2. amps-preamps
  3. 126624-10101

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
tjassoc
258 posts
 
whitecamaross,
I've pm'd you and offered to mail you at no cost a power cord which I found to have the most fidelity of ANY power cord I myself and multiple colleges have experienced.
While our system isn't at the level of your system, it has stunning fidelity and easily reveals component changes. Our system is: the same brand power cords I'm offering but one tier below their top power cord, Meridian 861v8 and 800, Pass 200.5's, Sasha I's, Sound Application RLS power conditioner (for front end components only), and the previous iteration of top tier MIT Oracle interconnects and speaker cables (well over $60,000 retail). I would eventually like to get our speaker cables and interconnects to be the same brand as our power cords (at the top tier) but don't have the funds at the moment (and our oldest will be going to college next year). I did compare the next tier down interconnects with our MIT Oracle balanced interconnects and our MIT's didn't compare. As a matter of fact, this was the post I made earlier here about a component switch I made with 3 other individuals - it wasn't a piece of "equipment" but rather the interconnect!
My offer includes:
1 - you return the power cord with insured shipping (at cables actual cost) at your own expense. You are also welcome to purchase it (terms I addressed in my pm to you).
2 - you not identify the cable (independent of results) until I clear it with the manufacturer (I stated I'm a dealer and need to clear things for multiple reasons).
3 - you not disclose the arrangement specifics with anyone.
After all is said and done, and I confirm things with my manufacturer (independent of results) you can share your findings on this post.
Please respect my reasons - especially if you don't understand them. I'm merely asking you to delay posting the results.
I offered this so I could get your feedback on how this power cable compares to the Odin power cord you have. I want another respected opinion (I would also ask that you switch out each power cable on the same piece of equipment - for the most meaningful, insightful comparison).
I also stated that this is the cable I found with the most fidelity (truth to the original performance) and may not be the one you like best because you define sweetness (very well I might add) as something you liked.
So now I've posted this for everyone to see, and I hope everyone will respect my offer.
Most sincerely, Thomas.
Post removed 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Im interested Thomas. Let’s take this to a private conversation. 
psnyder149's avatar
psnyder149
160 posts
 

@viber6,

I would like to invite you to come to Chicago, IL, specifically to the suburb of Morton Grove, to visit a retailer named Quintessence Audio.  For the record, I have no special relationship with them other than having been a relatively insignificant but loyal customer for approximately 30 years.  

When you come, you can have the opportunity to hear the ARC ref 10 fed by DCS digital into 3 different Wilson speakers, or Sonus Fabre Aida $125k speakers, Focal, Dynaudio speakers or Pass Labs or any of SimAudio equipment or a host of other choices.   While you are there, you might also listen to the Kubala Sosna cable loom or Cardas  cables.   You will then be able to experience first hand how inaccurate and “Euphonic” the ARC is compared to other top end solid state equipment.  When I heard this system, I “only” got to hear DCS, ARC 10, SF Aida combination through an all Valhalla 2 loom.  It was a $400k system and was absolutely stunning.

Normally, that system would have had an Odin 2 loom, but the entire $75k loom was out on loan to a customer.  You know, it’s quite amazing that Quintessence sells any Odin cables in spite of having all those others to choose from in the store, or to take home and audition.  I know that many reputable dealers offer home auditions so people can try within their own system in their own familiar environment.  It is just normal. Your Nordost dealer slam was just plain ignorant.

I have never asked how much inventory Quintessence has on the floor at any given time, but I’m going to make an educated guess at over $3 million.  I don’t know how many retail outlets in this niche market can support this kind of inventory and stay in business for over 30 years but I would be shocked if it were many more than a few in the country.  The answer to your question about dealers is that overhead is huge, margins are thin, sales are tough in an environment where everyone wants a deal and the market is relatively small.  Dealers have to make the best decisions they can while tightly managing cash flow in an economy that can turn south on a dime.  The answer is not that they are afraid their products are inferior.

Since you consider yourself such a well educated and knowledgeable audiophile with your endless and generally misinformed posts I firmly believe that you will resist further contributions of your mindless drivel until you can come to Chicago and hear for yourself just how misguided much of what you write is.  I’m sure you have both the intellectual curiosity and honesty to admit that when you hear first hand how great some of the items you slam are you will come around full circle.  Just FYI, I do not own any ARC nor Odin cables, they are way beyond my means, but I do appreciate that they are wonderful products as are many others.


Before you fire off your retort and justification, please go back and reread what you have written since your self imposed but too-short lived Christmas exile.  Ask yourself, how much are your words really contributing to the collective knowledge?  


I will point out something you are not likely aware of...  This thread has been thriving for around 30 months, most of the time without you.  It appears you first started following it on or around April 23... 9 months ago.  In only 1/3 of the lifetime of the thread, you are approaching 500 posts (nearly all on this thread) out of 5900 total posts—nearly 10%.  WC, the one person we are all really interested in, has only posted 1500 times.  Other people are too polite to you, but many share the feelings I am expressing. I am going to go out on a limb and predict others will support what I am writing.


Start your own discussion thread, maybe even join forces with techno_dude, and when you’ve been going strong for more than 2 years with a significant following, come back and tell me how wrong I was.  Don’t bother till then!


Thanks in advance.



techno_dude
382 posts
 
Last post is thread pollution and full of hate.

Obviously, Viber or anybody does not deserve such treatment.
More to discover