Amps/Preamps for Rockport Aviors

You should also consider an Aesthetix Atlas amplifier. I have heard this with the Rockport speakers including Avior and it is a great combination.

Hi Larry,

First congratulations on getting the Rockport Avior speakers. I have heard them several times and they are wonderful speakers.  

I do think that the ARC Ref 75SE and LS17se combo will not do justice to what the Aviors are capable of doing sonically. My recommendation would be to move away from ARC and go to the VTL 450 Series 3 mono block amps paired with the VTL 6.5 Series 2 preamp. I use VTL Siegfried amps with my Rockport speakers and it is a wonderful pairing.

PM member @philb7777 , he's driving Rockport Cygnus with ARC Ref250 and Ref5 se. 

A local friend was driving his Rockport Altair IIs with VTL Siegfried MKII and it's fantastic.  So babybear's VTL450 recommendation is a possible option.

Another option is Vac 200iq mono. You can roll KT88, KT120 or KT150 and has auto bias. I heard them several times at dealers and is excellent.  With your Avior, I suggests rolling KT150 for more power.

If SS, checkout D'Agastino Momentum. I was a big Krell fan and these are not not your father's Krell.  Sweet, musical, resolving ...

GL!

Congratulations on the speakers they are really excellent.
 

We would recommend that you check out the T+A  line of electronics, they represent some of the finest sounding electronics on the market.

They are hard to find but well worth a look. They makes two more affordable integrated amplifiers in the R series and one flagship integrated the HV series PA 3000 at $19k.

The PA 3000 integrated was compared to $120k worth of CH precision electronics by Allan Taffel in the Absolute Sound. Mr. Taffel found that it hard to differentiate between the two! If you can compare a $120k worth of electronics to a $19k one and have trouble telling which is which it means the T+A integrated is an absolute steal and a way to get into the uber class of sound quality for a whole lot less and the separates are even in better than the HV integrated.

T+A is the largest electronics manufacturer in Germany all of their products are produced in house and they have been in business for over 30 years. 
They have a full time engineering staff of 14! 

The HV series of electronics employs a novel high voltage rail concept which runs solid state devices at very high voltages, which is why tubes sound so smooth,it is the lack of distortion due to increased transfer function and linearity which occurs at high voltages, the HV series uses this technique to build very smooth and musical solid state gear.

The PA 3000 offers 300 watts into an 8 ohm load and 500 watts into a 4 ohm load. and it appears nearly limitless in terms of drive.

Add to that a huge sound stage, and a tremendously airy and involving sound 

if you would like to hear our setup and you are in the East Coast give us a call.

Troy
Audio Doctor
877 428 2873

Hi Gasherbaum:
Once again, I'm in a thread that provided an opening for Audio Troy, alias Audiotroll to sell his wares--cite to reviews that agree with him for credibility-- and give his phone number. (He'll say he's just trying to help, but note he is the only dealer on Audiogon that "helps" so openly and brazenly). P. S.-- We can all find a review that raves over any one of dozens of great amps and speakers----that does not make that particular item work for any consumer in any set up.
 If it's a speaker thread---Audiotroll will jump in and push Paradigm. I guess if it's a thread asking for advice on preamps and amps, it's now T & A. Oh well.
My two cents. I have heard T & A gear at Stereo Exchange a number of years ago and the the NY Audio show this past year. It is very very good gear and not as well known here as it should be. In fact, it is pretty awesome and may be great with Rockport and may not be. Like CH Precision, it is bold, with great transparency and detail--not particularly warm which may be perfect for Rockport which are very slightly on the warm side of neutral in my experience. My suggestion is to call the factory and ask which solid state and tube gear are among those you should try. As for solid state, Gryphon would probably be the number one call as that is what the designer (Andy Payor) uses in his listening room. I believe he also has tube gear, but I do not know what brands he prefers. The ARC Ref 250se and VTL S400IIs both appear to have enough juice to do the job. As for other solid state gear, well there are countless greats that you should consider including D'Agostino, Pass, Ayre, Constellation, Soulution,  Classe and yes T & A. But, instead of guessing---call Andy or one of his factory hands for some suggestions on what has worked in their experience. That should help you to focus on a few brands that will be good for your set up. Good luck.