Melos 200 Watt * Tube Power Amplifier * 65lb *

So, this is a curious beast.... with a big emphasis on the beast part. Those with as much gray hair as I have now, might well remember that Melos had a run for a hot minute through the early/mid 90s as a tube amplification challenger who, for at least awhile there, was more successful (both critically and in sales) than all but ARC & CJ. Then and now, the formula for competing against those two 800lb gorillas in that space hasn't much changed. Invariably it involves some combination of devising a more clever mousetrap and/or a general value proposition of simply trying to offer more for less. And then as now, many have tried and failed because, for one reason or another, that doesn't usually prove to be a very sustainable business model. But.... BUT.... some of those mousetraps are unusually innovative indeed. There's way more going on with the Melos here than maybe initially meets the eye, and that might be especially compelling in some applications....

WHY THE MELOS 200 STEREO TRIODE?
In a nutshell.... 200 watts per channel of sheer triode-connected tube horsepower, without needing to take out a 2nd mortgage, courtesy of some really creative topology and component decisions. Note: I'll pause here briefly and state that I've seen where some have challenged that the amp can't possibly have that kind of output. I'm just the guy in the room, telling you how it is. I've benched it and not only does it more than comfortably belt that out, some earlier variants were actually rated at 280W and that was later dialed back to help improve thermal dissipation. You might ask then, how can that be? Is the Melos powered by a Stark Industries Arc reactor? No.... but this is where the clever part comes in. The amp is actually a hybrid. But not a hybrid in the conventional sense like you and me have come to expect. It's not a tube front-end driving a solid state output stage. The signal path gain stages are all triode tube based, from input to output. However the input 12AX7 is direct coupled to a unity gain MOSFET cathode follower which in turn is coupled to a 12AT7 that feeds a high voltage phase inverter which also has a unity gain
MOSFET follower as the driver for the output tubes. So, tube-like MOSFETS as source followers, sandwiched between tube gain stages before and after! And having that high-current, low impedance source is the secret sauce in then screen driving the triode connected pair of 6KG6A (EL509/EL519) tubes per channel to their full output capability. Finally, in an equally unusual wrinkle, the Melos also utilizes TOROIDAL type output transformers! The sum of all that is a hybrid that doesn't identifiably sound like one at all. I've owned a bunch of them, including the big Counterpoints (SA20/SA220) that benefit from tube rectification in addition to tube inputs/drivers, as well as the Classic 60 that's probably the most similar topologically, with a hybrid front end plus a quad of 6550s at the output, and the Melos is simply different (though I'll confess I am really curious how the Classic 150 would compare). For lack of a better word, the Melos breathes in that way that only big tube amps really can. It sounds in every way like an all tube amplifier.... swaggering and vivid, but also with well above average drive and grip and extension on the bottom end, at least as tubes go. Dollar for dollar I can't imagine a better suited, more wildly capable choice for Maggies or older Watkins based full range Infinities. It's a match straight from Hollywood casting. Go ahead and compare to even what you get in a Chi-Fi amp for this price. If you know a more outright powerful, better performing tube amp for less, you should buy it.... : )