Hoping for a recommendation for stereo amp around $1500 or less ($2k max)

First impressions are very good. I was a bit worried until I realized I had to reverse the phase on my sub and then suddenly theeeere it is. It went from clear but hollowed out to clear and fleshed out and warm and delicious. I had to look up the specs on my speakers to realize they go down to 40hz and I was getting overlap in the low frequencies combined with being out of phase.

Now that it’s about 80-90% dialed in with the sub I’m extremely impressed. I feel like I got a hubble telescope for my ears that lets me hear the universe. I don’t notice any excessive high frequencies like I’ve seen mentioned in purifi threads here but then again this is the newer model with a different opamp. So far very happy but still learning.

Amps don’t have sub outs, or stuff like that,

 your looking for a receiver, or similar.

  No??

Someone on this thread asked previously what I thought of the $1500 D-Sonic M3a 800s. Well I tried it 3 ways now and have some observations.

1) As a headphone amp to my RAAL SR1a. I did not like it. This was with Gustard X26 Pro connected to the Benchmark HPA4 preamp.

2) As a 2 channel speaker amp to my Thiel CS3.7 with the Gustard X26 Pro as the preamp (digital volume). It was OK but a little harsh and lacked something. Some other issues with the Gustard as a preamp but that is not relevant.

3) I finally got the CODA 07x preamp to control this system and the Gustard is now just used as a DAC (not a DAC/preamp). The sound is great.

The amp is very fast and not bright nor harsh. I was going to buy the CODA #8 amp for this system but why rush into it now. I am going to try this out for at least a year. I cannot afford the CODA #8 today so luckily this D-Sonic is coming up a big winner now.

Another bonus is that this amp seem capable of operating on 2 Ohm region. I need to confirm this with D-Sonic but I can tell this is the case buy how well the Thiel's sound, more bass and power compared to my Benchmark AHB2 amps on the Thiel's. The $3K AHB2 are preferred over the D-Sonic but not on the Thiel CS3.7, which is a tough speaker to drive.

@brandini — congrats on the new amp, and it’d be interesting to hear your thoughts after you have >100 hours on it. Also, at some point you should consider sending it to Ric At Electonic Visionary Systems for some cost-effective upgrades that could up the performance level even further.

@yyzsantabarbara — has the D-Sonic fully broken in?  What didn’t you like about it with the headphones? We’re you using the Coda in that setup too?  What would you consider the core strengths/weaknesses of the amp?  Thanks for the update — very interesting. 

@soix thanks I’ll report back after spending more time with it. The mods look interesting but I think I’ll keep my warranty for now. Will look deeper into it for the future though. So far really enjoying the new amp . I didn’t know my speakers had this much left to give. It sounds so freaking clear and powerful. I was watching the clock at work today wanting to come home and listen to different kinds of music and see how it does. Good times!