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
alexbpm's avatar
alexbpm
34 posts
 
@whitecamaross I wasn’t really considering resale value when I made my suggestion of auditioning the Alsyvox.  I suggested it based soley on it’s merit as a loud speaker.  If one were looking for the ultimate endgame speaker, one to end all searching, the Alsyvox would be it imho.  You’re more into flipping your gear dude, I’m more into endgame products.  Besides, don’t we all want to end this terrible search for joy and meaning through audio equimpent?  It’s a terrilbe addiciton dear friends, at some point we must move on and search for happiness and meaning elsewhere :)

But on a serious note, if a savvy audio enthusist like myself was just waiting to buy a second hand Alsyvox speaker, here comes another savvy audiophile with excellent taste (WCSS) selling his at a slight discount, I would be all over it.  When it comes to a new breakthrough audio product that has caught the attention of several audio journalists, I think your desire for the product should dictate it’s persona value.  Not the non-existent market. You can dictate the market when you’re one of the first to sell it.

Also, just for fun...listen to this audio journalist who practically came on himself when reviewing the Botticelli’s.  Yeah, they’re that good.  
http://www.hiendnews.gr/alsyvox-speakers-first-flights-greece-vitus-audio-english/ 
alexbpm's avatar
alexbpm
34 posts
 
@gwalt I could not agree more.  And I am so envious that you own a pair of Botticellis. You have excellent taste.  You must have auditioined hundreds of speakers like myself before you came to the Alsyvox.  Truly endgame speakers.  

Also, thank you for not going the usual route that many people do at at that price point, ie Magico and YG Acoustic.  I absolutely LOATHE those speakers.  I think they are outrageously overpriced, and offer little to no value.  Whenever I hear them, I ask myself if they are being sold to people who are partially deaf or perhaps they just haven’t heard any better.   I could throw a stone at an audio show and find another brand that sounds better at a quarter of the price.  I don’t care how expensive or exclusive your materials and build process are.  If your speakers sound that average...you must have an overinflated sense of self worth.  That’s like selling a Windows phone for $20k when you get get an iphone or android for $800.  I’m sorry, but I’ll take my Legacy Focus SE’s over any of Magico or YG Acoustics offerings for a fraction of the price.  All day long.  
gwalt
162 posts
 
@viber6:

It appears you just like to troll different theories and or price points of some of these speakers. So far I have seen your conceived notion on Alsyvox and find it very annoying. Have you went and seen or heard the speaker? If not how can you sit and rationalize its price or quality?
I think you will find a much better discussion and knowledge of the design on WBF. The price of the Tintoretto is quoted there or call the dealer.....better yet find out what he will sell them for!
As far as the GT Audio design (you seem to like at its price point) I cannot wait to hear it! I cannot imagine a dynamic sub. keeping pace with a ribbon planar and interacting with the room in a different manner. I am also curious of the build quality and or colorations it produces. 
Rather than point out the obvious, I really do want to hear it as none of the talk means anything but my own ears and eyes. I heard it will be at Axpona but I had no desire to go there so it will have to wait for another day.
I did hear the ML Monolith at RMAF and it was not even in the same league as the Alsyvox design. I believe it is priced at $85K.....does your friend own these and you cannot comment on its price being the same as the Botticelli? Dude you need to go hear Alsyvox and quit ripping what they have to offer. You have an invite here if you want to hear them.
As far as the post above from whitecamaross I agree with Alex post above. Yes the Alsyvox is expensive under American audiophile definition but doubt if under European definition. However, I did not buy the speaker to resell and if I did want to why in the heck it would not carry top dollar in Europe (where it has its following) is beyond me? They can be shipped in their sturdy flight cases made to last a lifetime so go figure.
In my years as an audiophile and now retired I wanted this kind of sound the Alsyvox produces....nothing more or nothing less. I thought I had a good system before I heard these last fall but they simply have revived my emotions in the music (I can’t wait to listen).......what more could I possibly ask for once you achieve that.

viber6
2,444 posts
 
gwalt,
Don't get me wrong--I love the design of the Alsyvox but hate its price considering its relatively simple technology.  I would guess that the designer of the GT Audio planar/ribbon put as much R&D into it as the designer of Alsyvox.  When I heard the GT at faxer's home, by itself it was quite satisfactory for most music, but the subwoofer addition was useful for just a few very deep bass notes.  It wasn't a question of proper integration because the panels themselves go down to 40 Hz and their mid bass accuracy enables you to hear accurate overtones of the deep bass.  This is a much better strategy than having a typical dynamic woofer in a box that goes down to 20 Hz but is muddy up through the lower midrange, poisoning much of the music.

I have heard nearly all the ML models of the past 40 years, including the original Monolith and CLS.  They are merely good but not great, largely because of the large curved panels.  Same goes for Soundlab's large curved panels.  Even a large flat panel like the Dayton Wright was terrible.  Quads after the original great 1957 ESL are mediocre and very veiled.  My theories are not trolling, but help to predict the sound of any speaker, because you can't go out and hear everything.  You have to use good theoretical common sense to narrow the field.  My theory DOES predict superb sound of any Alsyvox in midrange/HF at least, so it is worth making a trip to the dealer to hear them.  I read some of the WBF, but can you just be a sport and quote the price of the Tintoretto to save me time?  Thanks.

An interesting electrostatic speaker of the past was the good sounding Koss 1A.  It was a large panel with a dynamic tweeter.  At first, I thought it was stupid to have a dynamic tweeter when electrostatics are superior.  But then I realized that good dynamic tweeters are better than large curved stat panels which roll off HF.  There is no question that Alsyvox has the best ribbon design for midrange/HF at least.  In particular, the narrow 15 mm midrange ribbon promises better focus and accuracy than the much wider ribbon of the GT.  Of course, listening is the ultimate criteria for judging.  I really do understand your passion based on your listening, and agree that my theories are not the ultimate arbiter, but only serve as a starting point.

Where do you live?  Thanks for your invitation and valuable comments.
viber6
2,444 posts
 
WC,
Before you go to Axpona, I should mention that the GT Audio speakers may not be set up with full toe-in.  When I moved them to full toe-in at my friend faxer's home, they were MUCH better in clarity, etc.  Although ribbons and planars have more dispersion than flat stats, they still benefit enormously from full toe-in if you want to hear the maximum clarity.  Many people like straight ahead without toe-in for looks and spacious sound, but unfortunately few people are aware of the benefits of full toe-in.  If the exhibitors refuse to do full toe-in, you can listen to 1 speaker facing it so you can get the full clarity, but obviously this is not as good as full toe-in of both speakers.  The GT speaker is relatively light and easy to move.  But a real advantage of the very narrow midrange and HF elements of the Alsyvox is that full toe-in is not critical.  Too bad Alsyvox won't be at Axpona, but the dealer in Maryland is not that far from you.  I like the endgame philosophy of alexbpm and gwalt, so consider Alsyvox before spending any more money on anything audio. 
More to discover