2. amps-preamps
  3. 1194818306

Amplifier advice for Wilson Sophia speakers

I'm looking for a Pre-Amp. & Amp. for my Wilson Sophias. My room is 20'x26', with good (flat) acoustics. I listen to Acoustic Rock, Jazz, R&B and Blues Rock, live recordings whenever possible. I'm considering the following:

A) ARC LS16 MKII & ARC VT100 MKIII
B) VTL 5.5 & ST150
C) Pass Labs X2.5 & X250
D) BAT VK-300xSE

I listen at fairly loud/realistic levels, so I need to make sure that the system is moderately powerful.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...Thanks!
lihifi
dob
577 posts
 
My friend has Watt/Puppy and he bought recentlu Spectron Musician III SE and it is te killer combination. Preamp - any high quality tube preamp will work fine with Spectron.
All The Best
Rafael
mert's avatar
mert
132 posts
 
pass labs x250.5 is right choice, however, preamplifier must be boulder 810/1010. In other words, check my system, picture will tell you what to do. Good luck.
spatine
84 posts
 
Why the combination of a Pass Labs amp and a Boulder preamp? Since you know about Boulder preamp, what do think of Boulder amp? What do you hear differently between a Boulder design for amplifier versus that of a Pass Labs or an Ayre? I am more interested in amplifiers for a Watt Puppy, but Sophia sounds sufficiently similar.
mert's avatar
mert
132 posts
 
Because this combination gave me the best result. I would buy Boulder 1010 pre or 2010 pre but not any Boulder power amplifier. Same rule applies to Pass Labs. Nelson Pass makes power amplifier best but not preamplifiers.(as far as I know he doesn't design pre amplifiers) As long as Boulder amps concerned , only 1000 and 2000 series may drive any load below 8 ohm, 800 series will not double their output when load is below 8 ohm. On the other hand Pass Labs .5 series double their output when load drops to 4 ohm. That is very important if you deal a speaker, 4 ohm, 89 db. Wilson Sophia 2. Btw, Boulder power amps has a such a characteristic sound neither solidstate nor tube. They are built for Class AB operation. I prefer heavily biased class AB or A amplifiers. Pass is good according to my taste but not boulder.
mcrheist
130 posts
 
I listen at fairly loud levels as well but also like to have great sonics at low levels for quiet listening nights after working too hard. :-) So I asked one of the audiogon pros for their advice...

Albert Porter guided me to VTL MB450s. These were an excellent choice for my room and preamp (a new Audio Research LS26) and Purist Audio Cabling. Sources include Ayre CX7e, Linn LP12 (all current updates through end of 2006).

FYI: I purchased a new pair of Wilson Audio Sophia Series 2 speakers in Oct 2006.

Happy Listening!
More to discover