ICE Amps for classical music?

Guido,
If you want uncompressed and excellent performance of Dvorak 9th - then get Esoteric SACD with Kertesz conducting Vienna Philarmonic. Phenomenal recording and ....performance!

Weseixas: "How about these ICE amp" - you can ask Mapman who uses his ICE based Bel Canto to experience sharp peaks "even at lower levels". I can only imagine the SPL pressure when he playes at medium levels !

Dob - If you refer to my comment about "fraction of time" - it wasn't about that. It was about whole musical pieces containing peaks vs. rest of the music.

I've never said that it is not worth to invest in truthful reproduction of peaks but rather that money can be invested better in the system (timbre, microdynamics, imaging etc.) unless you listen to this type (orchestral classical?) of music often. If you listen for instance to Indian Classical music you won't find any strong peaks or desire to listen loud.

You wrote: "So, unless you in flute music or country music or pop and wish to avoid listener fatigue - you better pay more attention to peaks"

That is great simplification because most of music and instruments don't contain strong peaks. I would add to mentioned flute hundreds of other instruments (vocal, guitar, lute, violin, cello, charpsichord, all woodwinds etc.) and few centuries of music as well as many genres including Jazz, Blues, Folk, Latin, Reggae, World etc.
(I just listen to Cecilia's Bartolli "Opera Prohibita" and cannot really find any strong peaks - still beautiful music)

From Dob, contributed to Simon Thatcher: "We believe that when our subconscious mind detects a even small unnatural trace of distortion in reproduced acoustic music (which is not recognized yet as a very low level irritant by the analytical part of our brain) it activates a subtle alarm."

I play my music after it's kind. I like playing piano at realistic levels, keeping in mind the fact one has to pay mind to where the microphone is during the recording.

With a real clean CD, I use higher levels again. I have some really lovely sounding CDs. Orchestral recordings require a substantially high volume setting to get the most satisfaction out of the rolling peaks. On this system there is not a hint of any distortion at any level.

Thank you so much Rafael, I will look for the Kertesz performance. G.

When it comes to peaks in classical orchestral music, the term peak is actually a misnomer. Classical music has sustained passages of high complexity which can be particularly heavy in the lower frequencies. This can place an incredible demand on power requirements for a sustained period of time. I have much music that has 'crescendos' that last minutes, not seconds. With insufficient power, those protacted moments when the entire orchestra is playing together at full-tilt can sound strained and muddy. High power is a requirement here, although power by itself does not guarantee excellent reproduction and musicality.

My speakers are not inefficient at 90 db into 4 ohms. However, I am readily drawing 500+ watts of power when listening to the final movement of Mahler #6 at a spirited volume. This movement is huge with prominent double-basses, cellos, and brass, all playing together. With that amount of power, it remains sweet and clear, with no collapse of the stage and no strain.