-drive ATC SCM100 speakers.