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I never got into tube rolling and dealing with the possibility of tubes going microphonic and transmitting noise to your speakers. I’m a solid state guy. My Class A monster runs burning hot. Don’t grab one of its heat sinks!

Cool amp!

I own a tube integrated and tube phono stage: I love them! As a bonus, the amp helps to heat the room in the winter!!

Actually the heat output is probably more about how much (hugely inefficient) class A power is supplied rather than whether the amp is tube or solid state. Most solid state amps (excepting Krells etc.) are cooler because they only deliver a tiny amount of power in class A and the rest in more efficient (but higher distortion) modes.

As LarryK notes a big true class A amp delivers a ferocious amount of heat, even when idle. I built one as a student finding the heat sinks were actually more expensive than all the electronics put together so we ran with smallish heat sinks drilled for total loss water cooling courtesy of the sink tap and basin in my student room. Then I went on to valves ...

P.S. it was said that tube amps sound 'warm'. That is usually true but it doesn't have to be - you can have a tube amp as clear and analytical as any conventional amp but they usually aren't because (a) they usually just aren't well designed (b) providing really good full range transformers allowing full and even total range is ferociously expensive and (c) most customers actually expect and want that nice warm sound with the treble rolled off because that's 'how a tube amp should sound'. But it doesn't have to be that way.

There are real high end Class A audio amps (the $500K+ variety) with absolutely gorgeous heat sinks. Works of art. Super cool looking. But I don't know how well they work. I harbor the suspicion that many of them are not CFD modeled, but are just aesthetically designed to look super cool and edgy! 🤣

Yes, in true Class A amplifiers, the transistors never switch off, they actually produce more heat at idle than when playing music. because, at idle, they only produce heat and not sound, lol.

The beauty of Class A amplifiers is that there is no crossover distortion, which happens when transistors are turned off and on, because the transistors are never switched off. As a result, Class A amplifiers have a smoothness to the sound which I do not hear in Class AB amplifiers.

I'd post a picture of my monster amp but you'll just conclude that I'm crazy, haha. It is built kind of like a chimney, with huge heat sinks on the front and back of the chimney. I think the design makes a lot of sense because it saves on floor space and naturally funnels heat up. With 48 bipolar transistors, 24 per channel, it produces a lot of heat.

As for water cooled designs, I'd be afraid of a leak! I had a water cooled Mac computer at one point and was glad to get rid of it, although it never sprang a leak.

What brands/models are in the $500k range? Monoblocks? I didn't go that far, I bought a stereo amp. My amp was a true bargain and did not cost anywhere near $500k, more like less than 5% of that amount.

Ok, fine, here is a stock photo of my monster amp. It is 76cm/29inches high. The front and rear parts are the massive heatsinks I mentioned in a previous post.

Maybe a bit of both, probably with the emphasis on aesthetics. At the end of the day it doesn't matter too much if the heat sinks have to be a bit bigger than an optimal design. As long as they have enough surface area and airflow what they look like is probably a lot more important to the designer and customer than the cost of some extra aluminium and machining time.

In other news, Stereophile magazine measured Gryphon Audio Designs' new Ethos ($39,000) (https://www.stereophile.com/content/gryphon-ethos-cd-player-da-processor).

It's not any better (in measurements) than any other $100 CD player or DAC. In fact it's quite a bit worse than a good $100 dedicated DAC (like Topping D30).

It looks fancy though. And will definitely impress other audiophiles.

From Gryphon website: "The Gryphon Ethos remains faithful to the brand’s signature sound of great musical distinction, achieving a veritable musical alchemy with fast transient response and consistent tonal accuracy, regardless of the selected listening level. Perfect harmony alongside often contradictory parameters such as fluid handling of melody and rock-solid positioning in the stereo image is extremely rare, making the Gryphon Ethos an even more remarkable accomplishment, as manufacturers surrender to uninformed consumer pressure to deliver all-in-one “universal” audio and video disc playback."

Ha ha.

I didn’t buy their DAC or CD player, I bought their Class A amplifier and their previous generation Gryphon Cantata speakers. They’re better known for their Class A amps and speakers than they are for their CD players or DACs.

I have a relatively cheap old Accuphase DP-65V CD player which I do not use much anymore and a more expensive Aqua Formula DAC, a R2R ladder DAC which I bought used. I save a bundle by buying used components.

How in the world could a manufacturer make any profit on a $100 DAC? I hate the sound of Class D amplifiers, that I know. That Topping DAC seems to have a Class D amp.