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Looking for ideas - new mono blocks for stereo music

Hello!

I am on a bit of a mission to upgrade my equipment and just recently purchased the Esoteric K-01X SACD player.
In my case, the primary focus for critical listening is stereo music (aka red book CD) from the Esoteric.
My current chain is from the Esoteric through the Marantz 8802A into the Bryston 7B-SST2 powering a pair of JBL 1400 Array speakers.
I am very happy with the JBLs and just upgraded to the K-01X (had the X-03SE before).

Right now I would like to hear some suggestions for new mono blocks. I am already planning on adding the Esoteric C-03X(s) to the system to replace the Marantz as (stereo) pre-amp.

The primary focus is detail and resolution as I really love hearing new aspects of CDs that previous equipment couldn't reveal.
Soundstage and instrument placement are also high on the list. Bass slam / impact is not really a priority since I am stuck in an apartment for the time being.
Another factor is heat - I am looking for an amp, not a space heater. Especially considering the already hot summers in Toronto!
The price ceiling for me is somewhere around $20,000/pair

My current short list consists of:
Grandinote
Pass Labs
Simaudio
Mark Levinson

Now it's time for the brainpool (that's you guys!) to have at it :)

Thanks in advance!
128x128eohtar
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eohtar's avatar
eohtar OP
16 posts
 
Thanks again for all the feedback, suggestions, and good advice.

After reading the responses numerous times and doing additional research on most of the amps online, I've narrowed it down to these models:

Amps I can demo easily in Toronto:
Pass Labs X260.8 - around 13K USD
Bryston 7B-SST3 - around 11.5K USD
Classe CT-M600 - around $13K USD
Moon Simaudio 400M - around $6.5K USD but they seem more like a lateral move

Others that sound (no pun intended) interesting but will be a lot harder to get a hold of in Canada:
Parasound Halo JC1 - around 6K USD
Liberty B2B-100 - around 6K USD

That being said, let me add a few more details that make this harder (for me anyway).
Class A and tubes are out of the question. My apartment is in an old building and without central ac it's already warm enough as it is.
That's also the reason I don't leave my amps powered up when not in use.
It's definitely going to be mono blocks again. While the current length of the XLR cables is 4m (that's the answer for @elizabeth ) and the speaker cables are 3m, it's always nice to have flexibility in terms of placement in the future.

Time to line up some listening session after the long weekend.

One more thing I didn't mention explicitly but it might have some bearing on the recommendation is that the JBL 1400 Array are horn loaded speakers with compression drivers.
So maybe taming them a bit with a slightly warmer amp is not the worst idea.

This has been a wonderful thread so far and given me some great ideas. Including some thoughts on upgrading the wires on my current amps.
soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
I would consider purchasing a pair of Zesto Audio EROS 300 mono blocks. Then I would consider purchasing a Bricasti M1 SE DAC. Then I would run the Bricasti directly into the Zesto amps using balanced interconnects. Be sure you order the Bricasti with the player built in so you can stream. 
caphill
674 posts
 
@eohtar 

If you're after warmer sounding SS amps in order to tame your tweeters on your JBL I would get the McIntosh MC601 monoblock amps (recently discontinued) or their replacement MC611 monoblock amps. 

Again all the amps that you listed above are great but it's a matter of sonic synergy with your speakers and the rest of your setup gears, cables, etc, etc....
It's all about system synergy as a whole. 
The perfect synergy and best pairings of all your equipments will achieve excellent results. 
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