$35K to spend, how will you build a system?

david_ten > 1. I'm not sure if your question is theoretical or this is something you are actually planning?
2 Reaching out to a promising kid and funding their education at a state school would be at the top of my list.
3 BTW, great …. thoughts on the rationale not to go speaker first.

Blindjim > your insights are more than appreciated. Tanks.
RE 1. Both. The thrust is one MUST throw the wad into their “NEXT” system now that they have some exp..
2. nice. Even found money would be tuff for me to be quite that altruistic.
3. it just makes more sense. Its when you get to the amp choice where things get interesting and your options begin to diminish, depending, because by then you’re closely eyeballing speakers, if not already..


Falconquest > I would invest the $35K and then purchase components gradually with the proceeds

Blindjim > Tanks. Killer handle! with today’s interest rates and the market stumbling along in a muddy ditch, that’s gonna take a long time before anything lands in the house. Maybe if you start flipping real estate things would be more hurrie.

OK…. NEW RULE
The targeted bankroll MUST be fully used to put together either a first, or as the topic implies, the NEXT outfit. In whole, or even partially.
OK? OK.


Inna > … I would almost certainly go with used Lamm, tube pre-amp and hybrid power amp. All tube VAC would probably be my second choice. I'll just mention two other companies that would be on my list, expensive and almost nothing used: Gryphon Audio - transistor, top level, and Ypsilon - hybrid, also top level.
Studer A810 would be a great choice.

Blindjim > that’s the spirit. Thoughts are immensely appreciated. Never heard of “Ypsilon”., I’ll look into that one.
Gryphon, the more I read about it and a couple other non mainstream electronics makers, hegel, Constellation, Wells, etc., the more I’m inclined to pursue it or them.

Most have a limitation for the speakers they can optimize however.

Yeah, I do get it, 80% of the music occurs in the first 20wpc. There is however a sincere argument for the application of very ‘strong’ as well as very well ‘voiced’ amps for any given speaker, apart from horns, for example.

Its why power lines from Aeon, Llamm, Audio Note, VAC, and the like give me some pause as the speaker short list is comprised of mostly 4 ohm speakerage. Otherwise, all are decent on the Eff side at 89 or above.
Incorporating one of their preamps though sure seems a viable option down the road. Right off, I have one I like from a now obliterated system which has seen no use for far far, too long.
I’m tired of hearing it wail on its lonliness and consequent plummeting self esteem from not having a job.

Instead of the speaker first approach, or the amp first approach, I suggest the combo (speaker/amp) first approach.
Go out and listen to as many combinations as possible. Take your time.
Maybe even allot $5K of your $35K on travel expenses.

Finding the right combination of amp/speaker interface will make the effort worthwhile.

It's a shame that you are already limiting your choices of amp by looking at more difficult to drive speakers. There are many high efficiency speakers that sound very good, and I would definitely not go the low efficient route until I had heard some high efficiency speakers with quality SET amps.

Listen to some Daedalus , DeVore, Tannoy, Klipsch, Tekton, Coincident, etc., with a quality flea powered tube amp.

You just may find that a pair of DeVore O/96's with a Shindo Cortese 300B amp MAY suit your tastes much better than your 89 dB - 4 ohm speaker combined with a push-pull KT88, or SS amp.

Of course you may also find that a  pair of Maggies with 200 wpc SS amp is what sounds best to you as well.

The point is that no one can tell you what will sound best to you, or how to spend your money.
I certainly wouldn't throw around $35K without doing my due diligence though.

Happy Hunting,
John

I think that the OP is just asking the question hypothetically for the sake of conversation.

Gryphons are very powerful and stable. There are many demos and interviews with the designer, Flemming Rasmussen, on youtube. He sounds very serious to me. Ypsilon is an elite Greek firm, highly sophisticated sound. Their least expensive offering is a $25k integrated amp.
You might want to consider another company - Vitus, like Gryphon it's based in Denmark. Swiss always want double price for being Swiss.

Of course, speaker/amp unit first is great approach. Problem is that most of us cannot get everything at once, sometimes it's too expensive and at other times you just can't find it quickly enough. Sound preferences also wildly vary. In a perfect world I would have two very different set-ups for different music, rooms and mood.
We can dream. How about Lamm/Kharma/Purist cables, Ypsilon/Lansche/HB cables and all Gryphon systems ? That's three, I know.