Mono Blocks on a Budget, is it possible?

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. 

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

For anyone who read my post above about comparing the Crown 1502's to the Schiit Vidar in my system, it's not even close.  It's actually surprising how much better the Vidar sounds. 

Now, that said, the configuration that I've found that sounds the most fun is to bridge the Crown amps for the low end on each side and run the Vidar amp to the upper end.  That way I get everything that's great about the Vidar amp with the basically unlimited power of the Crown amps for the bass.

If I listen to Erykah Badu with just the Vidar powering both speakers (with a jumper,) the low end isn't involving enough to really be fun.  I decided to try the Crown amps bridged and this is the fun I'm looking for.  As a bonus, I get level control for the bottom end through the amps.  

Is this the most high end configuration possible for these speakers?  No way.  But it's the most fun with what I have here in front of me.  The only other thing I want to try is driving the bass with the Yamaha M-85 I was using, but I don't actually have speaker wires to try that right now.  I have 3' Transparent The Wall speaker wires that I was using in my bedroom system (40" TV and CDM2's on my dresser.)  

I bought a bunch of Rockwool Safe N Sound on sale yesterday at Home Depot for $14/bag.  I'm going to make a bunch of sound absorption in the next week or so and see if that improves things further. 

I need to write to Anticable and see if I can modify my speaker cable order still or if it's too late.  I guess if they offer a trial/return policy then I can return them before they ship them.  I'm still not 100% sure what the best cable configuration is.  I was most surprised that I seem to prefer my Straghtwire interconnects to the Tranparent Music Link Plus for the high end.

I think my conclusion for the OP, as it pertains to this thread, is that it's way more complicated than someone in a forum on the Internet being able to just say "do this."  Maybe you'd love the Pass Labs recommended above in mono-block form, or maybe a couple of Crown amps like I have ($350/each) bridged for the bottom end would work for you, too, and leave you $2200 for a very sweet amp for the top.  My friend in college had Legacy speakers.  I'm sure they could have used a lot of power.

Thanks ron1319 for the feedback that is very interesting. I did a quick listening session with the Vidars yesterday to remind myself of how I felt. I do like the amps to be honest especially in the bass region but I can’t help but hear that buzz when I first turn them on and think “surely a quieter background would make these things sound better”. I’m in love with the idea of Pass Labs mono blocks but they are so expensive, I just don’t think I’ll be able to justify dropping $4-6K on them used unfortunately... I agree that it is more complicated then just listening to some like-minded folks on a forum. I think there are a lot more options to think about now with everyone’s recommendations which makes it harder, actually, because there is more that needs to be listened to lol. 

I like my legacys but but in a couple years I might move to the new Magico A3 (if I can get myself to spend that much... we will see). 

Sometimes I think appreciating what we each have as a system is underrated and not as appreciated as it should be, speaking for myself at least.

please let me know what you think of Saga. I like Freya and am running fully balanced, the unit has made me appreciate tubes a great deal especially on the pre-amp side of things.

I've changed too many things at once to have a good opinion of the Saga.  I wish I had something like a Levinson or a Classe pre amp lying around to compare.  

To be honest, I have a Benq W1070 in this room and my computer running and so my ambient noise is pretty loud.  Plus I usually have to set my HVAC to "fan on" in order to keep this room from overheating.  My phone dB meter says ~60db ambient.  I have considered trying to find a way to isolate the noise from my computer while not overheating it, plus try to find a way to reduce the noise from my HVAC and projector.  I could probably figure out how to do that.

I just put my head right in front of the speakers to try to hear what comes out of them with nothing playing through them.  I don't get a hiss, but I do have audible USB noise.  I can't hear it in my listening position, but it's really obvious up close.  I didn't realize how much came through my Meridian Explorer.  I have to consider whether a Schiit Wyrd or a different DAC would be a better solution to that problem.

I've been catching up on Mr Robot and it is amazing how good these sound for TV.