Plinius or Mark Levinson for Grand Pianos?

try an active preamp with the arc piece, you may find you have enough power.

You may want to consider using two Plinius SA-102s in mono. They actually sound very nice in "bridged" mode and would have plenty of power.

Thanks for all your replies. Initially was considering the Bryston 4B-ST but decided to get something more exotic after all. Strongly considering the Plinius SA-100MKIII now and hopefully it's a better amp the ARC D130 overall. The ARC was decent sounding but it didn't play music with emotion as if some sparkle was missing. The dynamics wasn't there and detail retrieval wasn't that convincing. I've read mostly good reviews about the Plinius and they looked pretty nice so I thought I might just take the plunge. Hopefully they will be more powerful than the ARC as some of my mates told me so. Heard that ML sounded typically dark, smooth but uninvolving(I don't like that but some folks do) so have disregarded them.

Circumstances do not allow me to listen to the amp before I buy. Any SA-100MKIII previous or current owners who have heard them side by side with the ARC D130?

2 units of SA-102 would be way above my budget!

Thanks in advance.

I have heard the ARC often in that they are built and pushed heavly in Minnesota. I do not like them! I own two Plinius SA-102's and ownd the 100's before that. You will be very happy with the upgrade. If you find you need (want) more power you might find a second one later at a good price. Rather than bridged mono blocks I bi-amp in stereo. One amp drives the bass and the other the mid-upper. I started with just one amp and was very happy, but when a friend brought by a second to try...

If you have a chance to audition an Edge M8 do so. It is 175 wpc x 2 and is a wonderful sounding amp. Smooth, detailed amd dynamic. They do come up used on Audiogon for $2500 - $3000 and are worth a look. I personally have an M8 and love it driving Energy Veritas 2.8's.