As you know, i have been mulling over a new rig. I wanted a valve involved and i wanted my next amplifier to be my last big spend for some considerable time.
I auditioned a fair few amplifiers. I drove the Guy in Super-fi bat-shit crazy lol
I wanted to see what was new and what was on offer. I tried Denon, marantz, Arcam and Rotel amps up to a price of £1200.
So being completely thorough i also tested a DIY/Kit Class A valve amp, a dual mono and a set of hybrid valve Monoblocks.
The only thing i couldn't get my hands on was a Class A SS amp such as a Sugden etc.
So the results.
Well the stuff in Super-fi except the Arcam Class G didn't impress me. Even with £2000 speakers on. We used a Project TT carbon something or other lol
The Arcam i felt was actually good but i didn't think it was better than my existing Sony.
Class A valve and Dual mono amps were very very nice. BUT I wanted to hear the Monoblocks again. They have a bit of magic. A bit of that something special.
I realised that throughout my mind bending journey of trawling the internet for options (MingDa valve amp etc) that the answer was staring me in the face the whole time. There was a set of Monoblocks that i had heard multiple times and been amazed at every time.
Enter - Firebottle Monoblocks
I invited Alan over to test his new FB-OTP phono stage with one eye on hearing the Monos again.
Well four hours of listening to every combination we had and i arrived at the conclusion that there simply isn't a better sound at the price.
£1000 for the Monoblocks !!!. Well i just had to have them. I promptly told Alan that he couldn't take them home. So he didn't !!!!!
They are now in my listening room sounding so good it's unbelievable.
I have borrowed a passive preamp off Alan whilst mine is being made.
The TT is running through the FB-OTP and i can honestly say it's a sensational sound.
So total price £1200
I can also say with some confidence that for the price, it's a steal.
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