Best Tube Amp for Treo CT

[CryptoDave]

What in your various opinions, is the best Tube Amp to match up with the Treo CT and Sub 3?

 I kinda like the sound of SET  Tubes I’m open to anything as long as the sound is good

I have a Gill Audio Alana Tube Pre Amp.

Thanks

 

[Huang]

Hi, my Treos are 2 weeks old. I am currently pushing them with a Rogue Cronus Magnum III. It has enough power to make them sing. They pair well i think and I think Vandersteens and tubes have synergy. I am loving them! While the Treos are said to be easy to drive I think they want a little power. How much does your set put out.

[GdnrBob]

I am an Atmasphere fan.

My Treo's are on a pair of MA-1's with an MP-1 for the winter months (great space heater😜).

I find if there is one thing that makes Vandy's sing, it is a Zero Feedback amp.

Given that you have the Sub 3, you should be able to use a pair of M-60's- unless you want to rock the block!

B

Edited January 30, 2021 by GdnrBob

[Pilrem]

For what its worth I have an Audio Research Ref 75SE powering my Quatro CT's Awesome to my ears, great synergy. I think that the Treo may be a bit more power hungry. Perhaps a used ARC REF 110 would be a good option. I have heard this combo and it works!

Vandy, ARC and AQ seem to have a natural synergy. 

[ctsooner]

Since we are going to speak about cables, we can speak about the various tube amps, lol.  

Since you are already looking at ARC, I think you should also look into VAT, BAT and an Aesthetix Atlas stereo amp.  I love Jim White's designs and they really stand behind their gear.  

 

[Tomstruck]

Before I got Aesthetix Atlas and Pallene I was listen to the Quicksilver Mono120s sounded better then the V4s 

[ctsooner]

Even though I have to sell the Ayre AX5/20 integrated, I'm only doing it because I got the M5-HPA mono's.  I LOVE the sound of most tube gear.  The circuits are simple and it's even order distortion.  I stayed away from SS gear once I got my Quicksilver gear in the early 90's.  I only went to Ayre, because I fell in love with it's clean, fast and resolving sound.  It is priced way below it's sound quality.  I feel strongly that it's a great value for high end audio in the same way Richard's gear is.  The sound is neither tube, nor SS to my ears.  My DAC has a tube so it's not like I'm totally tube adverse and if I need to get a preamp ( think I probably will as I don't true how the analog volume control will sound in my DAC) I'm open to the Audio Research, Aesthetix or Conrad Johnson gear in addition to possibly the Ayre KX5/20 which again is a nice preamp for the price and I know it plays very well with the mono blocks.

Just more amp talk, lol. 

[TomicTime]

Dave - what is the budget, how big is the room and how loud do you listen ?

[Leo hi-fi]

I just saw this discussion. hopefully I'm not too late for a comment. With my Treo CTs, I have used Quicksilver Silver 60 monos, and I loved the sound --kind of a classical tube sound. Now I'm using the Rogue ST100, and it works really well. More of a detailed sound without losing the tube characteristics that I like. The St100 is a modern design with a sound different to the classic tube sound. Many reviews point out this characteristic. 

I agree with Huangh on  that the Treo's need a little more power than the 40 watts minimum stated on the specs, but not that much more. My quicksilvers with 60 watts worked just great. With the Rogue I never go beyond the 10 o'clock mark. 

I'm also curious about other tube amps that would match well with the Treo's, maybe VAC? Zesto? (my preamp is a Zesto Leto, amazing!).

Happy listening!

[Steve Edwards]

Welcome to the group Leo!  Thank you for sharing your experiences;  have heard some good things about Rogue Electronics.  

When convenient, please post a picture of your system / set up

[CryptoDave]

OK so I listened to the quick silvers and compared them to the Aesthetix Mimas Integarated Amp. Decided to go with the Mimas 

[ctsooner]

Mimas is a great integrated at the price.  Remember that you need to almost double the tube wattage to equal what SS does.  Maybe it's higher current, but to me all my tube amps seemed as powerful as double the wattage SS amps.

[Tomstruck]

Can't go wrong with a pair of Quicksilver Mono 120 

[Drew769]

I have the latest version of the Quicksilver V4s with the KT150s.   They are rated at 170 rms - plenty of power to drive the Vandersteens.  They are beautifully made, with all point to point wiring inside.  If you own a pair, you should take a look under the hood (once powered down a sufficient amount of time for safety, of course) to admire the craftsmanship.  I have mine paired with an Aesthetix Pallene, and it is a wonderful combination.

 I’ve owned the Rogue Stereo 90 Super Magnum and the Stereo 100 prior to the Quickies, and I didn’t love the Rogue.  The transformers on Rogues are noisy, not in the line but physically outside of the amp itself.  I thought my Stereo 90 was afflicted by age, but the Stereo 100 was just as loud.  The Quicksilvers are not dead silent, but are much quieter.

 Paired with the 5As, the Quicksilvers are capable of “big moments.”

[nrenter]

On 3/3/2021 at 3:47 PM, ctsooner said:

Remember that you need to almost double the tube wattage to equal what SS does. 

Actually, it's the other way around. For a given Wattage, a tube amp gives a more powerful presentation because of how a tube amp sounds as it begins to overload.

[CryptoDave]

So I listened to the Quicksilver’s and the Aesthetix Mimas Integrated Amp.

To my ear, there was no contest. The Mimas gave more punch in the bass and better highs.

[ctsooner]

Not sure how much the Quicks are, but the Mimas is a very special amp.  For the price you need to step up into the 12-15k range to get 'better' sound.  Some actually prefer the Mimas's overall presentation to that of a more accurate and detailed amp.  If anyone can afford to step up to a Mimas, it's worthy of a 2 all the way up to a Quatro.  It's that good.  Hope I haven't gushed much.

[ctsooner]

15 hours ago, nrenter said:

Actually, it's the other way around. For a given Wattage, a tube amp gives a more powerful presentation because of how a tube amp sounds as it begins to overload.

MS world.  I wrote the opposite of what I was trying to say.  I have always added 50% to the number of the 'wattage' for tubes.  I really don't pay much attention to wattage or even the class of amp.  I have heard Treo's driven with 40W tube amps and sound powerful in a living room at realistic levels.  We all have stories like this and many of you probably own similar set ups.

[Leo hi-fi]

On 5/16/2021 at 10:26 PM, Drew769 said:

 I’ve owned the Rogue Stereo 90 Super Magnum and the Stereo 100 prior to the Quickies, and I didn’t love the Rogue.  The transformers on Rogues are noisy, not in the line but physically outside of the amp itself.  I thought my Stereo 90 was afflicted by age, but the Stereo 100 was just as loud.  The Quicksilvers are not dead silent, but are much quieter.

 

I like very much my Rogue St100 but I agree that the transformers are noisy. I'm thinking of getting a Zesto Bia rated at 60 watts per channel. I have the Zesto preamp and I like it a lot, I preferred it to an Audio Research preamp LS27 that the Zesto replaced. Plus, the Zesto is a very elegant design.