Ultimate Amplifier Quest: The Contestants

I've now got three very different amplifiers in for auditioning. I'm looking forward to trying them all out for a few months, to see which one I could see myself living with for the long haul. Interestingly, all three are built by American companies, something I didn't consciously set out to do. It just so happens Americans still make a great deal of the best that audio has to offer, which comes as a surprise to those who have been weaned on Japanese stereos.

McIntosh MC275

A tube-powered audio classic, first introduced in 1961. The original MC275 amps are now rare and highly collectible. Recognizing the legendary status of the originals, McIntosh offered a limited commemorative reissue in 1993, whose success inspired the return to production of the MC275. I have the current version, the mkV, still made in Binghampton, NY, as it ever was.

Power: 75w/ch
Weight: 67 lbs
Price: $4500 new (bought mine second hand, thanks to Audiogon)

First Watt Aleph J

Built by a legendary American amp designer, Nelson Pass. The company named after him, Pass Labs, makes very expensive amps. First Watt, in contrast, is the brand under which Nelson releases his "kitchen table" projects, small lots of special designs that strike his fancy. The Aleph J is just such an amp, representing the ultimate expression of the Aleph design Pass has been perfecting since 1991 -- low-power, single-ended, Class A solid state amplification (hugely inefficient, spewing lots of heat, but so sweet sounding). I owned a Pass Labs Aleph 3 in the mid-90s, then the more powerful Aleph 5 about 5 years ago. Perhaps I shouldn't have let them go.

Power: 25w/ch
Weight: 25 lbs?
Price: $2400 new (again, got mine second hand, via Audiogon)

Ayre V-5xe

Since 1993, Charles Hansen has been building his company, Ayre, into a marquee high-end audio brand. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Ayre has garnered consistently strong reviews for virtually everything they make, preamps, CD players, and amplifiers. The V-5xe is a "normal" solid-state, class AB amp, the kind that has dominated audio for the last 20 years or so. The V-5 went into production in 2001, and has had two upgrades, first to the "x", then the "xe" designations.

Power: 150 watts/channel
Weight: 55 lbs.
Price: $4950 new (again, got mine second hand, via Audiogon)

As they say in Highlander, in the end, there can be only one.