Best amp for Salon 2

I’ve heard Revels with Parasound and ARC. Both where pretty good but also pretty laid back.

In your price range, Ayre, Luxman, D’Agostino, Pass and McIntosh are possible.  You should find a strong personal preference among them.

I own an Anthem MRX and I like it but I still use my Luxman for 2 Channel. I got to hear Mark Levinson a couple of years ago with Magico and ... meh.

Another brand you might want to listen to is Bryston. Haven’t heard them in forever.

Thanks. Also are monoblock always better than stereo all else being equal? The reason I ask is that Anthem has 400 watts / Channel at 8 ohms. It’s hard to find monoblock with similar power without making the budget 5-7 times.

Krell Solo 575 XD Mono-Block For Sale | Audiogon

Krell Duo 300 XD Stereo Power Amplifier; S... For Sale | Audiogon

I was going to pull the trigger on the 575XD mono blocks listed above. I recently owned 2 lower powered variants of that same new XD model so I know exactly what I would be buying. However, I thought it would take up too much space, so I bought CODA #16 instead. Which I also know well from owning the CODA #8.

I owned the Revel Salon 1 for a long time with Bryston 7B-SST. It was good and the bass was unreal. However, I know the KRELL XD or the CODA #8 or #16 would have been better. Especially so with the Salon 2 which has the BE tweeter.

The amps I listed are warmer than the Anthem you are considering or my old Bryston. The Anthem would not be my choice for a BE driver. Parasound A21+ is a good sonic match and cheaper but not as refined as the 2 I recommend.

zesto eros tube amplifiers would be amazing with them

also coda.8 a suberb 400 wat stereo amplifier with the provision to have the amp rebiased for more class A power in the future

Dave and Troy

audio intellect nj

zesto and coda dealers

Thank you all. These are some solid recommendations in this thread. I will wait for another day and then pull the trigger based on the recommendations. 

First congrats on a fantastic speaker. They are too great to be built today. But there are two issues. 1. They need power. I use a Storm 8-channel in bridged mode which can give them each about 800 W at eight ohm. More is better. There is no limit. 2. They need to be eq’ed to give a flat response in a normal room. Mostly the bass. I use Dirac and Roon eq. If not you will never understand how good they are…

Always heard more good clean power the better with them. High current, high watt, high damping factor is what I would be looking for. I’ve never heard a person recommend a tube amp with these speakers (if you listen loud at all) except AudioTroy above. Never know I guess.There are lots of stories of people with 250/300 watts saying it’s not optimal and I would tend to agree as they are really big and really not efficient compared to most big speaks. 
 

When I heard them they were on monster monos although I cannot recall what it was (maybe a big Bryston) and they were really good although a little dry. 

@ac24 

"Thank you all. These are some solid recommendations in this thread."

Correction: Numerous attempts to help you and one sleezy sales pitch by someone trying to make money off you.

I’ve not heard a two channel setup using Anthem- only 5.1:so I really can’t comment there. I would say if you’re preferring to go with solid state try to get an audition with Plinius as well- they are a very robust product.

Personally I would go with Audio Research but I’m a little biased as I use it.

@mofojo Agree I will stay clear of the tube amps for now. 

@tony1954 - Thanks.  

Thanks. Also are monoblock always better than stereo all else being equal?

Really depends on a lot of things.  Better channel separation and beefier power supplies are implied, but how hard are your speakers to drive??

The reason I ask is that Anthem has 400 watts / Channel at 8 ohms. It’s hard to find monoblock with similar power without making the budget 5-7 times.

I would focus a lot more on how difficult they are to drive. If these are minimum 4 Ohm speakers then a lot of stereo amplifiers at 100 W/Ch or more will be perfectly comfortable. If they double power into 4 Ohms vs. 8 it's a pretty sturdy amplifier.

@ac24 

No problem.

I just get so tired of the shameless greed. The best option is always a product that he happens sell. Very convenient isn't it.

@tony1954 agree  and Audiotroy is always chasing the sale and always has the best solution. 

@ac24,

Look at the McIntosh MC2301 amp. 😎

Mike

https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/amplifiers/MC2301

Sorry jerry we have a lot of great gear zesto t+a coda parasound electrocompaniet,krell and many others a 300 watt tube amplifier can easily drive salons

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect nj

@ac24 

25k is a nice budget. You should have many top quality amps to choose from. The Boulder 866 int is an amazing amp. 200 watts into 8ohms doubles to 400 watts at 4 ohms. Drives my 4 ohm speakers with ease. Good luck! 

From a practical standpoint, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to ask your dealer to package something for you.  This way you can audition in person and later if you want to upgrade, you both have fixed reference points. Plus, you will have the benefit of full dealer service. IMO, buying blind or on the recommendations of others is not a great way to do it. Up to you. 

Salon 2 owner for several years now, amps I tried and had in my my system were ,

Aragon Palladium II monoblock: deep bass but little dry on top end.

Krell KSA-250 class A complete rebuilt :deep bass overall very good sounding for what it is.

Plinius 301 stereo amp with Primaluna 400 preamp: quick bass but nothing special.

Bryston 7B ST monoblock: none to talk about.

PS Audio S700 monoblock: none there .

PS Audio BHK 300 monoblock block + matching PS Audio preamp: sweet on top but lacks of cracking deep tight bass the Salon 2 capable of.

McIntosh MC-601 monoblock: it’s just ok sounding,little dull.

McIntosh MC-462 +McIntosh C-2700: still doesn’t sound right.

McIntosh MC-611 monoblock +C -2700 preamp: common sense kicks in that McIntosh gear in my system with the Salon 2 just doesn’t sound right!

Symphonic Line Craft 300 40th Anniversary 300W  class A monoblock in one chassis pairing with Symphonic Line Preamp: finally I feel like I don’t need to change or chasing ,hunting for another amplifier any time soon. The SL Craft 300 gives me everything I was hoping for and it doesn’t run hot at all for been a class A (I keep my equipment on all the time)

my first experience with German gear and so far I really enjoy it, I bought the Symphonic Line BelCanto MK4 CD/DAC player to compete my system….so far so good.

im sure there are many other Amps out there better for the Salon 2 but for me this is it. I have to say that the Salon 2 speakers are extremely picky what you feed them with,tubes just don’t have enough juice to make them sing

Sorry for the long message but I thought I’d like to share it with you so you don’t have to go through what others have tried .
 

@chayro - Agree. There are some limitations on what the dealer can package but I am considering that option for the same reason you mentioned.

@monoblocknova - Thank you for sharing your experience. It helps quite a bit. My only concern with Symphonic line is their limited availability within United States. Did you buy in USA?   

@ac24 

Look at the ROGUE AUDIO APOLLO DARK

http://www.rogueaudio.com/Products_ApolloDark.htm

Circle Labs P300 preamplifer + M200 monoblocks are really nice and fit in your budget. They sound alive in a way that I find elusive in amps that make this sort of power. (600 watts/8 ohms!)

You could try a couple AHB2 in mono mode if you want to go for low distortion. 380 watts at 6 ohms. $6600 for both. I use one to drive a pair of F208s and am pleased with the sound.

I really liked them with the TOTL Mark Levinson, I didn’t like the price. The Anthem 400wpc stereo separates with pre is great and worth a try it’s an attractive piece too.

FWIW, I own Studio 2's. I am extremely pleased driving the speakers with a Pass Labs X250.8 amplifier. It's been quite the pairing here for the last 7 plus years. 

ML 532

McIntosh MC611 for me . Krell is also a good match. 

I own Studios, which I drive with McIntosh 611s. I formerly used a Krell 200c, and I find the 611s to be really good.

I have had very good success driving the Salon2 with the larger BAT Amps. 

Pretty sure Jeff Rowland uses Salons in their main system.

Ditto on what monoblocknova said. Been running my Salon 2s with Symphonic Line Kraft 250 monos and SL Erleuchtung tube preamp for over ten years and added the SL Belcanto CDP with optional DAC in 2015 -  and have seen zero need to change them.
 

Reach out to Symphonic Line importer Klaus Bunge of Odyssey Audio - he often knows about used gear that might be available in addition to the new stuff. 

Thank you everyone for excellent suggestions. It was a tough call for me. I finally ordered Syphonic Line 40th Anniversary edition a couple of weeks ago.
@p59teitel Thanks for confirming as well. 

You're welcome. And congratulations on your choice - I haven't heard the 40th Anniversary SL Kraft yet, but I'm told it is truly excellent.

No need of these kind of beasts nowadays. Old technology. But wish you a lot of fun with your Salons!

Audionet

The guy I sold my salon2’s to loved the mc601’s. I bought the newer mc611’s for my speakers and really like them, not just brute strength, but very good at resolving details and image placement. With the salon2 just bring 500watts to the party, per channel if you really want to hear what you paid for 

Had a Parasound JC5 with my Salon 2’s. Sound was great at low volumes but fell apart above 20-30db. Bought a Coda #16 and WOW I’m in HIFI heaven. Not sure why everyone says you need 500 watts. The Coda is only 150 watts (first 100 class A) and in my room (17 X 35 x 12) there is more than enough power to play at levels that exceed my listening pleasure with great authority.

The rep at revel recommended 500 watts in an email reply when I inquired to how much power they recommended for the salon 2. That's why i parrot it. 

The rep is echoing the designer's recommendation to optimally power the Salon 2.