Sim W-3, W5 vs Classe 201

Msnloeth: To make at statement such as you did that the levinson doesnt compare to the sim is a very ignorant statement. The Sim gear is good but its not in the same league as the Levinson and most of the audio community will agree. Yes the Sim is biult well. Yes the Sim has good bass. The rolled off top end and the tizz you get in the b&w tweeter from the sim is not musical. The Levinson is much more refined than the Sim and far from rolled of actually its very sweet sounding and the mids are like liquid and the bass is great. I wonder if you know the diffrence between highend audio and ENTRY level high end. I didnt post this to disrespect anyone or to knock a good product but statements like that are just so far from true that it upsets me. GOONE you listen and make the choice its a no brainer when you have them both together. Sometime the tweeter on top of the b&ws can be a tiny tiny bit brite in the syblince( which is the s in a word that the artist is singing) and thats why you should never put equipment that is even a little brite with them. B&Ws are great speakers. Feed them with good power. good luck

Lev335..The Sim Audio W-5 is rated class A and if it upsets you that I prefer it over your brand then I guess you just better grow up and get over it. Its too bad people like you are so insecure that they use forums like this to get others to agree with their (sometimes questionable)buying decisions. I believe Goone30's origional post had to do with Sim Audio vs. Classe equipment. What does that have to do with you owning Levinson equipment? Tell it to some one who cares.
MSNLoeth

Settle down guys, it's just a hobby. No one else's opinion about your gear should matter. You pay your money, you takes your choices. Goone, I would listen to the Classe CA-201 if you can. You talk about the bass being a little soft on the 151, this is the main complaint I've heard about the Classe amps. I own the CA-200, and have heard the 300 and 400. I can tell you that the more power you get from Classe, the better the bass gets. The CA-400 has bass about as deep and tight as I've heard ( I wish I could afford it.) I can't say I've listened to the lower powered amps ( 200 wpc is my minimum ) but I would think the line would continue in the same direction. So don't judge the 201 by the 151, the family signature should be prtty much the same, but I would think the bass to be more authoritative in the 200. I hope this was helpful, try not to think too much, I know it can make your head hurt.

Goone as I stated you really need to listen for yourself. And let your ears decide. Its all great gear and I like to also give other suggestions about gear I really enjoy.Such as the Levinson. That doesnt mean that the levinson is the only great gear in the world there are many. And as for people such as MSNLOETH dont even take what he says into play and the reason for that is because he SEEMS like the type that will knock every brand of audio gear if he doesnt own it. For him to say that the Levinson does not compare to the Sim Audio w-5 is one of the most ignorant statements of the year. And not one of a true audiophile just one who likes equipment for what people think and not what he hears.As I have said Sim is good gear rolled off in the highs and I dont think the tonal accuracy is on the money. But still a good amp It just requires careful equipment matching. I dont like the fact that the resale value is so low I have seen the w-5 selling for less than half of the list price. Maybe because there is only 14 dealers in the entire world for them? I am not sure what it could be. The classe has a more natural presentation and I agree with jmcgrogan2 in his post. So remeber if someone who CLAIMS to now about audio doesnt even acknowledge another great peice of equipment and only praises what they have then disregard their advice. If it is between the sim or the classe then I will say go for the classe. I only recommended the levinson because I have had many years of hands on exsperience with their products. But there is many great brands so Iam sure you will find a winner no matter what you buy. Good Luck and best wishes. P.S.: just because stereophile rates something in class A of their reccomended componets doesnt mean you will feel as they did when you listen to it. So MSNLOETH feels that because the sim is in class A it makes it better than other things that may or may not be in stereophile. Dont make the same mistake take those reviews as insight only and you do the actual reviewing from your home. Your findings with a product will have the most influence in your purchase. Good Luck

OK, guys I really appreciate any suggestion and I agreed certain gears need to be set-up correctly to take the full advantage of the system. Here today I spend almost 5 hours at 2 different store listen to Conrad Johnson MFM 2500, Krell 300i with the 804 and none of them I like conrad is just too warm but the MF and HF is very good but the bass is kind of flat. Krell on the other hand is wonderful on bass tight and deep but it is way too bright for my taste especially on the nautilus tweeter. Then I went to another store listen to Classe 201, Proceed HPA 2, and then the big one Mark Levison 335 on the Thiel 2.3 or something did not remember exactly the model number. The classe is just wonderful and sweet on the midrange and hi treble it just so smooth and I would say romantic bass is just OK. Proceed on the other hand is more detail little brighter and more slam on the bottom then Classe need to go with the tube pre-amp like audio control LS-15. And then just for curiousity I tested out the ML 335 and boy oh boy I was amazed the sound that came out of that speaker it just did everything right MH, HF, low bass, high bass everything thing was done correct never sound any bright or harsh at all and especially when we turned off the light listen to Frank Sinatra me and my nephew thought Frank was standing right there singing to us (Wow that is a scary thoughts). Well then again its cost more than double the other three amps it has to sound good. And going back to the Simm I think it also is very special on the bass its produces some serious deep and so TIGHT but like Levinson335 said its is kind a roll off the high compared to the overpriced Krell it is much much better I think. So I guess I have to audioned the Classe myself at home with my current set-up and tried it out but thanks again for a lot of good info.
Levison 335 I think the Lev is just out of my budget at this moment right now.