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Who is the KING of MONOS?

WHO IS THE KING OF MONOS???

Mcintosh 501:
Big. Heavy. Reliable. Built like a tank. Smooth and pleasing. This chuck of metal will flow liquid sound at you all day and not even get warm. It is Fun to listen to and fun to look at. Arguably the best looking amp of them all. Some accuse it of being too laid back. Others would consider selling an appendage to obtain a pair.

Krell Evolution 600e.
Pretty. Maybe not Mac pretty but still pretty. Unlike lesser Krells it is smooth and articulate. Possibly possesses the best bass of any amplifier anywhere. Expensive. If it can be the King it should be expensive.

Cary SA 500.1
Probably has one of the best reviews ever written. Cary is said to be a perfect middle ground between Krell and Levinson. Not too laid back. Not too harsh or dry. Just perfectly nestled in the middle. Not big or heavy. A little plain to look at. Middle of group price tag. A few complaints floating around about reliability. A few complaints that Cary is cheaply made. Is it worthy of a King’s Crown? 10 Audio thinks so………

Levinson N 53.
It is pleasing to the eye. It has lots of clout. It has cost no object claims. It costs a lot of big American Dollars. It has a non typical switching power supply. Levinson is sometimes accused of being too warm. Is this the case the N53? The company has encountered a lot of turmoil in the recent past. Can it overcome the negatives and beat the rest? Will the new D technology be its demise?

Classe CA-M600.
Aesthetically pleasing but doesn’t match anything else. Another smooth operator. This amp has also been accused of being too laid back and polite. Sometimes polite is a good thing. Can it be the polite King of Monos?

Pass Labs XA600.5
Can anything negative be said for this beast. Another block of beauty that has a glowing meter. A little magic and a little hocus pocus maybe. I can see the others getting a little nervous with the Pass in the mix. If only the company would answer the phone and tell me who the dealers are. I hope the product is better than their customer communications.

Wyred4Sound SX-1000
Can it even fit in with names like this? According to the reviews and the manufacturer it can. Its Class D. Its Light. It looks good. According to a lot of people it does things Class A / AB cant. It is by far the cheapest or cost effective of the group. Can this economical wonder compete or beat any of these brutes? Will it wimper and run away with its tail between its legs? We shall see.

Let us discuss who the King should be. Let us discuss who it shouldn’t be. Who cares about price. This is a Royal group. Who is the best of the best? No one wants to hear “They all sound the same.” Don’t waste our time. These boxes have magic inside. Who has the most? Which one should we all be dreaming of when go sleepy at night?. Who is the King Of Monos?
128x128paimei
roysen
68 posts
 
Sorry for my bad English. I am not an English natural. That does not stop me from coming with s hesrtfelt plea. Don't kill enthusiasm from fellow audiophiles by comments like dumb/stupid about someones question or opinion.

We are not all the same and in order to not kill off this hobby which is getting smaller in numbers every day, please be more including than shown here no matter how much you feel your image will grow if you can stamp someone elses opinion or post as unintelligent.

Thanks
everest_audio
285 posts
 
My issue is not about discussing high performance pieces at all, but the way some people get into the whole idea of something being the "best". I see too many people making bad choices because they are choosing components that they've heard are the best at a particular price and don't have the knowledge to understand what might work with their other components, their room, their listening preferences, etc. Threads like this can be beneficial at times, but they also can be damaging too. More than anything, I'm really just taking issue with the wording "King of Monos". This doesn't really serve a purpose IMHO. However, I'm sure the original poster used this primarily to try and get more attention to the thread.

However, without any system context, I'll then nominate the Chapter Audio Couplet 500M mono amp being the King of Monos. Yes, I sell them, so that will be my preference. But, does that really help anyone? Not trying to be negative, but the list of potential "Kings" could be endless, but really should be none. There are lots of great amps mentioned, but none are "King" or "Best".
roysen
68 posts
 
I am sure the wording "King og minos" was chosen partly to provlke attention in order to get respones and by that to get more opinions and a wider discussion with more opinions about more products to get more information for the search for threadstarters personal king of monos for his own context.

So why not contribute your own experiences rather than unconstructive negativity.
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
I'll make it simple ... any mono can be KING of mono in the RIGHT system. Same for preamps, speakers ... so this thread is useless.
jeffreybowman2k
216 posts
 
GREEN!
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