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Mono Blocks on a Budget, is it possible?

I’m really struggling with the direction to take my system. I have the following:

Legacy Classics speakers
Aurender N100H media player
Schiit Freya tube pre-amp
Schiit Yggdrasil DAC
Schiit Vidar x2 (in mono block mode)

I will be replacing speakers at some point but the rest of the system I love... except the Vidars. Before them, I had NAD 356BEE that was used for the amp. Very clean and I loved it, except it was only 80 Watts. I decided to upgrade to the Vidars. They cost twice as much From a good manufacturer like Schiit so they must be better right? Not really. They are more noisy than the NAD amp and I’m finding myself less in love with them that I though I would be. I was planning the Vidar purchase for about a year and now that I got them I don’t know which direction to take in replacing them. I want to get cleaner mono amps but don’t want to spend more than $3k MAX for both. The Vidars are 400 Watts into 8ohm, are there any options out there for me that are close to the Vidar specs? I’m open to used but mostly I want the amps to sound almost completely clean with practically no distortion. 
xerotrace
213runnin
914 posts
 
xero, the problems you are describing may have to do with your speakers, are they 4 ohms and with 94 db sensitivity?  That's a bad combo for many monoblocks if they aren't true monoblock amplifiers.  Or do you have some other Legacy model that isn't 4 ohms?

The other thing is the Nad C356BEE.  I owned that model, and I've also owned the 375 and two 326.  These definitely are a budget design that all have limitations and compromises.  The 356 sound was inferior to the 326 when comparing dynamics and the "in the room" experience.  

I paired the 375 with some simple 4 ohm speakers and the result was puzzling to say the least with the Totem Rainmakers.
jeburgess
5 posts
 
Xero, the two amps you’ve used are 80 and 400 Watts. Question: what was wrong with the 80 watts that you didn’t like? 
migueca's avatar
migueca
112 posts
 
Temple Audio monoblocks - far from expensive and highly musical. 
Their sound is fast and dynamic, powerful and rich offering different layers and a big soundstage. 
It's important to pair it with a good preamp because of gain and tone/neutrality. I have my monoblocks connected to a McIntosh C712 preamplifier, feeding a pair of Zu Audio Omen Def speaks. The overall performance is fantastic!
Temple Audio is a relatively small company from Manchester but they design and make their own proprietary modules and all the metal works for the enclosures. That way I was able to customize my amplifiers and power supplies with some interesting finishing combinations and personal engravings. 
For more power (and money) there are many other options. One that I also considered was Ghent Audio. 
xerotrace OP
30 posts
 
213runnin - no you have it right they are 4ohm. I actually did like the 356, a lot cleaner than I was expecting and had decent power so I was relatively happy with them. They were definitely a lot cleaner than my class AB Vidars which is strange (maybe it isn’t, maybe class AB is more noisy...)

jeburgess - well that is a good question. There were 2 things that made me get rid of the 356. It is an integrated with only 80 Watts so in the pursuit of improving my system and the sound I thought moving from an integrated to a dedicated amp would be better. And heck, in that case moving from an amp to a pair of monos is even better still right? I learned that is not necessarily true. The second reason is I’m getting my younger cousin into the hobby and when he picked up a pair of Elac B6s as his first pair of speakers I sold him the 356 very cheap so he can have a good amp and a good sound.

Ron 1319 - please keep us posted, I’m so curious to hear if you have the same issues with the Vidars as I did. 
jimski
46 posts
 
I have to agree with the above posts suggesting that a good stereo amp would be more effective for your dollars than monoblocks.  And, to introduce a new thought, I've lately come to the view that better wires are the most cost effective buy in improving a system.  That being said, I'm not sure if this principle applies across all system dollar levels.
Jim Heckman
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