T+A Class D Amps ( M200 or A200)?

@soix, thanks for that advice. Both AGD and Tempo have escaped my radar. I would be happy to spend less!

To answer your question, the Characteristics I’d like are, very generally, to keep the neutrality of the M33 but if possible add a touch more oomph (for lack of a better descriptor), even though the M33 is 200 watts per channel at 8 ohms, there is something about the 6 ohm & 88dbs sensitivity Epicons that makes me feel like they could use some more power and I am purely guessing  that the higher voltage T+A s might create a bit more crispness across all frequencies, without moving into harshness or sterility. 

taking the NAD C399 that currently runs the Revels and using it just as a pre-amp/streamer/DAC (which it is pretty well suited to, despite lacking balanced outputs) and for a pair of T+A M200 mono blocks for the Epicons.

I didn’t read your post closely enough before I responded — my bad.  You do not want to pair the C399 in any way to a good amp as it’s a total mismatch from a performance perspective and will be a huge bottleneck.  

Thanks, @soix.

I had my concerns about that, but figured i might try it initially while i search for an alternative. I am also wrong about the nominal impedance of the Epicon 6s; it is 5 ohms not 6; even more of a concern about power/voltage.

You’ve got nice speakers and sounds like the M33 isn’t really doing it for you.  Reading between the lines it sounds like you’re feeling like the sound is a little anemic/thin sounding, lacks some life/emotion and could use more heft, weight, tonal density/color but you don’t want to sacrifice the detail in the treble while avoiding harshness/brightness.  Does that sound close to what you’re looking for?

@soix, thank you for trying to put your intuition and experience to work translating my inarticulate resort to “oomph” as being what I am missing.  I think though, I’m not as negative on the M33 as you suspect. I don’t think of the sound currently as anemic or thin, but it could be described as a touch too polite. So that is in line with your lacking ‘life/emotion” and “heft” concepts. Tonal density and color seem very good to me and I would say overall I am about 90% happy with the sound the speakers make. It is just a touch of crispness and maybe even authority lacking on the bass (say when a drum kick happens) and similarly on high treble like when a triangle is struck in a passage (flutes however sound great). (The M33 is also driving a REL T9/x sub.). Violins, Cellos and trumpets & sax all sound great; resonant and controlled. (Clarinet & piano sound especially good: clear, natural. Very much a “you are there” sort of experience. I certainly don’t want, you are right, harness or over brightness or any thing that could be described as “aggressive”.

I started down this path not because i am all that unhappy with the Epicon 6/M33 combo, but because I feel that the 226Bes deserve a fuller sound than the C399 is giving them. (Here one gets closer to missing life/emotion, while still not being anemic.)

The C399 has the same DAC and streamer technology that the M33 has, but an inferior (while still perfectly solid mid-Fi) amplifier.  I have often heard of the M33 referred to as mid-Fi, and maybe it is — the upper end of mid-FI perhaps? — but the C399 amp is more so. I think the M33’s coloring (mild as it is) and polish and its better bass control and clearer, more shimmery high frequencies would improve how the 226Bes sound. (Fortunately, at least the C399 does not bring out any shrillness or over assertiveness in those Beryllium tweeters.) The 226Bes are easier to drive than the Epicons:  8 ohms nominal impedance and 90 dB sensitivity (at 2.83 volts at 1meter); so, that also made me think that the M33 might shine more with them.

And all of that is what lead me to thinking about the T+A M200s — same very good amp technology as the M33, but with some the fancier, better high voltage input stage and proprietary power supply. (And just the potential benefit that separation of the amps into 2 mono blocks offers.) And same watts per channel.

Hope that helps some.