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My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!

So I have been in a long journey looking to find the best amplifiers for my martin logan montis. As you know, the match between an amplifier and speakers has to be a good "marriage" and needs to be blend exquisitely. Right now, I think I might have found the best sounding amplifier for martin logan. I have gone through approximately 34-36 amplifiers in the past 12 months. Some of these are:

Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005

With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:

ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)

NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)

Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)

rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)

cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)

parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)

lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)

McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.

butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)

pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.

classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)

Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:



PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.

Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.

Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?

Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.

 It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.

Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.

Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.

Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.

Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.

Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.

My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.

That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!


128x128jays_audio_lab
viber6
2,452 posts
 

Jay,

Just watched your video--sensibly put.  Smart to go slowly and modestly at first.  Try a few cheap but excellent moving coil cartridges.  A few years ago, I was tempted by possibly the fastest one-the $7K Van den Hul Colibri (like the fast bird, colibri), but I was nervous about the exposed naked stylus.  If you want detail, the Rega Apheta 3 at about $2K, is a top choice.  Lyra is known for accuracy with some midrange sweetness, so you might consider their cheaper cartridges.  Read the latest S-phile review of the Luxman LMC-5 moving coil cartridge, which may offer what I think you like--clarity with some midrange sweetness, for $2695.  That would be my top recommendation for you.    

I bought a refurbished Denon 305 recently for $500 from Cartridge Retipping, 69 Ballard Drive, West Hartford, Conn 06119.  I forgot how I found this retipper guy, maybe eBay.  He has a large selection and turnover of all kinds of cartridges, and would be a great resource.   My 1982 Denon 305 until recently was the fastest clearest cartridge I ever owned, and on my Goldmund Studio TT + Alphason arm, beat the heck out of CD for speed and snap.  You probably would find it too ruthless for you, but I mention it to illustrate that analog can have any sonic trait you want.  Oz clearly likes euphonic components--tube electronics, Koetsu.  You will probably at first like the excursion into euphonic analog with his setup.  But later you will crave the digital precision you now have, although to make a fair comparison, physical analog should be compared with physical digital, using CD/SACD on a transport.  Just don't make any definitive conclusions about analog vs digital until you have tried a sampling of TT's, arms, cartridges.  Try a new Rega Planar 10 + arm + Apheta cartridge all set up and ready to go, for $7K.  That is high quality at a cheap price that enables you to learn a lot by swapping different modestly priced cartridges.  Some people, especially reviewers, have TT's with a few arms, to make comparison of cartridges easier.

Never spend big bucks on any cartridge.  High price is absolutely no guarantee of sound quality and whether you like that particular sound.  MOST IMPORTANTLY, all cartridges have a break in process that is more dramatic in extent than any other component you have had.  Worse, the lifespan for top sound quality is only about 1000 hours, although I got lucky with my Denon 305 which was superb for many thousands of hours.  Most of my other cartridges became dogs after fewer than 1000 hours.  Don't waste the lifespan of a cartridge when doing A/B tests of other components--that's why I used CD for such testing.  Use the cartridge to settle down and enjoy the music.

jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 

Whoa 😳!!!!!!

I'm loving this level of fire you all are showing with regards to turntables and records. I knew me bringing a turntable would be a good idea but i didn't expect to see you all so passionate about analog. This is freaking AWESOME and i TRULY THANK YOU ALL!

@daveyf 

Thanks for the info on how much more mportant is the turntable itself than the cartridge. I was actually fishing for this information but you made it easier for me 👊 

Look, don't get me wrong, you all know I'm crazy AS HELL and part of my craziness is what you all love about me (i hope?)

With that said, i wanted to buy like a next level cartridge (maybe 15k cartridge?) But i was warned by my close turntable gurus that cartridges are a dangerous investment IF AND ONLY IF i am simply looking to try a turntable to see how Iike it. 

I heard my turntable at Oz's home on his modest system and i was impressed at the immediacy and snappiness as well as clarity I heard through the Kronos (totally unexpected).

@keithr 

Interesting 🤔. I would have imagined that the set up was the harder part and not the record selection. This is what is very nerve wracking for me because most of the music that is being pitched to me happens to be older stuff which i am unfamiliar with but that is fine. I need to force my a$$ to listen to new music. I might have to borrow good vinyl (if that's even possible) and see what people deem as "special" and learn. 

@viber6 

This Lyra brand is being talked about all over the comments section of my last video. It seems to be a popular cartridge i suppose? There is quite a bit of buzz which is certainly going to make me look at it closer. 

I'm still not sure what I will be selecting because I agree with what someone said above that the cartridge also needs to have synergy with the system. 

 

@carey1110 

I agree with your statement above 👊

 

Ok, and now I get to the part that most of you guys and my YouTube channel have been asking about: what is the special 6 figure component I've been mentioning. I am going to review the edits made by the video editor today and if it all looks good, i will be releasing it tomorrow. I made some pretty strong statements which show passionate I am about this stuff (you gotta watch it). 

Thank you all above for the support and the collaboration. Can't do this without you guys- NONE OF IT. 

 

 

 

 

 

viber6
2,452 posts
 

Jay,

Passion is the lifeblood of analog devotees.  The spectrum of variation is much smaller for all levels of digital, but a much larger galaxy of variations and options is what fuels analog passion.  You don't have to be a tweaker like ricevs to have fun with analog.  Simply trying a few TT/arms/cartridges is plenty enough fun.  At one time I had 3 turntables in my room at once--Win Labs direct drive, Win belt drive, Goldmund Studio.  I transferred my arm/cartridge combo to each TT, adjusted the TT springs if needed, and listened.  Another time I did this with 2 turntables concurrently--Linn Valhalla, Goldmund.  Of course the volume levels were the same with the same cartridge.  This way I zeroed in on the sonic character of each TT.  Yes--daveyf is right about the importance of the TT.  But the real personality of the whole system is mostly about the cartridge.  Do your own testing with your Kronos, but also with the cheap Rega RP10, and various modestly priced cartridges to find out for yourself.  Regardless of various strongly held opinions based on others' experiences, it is YOUR experience that most matters to you.

This is a fun learning process you will want to do for your own benefit, but also to properly advise clients.  Right now, you have the experience to tell someone who complains about lack of bass that he shouldn't spend big bucks on wires, electronics, cable elevators, stands, daunting room treatments and construction, but he should first ditch the mini monitor speaker with its 4" midrange/bass driver and get a larger speaker.  If he has the Lyra Atlas SL cartridge and says the system is too sterile and he wants romantic sound, the first thing to tell him is get a Koetsu or Miyabi cartridge, or a much cheaper Hana cartridge.  A good analog diagnostician will know what different TT's do, what arms do, what cartridges do.  Then you can get fancy and try different tonearm interconnects, different screws for cartridges in the headshell.  Brass screws have a more mellow sound than steel screws.

You are a power guy and love to lift heavy weights and do work on cars which all require strength.  How are you with delicate cartridge mounting?  How quickly can you thread a needle?  You need good eyes and patient fine dexterity.  Top cartridge manufacturers employ tiny women with these skills.  Maybe your wife is best to help you with these tasks.  Maybe even your daughter.  

psnyder149's avatar
psnyder149
160 posts
 

I want to second a couple of Vibers suggestions.  I know this is late, but on the burnout issue I couldn’t agree more.  Whether its Classical, Jazz, Pop, country, world music or virtually any artistic music, diversity and just turning off the “audiophile mind” and enjoying the music will bring you right back to loving it!  Ron’s roon radio is another good choice.

Regarding cartridges, at Axpona, there were at least 5 rooms using the Hana Umami Red cartridge.  $4000.  Every one of those rooms sounded very good or better.  I have even heard it on a Kronos;  absolutely stunning!  So that would be my lightly informed opinion. 

Also, I suggest ignoring the posters who are really not trying to be constructive or supportive.  If your YouTube site or this thread isn’t their thing, they should just move on.  I happen to really enjoy living your journey vicariously.  Yes, sometimes I disagree but what sentient beings wouldn’t.  Keep up the great and fun work!

daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,877 posts
 

IME, the Kronos and its arm are a fairly easy match up to a number of good cartridges. The combo is one of the easier tables to dial in and also to match up synergistically with a number of cartridge options.

Jay may want to determine if he wants a more resolved sound, or a warmer and slightly less resolved sound first, as this will drive cartridge selection. With the beryllium tweeters in his speakers, ( as some of you know, I am not much of a fan of these) perhaps introducing a little warmth into the system may be good. OTOH,  I see that OZ did not hear brightness with the digital set up ( a good thing), however, this may not be the case if the cartridge leads to the analytical side of things..

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