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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!


jays_audio_lab
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Pertinent to earlier posts on the Wilson DAWs...

"In fact, the Sasha DAW’s only real weakness is possibly also its greatest strength. This is not a loudspeaker that ever sounds bad (its greatest strength), but it also has the potential to sound truly soul-shakingly good. There will be some pairs of Sasha DAWs where that potential remains untapped.

...There is a tendency to view any suffix after the name of a product as simply a new version of that product. There was a Sasha W/P and a Sasha Series 2 before this, so one might be forgiven for thinking the Sasha DAW to be a ‘Mk 3’ model. Except that, once you actually hear the Sasha DAW, thinking that way is unforgivable. The Sasha DAW is no Sasha Mk 3… it’s Sasha reborn, pure and simple."

From Alan Sircom // Hi Fi Plus. Full review here:

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/wilson-audio-sasha-daw-floorstanding-loudspeaker/

mrdecibel
3,172 posts
 
I thought I would interject here, again, stating I never would. First of all, Happy New Year to you, WC, and everyone else. I am up this early ( actually, have not been to sleep ) since I had my, every 5 year, Colonoscopy, so, I am awake ( any who have had one, might understand why, lol ). I still, always read this thread, but a few things brought me back, to post. Ist : was the mention by WC, that there might be the possibility of horns, for 2020. As you all might remember, horns are my thing. For my ears, none of the Wilsons, Focals, Magicos, Dynas ( etc.), and panels ( any that I have heard ), express, to me, what live, unamplifierd music, is all about, and, this, with any amplification. This is just me, as I have said all along, it is all individualistic. 2nd : I have repeatedly stated, that whatever systems we buy, the " recordings we listen to ", are the ultimate determining factor, as mentioned just recently on this exact page. 3rd : This is not a negative to WC, or anyone here, but, I have not learned anything, here, on this thread. Part of this, is the extreme and consistent changing, of the gear ( I have been there, and done that ). As WC has mentioned, again just recently on this page, he is still learning, which I admire. 4th : WC’s YouTube channel.....interesting. I wish you success, and, I will subscribe, for sure, even if I learn nothing. 5th : I worked at a high end dealer a long time ago, and the larger speakers, were kept on moving dollies, located outside of the listening room, wheeled in for demo, so that, only, the playing pair of speakers, were in the room. If 3 or 4 pairs of speakers are all in the same 20 by 22 ft room, when 1 pair is playing ( I am specifying 2 channel here ), they are all playing, as the pressurization in the room, creates this. Not what I want to hear, especially when auditioning and evaluating speakers that are 10 K, 20 K, 30 K or more, are being auditioned. This is VERY audible, and " messes " things up, for the connected speakers ( this is applied to any piece of gear being auditioned in the system ). This is a problem with most show rooms, and likely, IMO, and IME, the situation, in WCs room. 6th : Steve Guttenberg, recently, within the last day or 2, had an excellent YouTube video, all about, " when do you know your system is good ? ". Well, I know, " my " system is good. How do I know ? Because, every time I listen, which is at least an hour a day, I thoroughly enjoy it, being captivated, by the " performance " I have selected to listen to. This goes back to the recordings. An example : Tonally, the violin ( I am using this instrument, for the Vman, as I am not sure if he is familiar with, say, Charlie Haden ) might be better on one recording versus another, but, it is the violinist ( along with the other musicians ) and his/her " playing " ( musicianship ), that i am listening to. I feel, my system gets out of the way of this, with every genre of music, and with every recording label. I so wish, at some point, that you, WC, can get to this point. You are not there yet ( many are not ), nor, might you ever be. If I appear to be pompous, arrogant, or conceited, I am sorry, but, this is me. I am only this way, with sound systems, reproducing recorded music. BTW, I checked out fine, in case anyone was wondering. Again, my best to all of you. Enjoy ! MrD.
riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook's avatar
riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook
1,003 posts
 
Congrats Mr D on the certification that your plumbing is fully operational and clean as a whistle :)
viber6
2,454 posts
 
mrdecibel,
Glad you are fine.  I agree on all 6 points, with a minor modification to the last one.  With mediocre sound systems, like youtube from the stock computer audio, and the car radio, I am listening to the music exclusively without analyzing the sound quality.  When evaluating a new component in my audio system, I use good recordings of music I like, but I am concentrating on the sound quality, and occasionally I will hear a subtlety that I never heard before.  If I keep the new component, then both the music and sound appreciation are enhanced.  The danger is that by using reference recordings too often and repeatedly, you can get tired of the music.  
mrdecibel
3,172 posts
 
Vman, when listening in the car, or out by the community pool, I find myself enjoying the music, but, it is a different kind of enjoyment. I would not say I " concentrate " on the sound quality, when evaluating a new set of interconnects, or a recent modification I made on a piece of equipment. I always listen the same way as I always do. I allow my system to " take me " to the performance, and it will " come to me ", whether it is an improvement or not ( always different ). I feel, listening, should be, like I am at the performance itself, not needing to concentrate, but, to enjoy my time. I concentrate ( mental pressure ), when I am cutting my toe nails, or, cooking pasta, on my stove top, or, driving on the road ( being safe ) and especially, more so at night time.....if you know what I mean. If I find myself needing to concentrate ( listening to someone's sound system, or mine ), something is not right, and I will likely figure out, what, to my ears, it is. It could possibly be, my mood, at the moment. If I am listening to Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughn, or Nirvana ( simply as examples ), I should not need to concentrate, but rather, be " involved ", with what is going on, in front of, and, around me, musically. Does this make any sense, as I hope you understand. Enjoy ! MrD.
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