Our ICEBlock M5001 tube hybrid monoblock amplifiers have been called clean, muscular, and musical.

Danny Richie of GR Research commented on his Audiocircle:

"I just have to say that I was really surprised by these. (The Virtue M5001s hybrid amps) had a really smooth sound to them and a nice vocal region. They were not too in your face or anything. They weren't overly lush or rolled off either. Just a nice tonal balance with a ton of drive and really big balls. I hate the noise of switching power supplies and I almost always pick up on that stuff right away. Then after some extended listening time it makes me feel beat up. Funny thing though. These Virtue monoblocks were nearly dead quiet, even on the 97db sensitivity speakers. No noise! No switching noise. No fatigue. Nothing..... hmmmmm. They were a pleasure to listen to."

How did we do it?

We started with the ASP-500 ICEpower® module from Bang & Olufsen and then called in the expert, the cleaner, the tube guru himself: Gary Dodd. Gary's tube buffers are acclaimed for their low-noise and incredibly lush presentation. We asked him to optimize and squeeze his proprietary unit into our ICEpower® amp, and boy did he deliver.

The result? Beast meets beauty. Power meets grace. The 7 foot swimmer. The indefatigable power and the killer low end of ICEpower® coupled with the rich midrange of tubes. Input impedence: 100k ohms. Each monoblock outputs 500 watts into 4 ohms, 250 watts into 8 ohms - but still dead-quiet, without hum, buzz or anything but the music signal.

These amps are fully loaded. They feature T-Copper RCA jacks (center pins), T-Copper Propeller Posts, custom gold-plated XLR jacks, Sonicaps, and cryo-treated Auric hookup wire on the speaker outputs. Also, they are hand-assembled and tested in the USA. ICEpower® amps take around 100 hours to break in.

If the color or finish of top you want is not listed, we can probably custom make it for you. Our master craftsman, Jeff Keyes, can make tops from plexiglass (clear or black) and many exotic veneers such as mahogany, ebony, mappa burl, cedar, poplar, hickory, anigre, lacewood, walnut and oak. Prices are reasonable. Email us at listening@virtueaudio.com for special requirements.

Dimensions/unit: H 3.8" x W 10.6" (no columns)/11.2" (with columns) x D 9.2". Weight around 18 lbs each.

Every unit is assembled to order. Since every "Melissa" unit is built for you™, a restocking fee of $50 applies to all returns.

You can buy a battery power capable version of Gary's tube buffer at Dodd Audio.