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My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!

So I have been in a long journey looking to find the best amplifiers for my martin logan montis. As you know, the match between an amplifier and speakers has to be a good "marriage" and needs to be blend exquisitely. Right now, I think I might have found the best sounding amplifier for martin logan. I have gone through approximately 34-36 amplifiers in the past 12 months. Some of these are:

Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005

With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:

ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)

NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)

Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)

rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)

cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)

parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)

lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)

McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.

butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)

pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.

classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)

Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:



PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.

Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.

Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?

Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.

 It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.

Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.

Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.

Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.

Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.

Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.

My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.

That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!


128x128jays_audio_lab
viber6
2,448 posts
 
mikepaul,
No I don't have the ML CLX.  I have not found anything to beat my 1980 Audiostatic 240.  I only use a single panel for each channel, whose radiating area is 5.5 X 50 inches.  I use a yardstick and aim each side at my nose.  The support and other unused panel serve as a baffle so I can get more bass, but most people would find the bass deficient.  The flat panel is a better concept than the curved one of ML, though the CLX has the narrowest panel for the mid and HF.  My beloved old Audiostatic has probably lost some highs, but it still has better highs and midrange than any other commercial speaker out there.  I enhance the highs with the fantastic Enigmacoustics super tweeter, but unfortunately that company appears to have folded.  Together, the Audiostatic/Enigma combination is unmatched for clarity, although I admit that I have learned to hold my head in position to obtain ecstasy.  It is a one listener ultimate experience. The CLX comes in second place, so it is the best commercially available speaker.  Everything else is hopelessly veiled.  The original Quad 57 stat has great midrange, probably the best ever designed, but lots of other limitations.  The newer Quads are hopelessly veiled in comparison.

The latest Audiostatic design from Dutchman Ben Peters, is seen on his website for 3000 euros.  I listened to the other models from the 1990's, which were not as good as my 240.  I told him a few years ago that I am still very happy with my 240.  But he didn't return my emails asking about his newest model.  He is now old, so I am not sure if it really exists.  Still, I probably will take a flyer and just order it.  Not much financial risk.  This man is my audio hero.  I even considered traveling to him in Holland.  
klh007
621 posts
 
viber6, Even the 5mm wide tweeter in the Alsyvox is a push-pull planar magnetic, unlike the true ribbon tweeters in the better Maggies and the GT Audio Works designs. The Botticelli Alsyvox at RMAF would sell for $87K if a distributor can be found.
     You may not be aware of another stellar electrostatic design from Conifer, CO, Roger Sanders' Model 10 hybrid shown at RMAF. Honed over 3 decades of improvements his stats are as or more transparent than ML and have beat ML at the woofer integration equation, play with more dynamic excitement, play very loud, but exhibit the narrow sweet spot flat planars come with. The Sanders are $17K/pr but that includes a Magtech amp for the stats @900 WPC, a 10" woofer in a transmission line loading, and DSP room correction. You need to supply an amp for the woofers and you're done.  Every year his room sounds like a breath of fresh air, startlingly transparent, big dynamic swings, intimate vocals, seamless woofer integration coupled with crushing deep bass when called for, a real value.
kw6
692 posts
 
Having  a line source going above your ear  & head is not wasting the signal. Do you remember  the Carver or Wisdom Audio speakers?
viber6
2,448 posts
 
klh007,
Thanks for your clarification on the Alsyvox.  So the complete planar magnetic design is then inferior to the top Maggies and the GT Audio.  What a ripoff.  My friend in LI who has the GT, posted under his ID, faxer, I recall, but if I am wrong, his business is Sound Insight, in Massapequa, NY.  It is better than any Maggie, especially when toed in.  It is tall and skinny, similar to the Wisdom Audio ribbon speakers.  The GT and Wisdom are of comparable quality in sound, and both illustrate the superiority of design that I advocate.

I have heard Roger Sanders hybrid stats.  At shows they sounded lousy with veiling, rolled off highs, etc.  Could have been the small dead room or the DSP not set up properly.  I made a trip from NYC to Maryland to hear the top model in a private home.  They sounded much better than at the shows, but still not quite as good as the ML CLX, and nowhere as good as my Audiostatic 240.  You have to understand my perspective with the unique Audiostatic, which makes my comments about nearly all speakers at variance with the enthusiasm others have for whatever speakers are available today.  But everyone should read Sanders' white paper (website Sanders Sound Systems) on why curved panels are not optimal.  Originally, he designed curved panels but realized his mistake and switched to flat panels.  To get the total purest sound, you just have to accept the need to sit in the sweet spot with the panels toed in to your nose, ears.  I agree with his writings, and go further with my analysis of the multipath and dispersion effects that create HF smearing.  I have not heard the smaller narrower model of Sanders, but I predict it will have more precision although less output than the larger wider model, for the reasons I have discussed.
 
Actually, THE best commercially available stats are from King Sound, in Hong Kong.  But distribution and availability have been lousy.  They are flat panels, with a wide panel for freq below 1200 Hz, and a 3 inch narrow panel for freq above that.  The narrower the panel, the more dispersion, without any HF rolloff.  I have heard the King and Prince models and can say that 2-3 people can enjoy the total sound.  The original King model was great, better than the CLX, but not as good as my Audiostatic.  There is a guy from Norwalk, Conn on USAudioMart selling these for less than $3000, a steal if you can accept the risk of no company backup.  The next best thing is the KS 17 that maplegrovemusic mentioned.  The only problem with the design is that it is very tall, so the height creates some vertical time smear from multipath effects.  The narrow width is a plus, however.  Recall that I found the tall Stat F83 (2 stacked F81's) to be inferior to the F81 in precision and HF balance.

So the best commercially available speaker is the ML CLX, because the mid/HF panel is narrow and the whole speaker is not tall.  The design resembles the King stats, which are still better because of all the flat panels.

Apologizes to those who don't find all this relevant to their needs, but I hope others find it useful.

 WC, I know my quest may not correspond to your present approach with resale considerations, but I just mention products that have real excellence and value by being cheap enough that financially you will come out ahead.  You can just get the CLX-REL and be done with the speaker quest and save a lot of money.  
viber6
2,448 posts
 
skootb,
Yes, I recall the Mytek reviewer said that used as 2 monos, the sound is fuller.  This is not my taste, but you can see what suits you.  A single stereo offers good power, especially for even moderately efficient speakers.  No need to blast your head and ears off.  Two amps gets more expensive, and I prefer to save for the potentially SOTA Merrill Elements.  Aside from more power, I believe that bridged monos of any amp are inferior for purity, because more circuitry is in the chain with opportunity for added distortion.
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