Amp and Preamp recommendations for Yamaha NS5000
Other interesting integrated are Absolare (great sound) and Aavik. Absolare (no dac, tubed input) https://www.absolare.com/integratedAmplifier.html Aavik (has dac). I have only hear another Aavik model but this is the newest https://aavik-acoustics.com/products/u-380.html |
I mentioned to smodtactical that I thought it would be an upgrade from 4B-SST to 14B-SST2 for 2 reasons. 1) The SST line is a little coarse on top. I owned 4B-SST, PowerPac 300, and 7B-SST for many years with various speakers, I know Bryston. The SST2 line is a little smoother on top and will be appreciated by the NS5000. 2) Going from 4B to the more powerful 7B was beneficial with my inefficient Revel Salon 1 in a big way. I also had a large room and played it loud those days (ah the memories). Not sure if the NS5000 needs that much power or if the OP plays his system loud. The 14B-SST2 is almost as good as the 7B-SST2. The 7B is slightly better because it is housed in 2 chassis which provides some slight spec increases. |
Hey thanks YYZ, just returning this thought process. I am sorting out my front end streaming/transport gear a bit but still thinking about amps. A suggestion was made to me for the XA25. My first thought would be it might be a bit underpowered for 88 db? But the people mentioning it disagree (they've never used ns5000). My feeling is these are speakers that like power. Thoughts? |
@smodtactical I believe you need some power for these speakers. The Pass looks totally unsuited for the NS 5000. I believe you like to listen with some volume and you mentioned that you also have a bigger room in the cards for the speakers. If you are looking for that Class A sound from PASS, I mentioned to you to have a listen to the CODA #8 and/or #16. There is a dealer up in Winnipeg that is always advertising on USAudiomart.com CODA equipment and has good prices. @Teajay has done some reviews and posted info on this web site about CODA. Some folks who I have PM’ed with on A’gon, and own these amps, really love them. The #16 is 100 watts of Class A and total of 150 with a beefy power supply. I only mention them because you like PASS. I have a callback from a dealer to audition the CODA #16 when they get them in. I will take the new gear I bought for the NS 5000 to the audition, the Benchmark HPA4 preamp ($3k) and DAC3B ($1.7K). I was planning on a much more expensive DAC but wanted to give the DAC3B a try with the HPA4 for synergy. Love the combo, at worst the DAC3B is a backup but for now it is very satisfying. I recently also bought a Meze Empy headphones ($3K) that has similar sound signature to the NS5000 (headphones are the main source of music in the pandemic, don’t ask). The combination with the neutral Benchmarks and Empy is so enjoyable. I have decided to get the Benchmark AHB2 monoblocks for $6K a pair for my future NS5000. It will be an all Benchmark system. I know it will be phenomenal. I am stating the prices because I think this is rather low cost for the sound I am getting. I owned the AHB2 before so I know it’s sound signature. I also need a second amp for my existing speakers, so the Luxman m900u or CODA are the amps I am considering for that. Whatever, works the best with the HPA4 preamp. The AHB2 will be the main amps on the NS 5000 but I will occasionally use the other amp with the NS 5000. I will manually flip the 15 foot XLR interconnects between amps from the preamp output. I know you are not that impressed by this AHB2 choice but I am so sure of this choice for the NS 5000, especially now after listening to the Empy’s. |
