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Opinions on Rowland 302 vs musical fidelity m8 700

Im thinking of picking one of these up in the next 6 months or so to replace m uh levinson 331. My pre amp is an ARC 5se and Dynaudio Confidence C4. Dac id Wyred for sound Dac2 sending signal via Transparent reference spdif. Im looking for any comments from those with experience on either of these amps. Thank you.
chenglo1
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
In fairness, the only thing that M302 shares with M312 is... The chassis. The majority of internals are quite different.
chenglo1 OP
28 posts
 
Thanks for the input guys. Sounds like i may steer away from 302 for now. My budget is somewhat open. Im also considering the Boulder 1060 which is slightly over my budget at this time.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Hi Chenglo, Here are some additional questions:

* what are your amp power requirements...
* What speakers are you using, and what is their sensitivity....
* What are the most important sound characteristics for you...
* What music do you listen to?
* Realistically, what is your budget ceiling?

Regards, Guido
chenglo1 OP
28 posts
 
Guido

My spkrs are Dynaudio Confidence C4. Sensitivity is 89 db with impedance at 4 ohms. If i recall correctly the recommended power is 400 watts. I would like to get an amp in the 300 watt rms or higher. I like the warmth of tube amps and hoping to hear more of it with the next amp be8ng paired with my ARC 5se. I listen to an extremely wide variety of music from classical to rock n roll to unplugged acoustic performances. Lately I've been listening to Chee Yun Kim, a korean violinist. My ceiling for budget is $8k on the used market. Monoblocks preferred but a really nice 2 channel would also be welcome. I don't want to replace again for another 10 years.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Hi Chenglo, in the $8K range I can think about two fabulous 400W amps for your Dynaudios....

* Rowland Continuum S2 integrated, $9500 new, will fall well within your target price on the used market. $8K new might be a little bit of a stretch, but might not be totally impossible. See Roy Gregory's review at:
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/jeff_rowland_continuum_s2.htm

* The Merrill Veritas Monos also deliver 400W per channel. They list for $12K, but might fall within your budget on the used market. See my own review:
http://positive-feedback.com/Issue68/merrill_audio.htm

The only problem of these amps is they will deny you the "joy" of replacing aging/burnt tubes. They have an approximately 95% efficiency. They both use up to date class D modules... Continuum S2 on Pascal M-Pro2, while Veritas uses the NCore NC1200 module. Both amps are extremely musical.

Regards, G.
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