$4000 to spend on a SS power amp - help me choose


Audiomeca Mephisto II CD Player
Emotive Audio Sira preamp
VMPS Super Tower R / SRE (ribbon tweets; ribbon mid panel)
Acoustic Zen cables everywhere

I own a Graaf GM 200 OTL as my first amp; the SS will be
a back-up or possibly drive the bass in a bi-amp situation w/
the Graaf & a VMPS active crossover.
sjhall
I went from Mcormack dna dlx to tubes and finily went to gamut d200 mk3 = the best I ever heard.
The Ayre V5x sounds as much like tubes without tube colorations as you will get. Extremely smooth and holographic. The Belles 350a or 150a reference amps are a logical choice also. I hate to say this but the JC1 is behind these amps sonic league. Yes, I owned a pair and they are powewrful indeed but no soundstage depth and too hifi sounding for my tastes.
Every system is different and only YOU can decide what meets your needs. A thread like this is like telling my wife what perfume to buy.
Yes, I owned a pair and they are powewrful indeed but no soundstage depth and too hifi sounding for my tastes.
I've always had tons of depth with the JC-1s as have my customers (I'm an authorized Parasound Halo dealer), but they do sound thin while they are not broken in. They reveal the character of other components in the system. It's all about system matching, and JC-1s may not be Sjhall's best option for other reasons.

Brian
Second the Sunfire 600 two, I have heard your speakers through a bi-wired Sunfire 300 two, and that is where its at. If your intrested I have a 300 two I will sell. Save lots. But if I were you go with the 600 two, with the impedence of the s/t/r you will have klipsch like Spl, and you can use the current source to your ribbons.
Brian, I'm glad you have had success with the amps you sell. However, I feel after over 35 years of stereo, I'm entitled to my opinion about the Jc-1's and that is exactly what I have given. I just don't think that, with breakin or not, they will catch up with the Ayre V5x's standard of soundstage depth. It really wasn't that close.
I broke them in 24/7 for 2 months and the Ayre had better depth out of the box new!
I do think the JC-1's are well built, etc. and a bargain at their price, just not the last word in depth as I'm sure the Ayre isn't either.