Tom Evans Linear amps

[Non-Smoking Man]

Anyone any experience with the Linear A and B? (Or the earlier amps, for that matter..)

Jack NSM

 

[Jazid]

Yes, I ran a Linear A for a while. Loved the sound, fully fleshed instruments and lovely tone without a massive soundstage is how I would describe it, but it doesn't couple well to the more demanding speakers which I was playing with at the time. It sounded genuinely jaw dropping into AvantGarde Trios though! I also had a Vibe preamp which was completely neutral, a real performer. On a trivial note, Tom's aesthetic considerations are non-existent! The Linear A is just a plain fugly hammerited space heater. The Vibe is a two box affair, the pre itself is perspex cased and incredibly lightweight, anything that wasn't made of fairy wire attached to the back of it caused it to wander around the rack and risk falling off, and I am no believer in fat or foo cables.

 

[hifinutt]

yes had 3 vibes . great but no remote . prices have risen sharply in recent years !!

 

[tuga]

I would love to try these with the right speakers.

 

[Non-Smoking Man]

My thoughts also T..

Jack

 

[montesquieu]

Yes, I ran a Linear A for a while. Loved the sound, fully fleshed instruments and lovely tone without a massive soundstage is how I would describe it, but it doesn't couple well to the more demanding speakers which I was playing with at the time. It sounded genuinely jaw dropping into AvantGarde Trios though! I also had a Vibe preamp which was completely neutral, a real performer. On a trivial note, Tom's aesthetic considerations are non-existent! The Linear A is just a plain fugly hammerited space heater.

Agree with this, in my multi-year quest to find the perfect amp with vintage Tannoys, the Linear B was unable to start and stop the cones to an adequate standard. Like so many SET designs (with or without tubes), it just didn't have the grip, so while pleasant with undemanding stuff, it disappointed at the frequency extremes when faced with real-world speakers. I never got to try the Linear B but I anticipate much of the same. I would suggest extreme caution with real world, sub 96db speakers.

 

[westerwick]

I had a Linear A for a few years and loved the sound it made through my Shahinian Arcs. I also had the Vibe/Pulse pre-amp. I often regret parting with the Tom Evans gear, but I fancied a change and wanted something smaller, I think it's called downsizing ! I bought the Linear A after hearing a friend's Linear B's .