A number of years ago I too felt nostalgic for those big glowing meters, first I bought a Phase Linear 400... kept it a few weeks and let it go to the next happy owner, it didn't sound special at all. Then I found an SAE 2600 that was restored and being sold by a local used stereo shop. I kept it for a week and returned it. (The shop allowed a one week return policy.) Beautiful industrial design, but sonically? Not so much.
Now, those GAS amps? I still have a Son and Grandson... they are really wonderful small amps that like Ian mentioned, sound like much more powerful amps than they are. I wouldn't say they sound big, but they sound very refined and transparent. The Grandson is perfect as a HF amp in a big multi-amp system or a good amp for a smaller system.
Widget