Best Bass Amp!


I’m in the process of rebuilding my pair of Kinergetics SW-900 linesource subwoofers that have six 10” drivers per side. I need input on choosing the best sounding(5hz-80hz), most powerful, hardest hitting & most important cool running(most likely Class-D)monoblock bass amplifiers. I prefer ‘always on’ or ‘auto turn on’ if possible. No built-in crossover needed since I’ll be using my Pre/Pro for that. They will be used for music(40%) & home theater(60%) to mate up to my Apogee Studio Grand & Dali Megaline speakers.

I want to stay under $2500 price new/used for the pair if possible.

My choices so far are:

Bel Canto Ref-1000

Wyred 4 Sound SX-1000

PS Audio M-700

Emerald Physics 200.2SE(in mono)

I have a Coda Continuum No. 8 Stereo Class-A amplifier I will be comparing to hear the difference with the digital amps listed above.

FYI- I’ll be replacing the stock Vifa woofers in the SW-900 with Dayton Audio Reference 10” woofers(model #RSS265HF-8).

Please help me select the best from the list above or add any other amps you can think of that would be better.

Thank you!


ptheo
peter-s,

How was my response rude?
This is a forum meant to discuss audio and ht issues in an effort to help members optimize their system’s performance. The accumulated knowledge and experience of Audiogon members is substantial and is willingly shared with others that require assistance.
I happen to have significant knowledge and experience gained in my many years of attempting to attain very good bass performance in my system, in my 23’x16’x8’ room that integrates seamlessly with my large Magnepan panels that only have useful deep bass down to about 35 Hz. I’m thrilled to have discovered a bass concept that provides sota bass in my system and room for both 2-ch music and ht. It’s called a distributed bass array (DBA) system which I’ve previously described.
When I read ptheo’s initial post stating he was searching for a pair of good sub amps he only mentioned that he used 2 high quality pairs of speakers. Apogee Studio Grands and Dali Megalines. He made no mention until subsequent posts that he intended to use a pair of large SW-900 tower subs with his very good main speakers.
I mistakenly thought, based on the quality of his two pairs of main speakers, that he’d be interested in a DBA bass system that would allow excellent bass response to the known excellent mid/treble response of both of his main speakers.
My intention was to assist ptheo by going beyond just offering suggestions of good bass amps and offering a bass solution in the DBA that I thought he wasn’t aware of and that I knew would integrate sota bass response seamlessly with either pair of his very good main speakers.
Unfortunately, I was surprised and disappointed to learn from ptheo’s subsequent posts that he clearly preferred increased bass volume and quantity to bass quality.
My perspective is I simply stated this without any intention or evidence of rudeness.
If you or ptheo perceived my previous post as rude, then I apologize and assure you that wasn’t my intent.

Tim
Here is a better example of rudeness on Audiogon. Peter S. purchased a pair of speakers from me on here that were rated a 6 due to some face checking and a good sized nick on one of the cabinets. In my ad I stated I was rating them 6/10 for cosmetic issue and heavily discounted the price accordingly.

When he recieved them he contacted me and demanded I refund him an additional $120. Being a new seller on here at the time I thought perhaps maybe I had understated the cosmetic issues so I immediately refunded him $120 and all was good until...

A week or two later Peter re-listed the speakers using the exact verbiage I used to describe the speakers he literally copied and pasted my entire ad! Not only did he copy and paste my ad, he used MY photos in his listing and he rated them a 6/10 as I had done plus his asking price was the same as mine!

To be fair he did change one or two words in his ad description but did not go into detail as he claimed. The best part was when I discovered his ad I contacted him expressing my outrage, he then offered the profit to me!!

Then he tried to sell me some song and dance about how he was a much more experienced member here and that his behavior should not be questioned.

Feeling frustrated I started a thread about it on here but I did not mention his name, Peter then contacted me and told me to take down the thread, I of course refused so he had it removed. When I contacted the moderators they told me the reason for the removal was because the nature of the thread was not audio related. Total BS because even now there are threads about cars and climate change on here.

In the end I left him negative feedback which he tried to dispute but when I contacted the admin and showed them the two ad’s and explained what he had done along with my communications with him the feedback stuck.

So hows that for rudeness? Fyi I have copies of both ads and my communications with him, its a fun read!




@chrshanl37 
You should have taken the money.  Sounds like you got screwed.  It's one thing to refund, which was very noble by you.  But then the quick sale and he makes the money you refunded him. That is shady. I would be upset like you.
Nah 120 isnt a life changing sum, taught me a valuable lesson. Just wanted to point out the hypocrisy.

Noble100, You would be incorrect to assume that I prefer bass quantity over bass quality because I’m using LSVA vs DSA. Quite the contrary, musical accuracy is my main objective(that is why I love my Apogee Studio Grands)otherwise they are plenty of powered boom boxes I would have selected instead. I also stated Noble100 because of my room layout I cannot put subs on every wall in the room for DSA but you choose to ignore that.  Since I also will be using my system for home theater 60% of the time I want the extra capability low distortion woofers when needs for dinosaur stomps. I will be utilizing Dspeaker anti mode 2.0 different EQ curve music/home theater selection for that purpose. Curious, won’t I get much lower distortion at 20hz 115db with LSVA twelve 10” woofers vs DSA four 10” woofers?!

 

flat4, thanks for the info. Yes, I will post the pics as soon as completed. Unfortunately, the last owner painted them black over the walnut veneer on the SW900’s in which I’m in the process of stripping & refinishing them. Also due to the new larger woofers I need to enlarge the woofer cutouts. Man I can’t wait until they are done & hooked up!