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Parasound - Pass Labs - VTL - Krell Amp Selection

Hi,
I noticed a similar thread to this a few days ago, from Punkawalla, but just wanted to add another variable or two.

I'm shopping for a new amp for Maggie 3.6's....the Krell I'm using is excellent, but I have the upgrade bug and would like a little more power for the 3.6's.

I've seen a few decent amps and just wanted some opinions to help me unravel the options and hopefully make the best choice.
Setup options steer me toward monoblocks, these provide the easiest integration into my room with WAF considerations.

I hope Sean spots this thread, since I know he has respect for Nelson Pass and John Curl, and wondered if ultimately he had a preference.
The amps I've shortlisted are all available used on 'Gon and I'm listing the prices to help with perspective:

Krell 350Mcx Mono's $7700
Pass X600 $6500
Parasound JC1's $3700
VTL 450's $4500

The Krell's at $7k+ are a little more than I want to pay, though if I could justify the higher price based on margin of improvement over the others, I would probably stretch to it.
The JC 1's seem like an absolute bargain, so much so that I'm skeptical if they can really compete against say the X600's with an original $16,000 retail.

The VTL's really whet my appetite, since I'm a tube kinda guy at heart. But, since I've bypassed fuses on the 3.6's, I must have peace of mind that the amps are capable of delivering the current that these speakers need and that there is no clipping at high SPL's. Also, I need to know that the internal protection circuitry is of high integrity....I don't want a tube failure taking out my tweeter(s).
I've read that the JC1's and the X600's have 'tube like' quality, so I guess I'm trying to achieve 95% of what tubes do best from a SS.

I've been trying different amps now for almost a year. My home office looks like an elephants graveyard (for amps and cables), and it has to stop!!
I need an amp that I can plug in and sit back and enjoy the music, without having to worry about power, or if I should have gone with tubes, or whatever else I worry about!!

My priorities are:
Good soundstage and presentation of scale.
Clarity - natural - openess.
Truth of timbre and natural non-fatiguing presentation- it all happens in the midrange for me.
Enough bass but not bass that overwhelms the midrange and hides inner detail.
Clean highs, maybe on the darker/warmer side of neutral.
Fluid - flowing presentation, not necessarily with the dynamic snap, pop and tizzle that many crave.

Everyone has a different opinion about these things I know, but I've had a lot of good advice here in the past, and I don't regret any choices I've made based on the advice that I've received.

Thanks much

Rooze
rooze
rooze's avatar
rooze OP
656 posts
 
Muralman, I know you have an allegiance to Henry, and you are passionate about the amps you own, there is nothing wrong with that. However, we all have very different systems and rooms, and equipment works quite differently from one setup to another.

I've lost the contact info for Henry, why not talk to Henry for me and see if he'll send a review pair up for evaluation?....I'm active in the Wisc Audio Society www.newaudiosociety.com and we are always looking for new equipment to review as a group. In January we are hosting Ridge Street Audio with a new speaker design that looks very impressive. If Henry were interested in sending his Mono's along, we would review them at a group meeting and post our findings online. If they are significantly better than the Krell MDA300 Mono's that I'm using at the moment, I'll buy the review set from him.

Rooze
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Rooze, now you are talking. I will see what I can do. I know he is preparing amps to go out to reviews.

Loud and Clear, and the rest, I certainly know synergy is the key. I have a borrowed Adcom I am using. It can go passive, or active. The H2O sounds profoundly better going active. But then, so did the other digitals I've tried.

I've toted my amps from listening room to listening room, equipped with wide assortments of gear. My well broken in amps have won the day, each time. Of course, I brought my Adcom... just in case there was a passive pre in play. ;)

Another thing I have found out. I'm sure this pertains to the Carver too. Ultra clean and fast amps will lay naked any flaw in your system unmercifully.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Guiocorona, see Scott's H2O review in Audio Asylum/Planars and Ribbons. Scott is running the H2O on Maggies.

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/MUG/messages/73368.html
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Muralman, that was a very lyrical and spontaneously drafted review, in the style of stream of consciousness.
Scott is comparing H20 to Aragon 4004 and reports a staggering improvement on MG 2.6 with H20. I am not surprised.
I have used the same Aragon 4004 from approx 1988 to 1998 on the larger MG IIIA pair with very moderately satisfying results. Soundstage was relatively flat, imaging was arguable, bass extension a promisary note. . . no need to beat a dead horse, but Aragon never attempted to be the epitomy of our high end: a good price/performer does not imply stellar performance.
Scott also mentions trying several other brands, without being specific about models. AS Maggies present a relatively difficult load, it is relatively easy to find a poor match for them.
I am currently driving my MG IIIAs with a pair of venerable, yet incredibily sweetsounding Rowland 7M, which while driving the speakers completely effortlessly, could be replaced by something a little faster and detailed.
It would be interesting to find a more dispassionate reviewer who can compare the H2O with some higher end amps than Aragon: the upcoming X600.5 from Pass for one, Rowland 301 monoblocks, ARC VTM 200, and other devices in the same or even more exalted legue.
H2O is likely an excellent price performer, But is it a stellar performer regardless of price?
I am looking forward to any analysis that the folks of the Wisc Audio Society and others will provide on the subject.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Scott's music appreciation certainly took a mega-leap, when he replaced an Aragon with the H2O. I didn't read his review as a comparison between the two, though.

Others have replaced VTL, Krell, Pass Labs, Bel Canto, etc. Have you read the other owner reviews on the H2O site? They are in a similar vein, some less passionate than others.

6moons, and Stereotimes will be doing reviews. The amps will be featured in the HE show in New York.
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