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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!


128x128jays_audio_lab
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
I’m going to attempt to clear things up for everyone with regards to my Soulution and ARC preamps.
First off, comparing a tube preamp to a solid state preamp is like comparing apples to oranges. They are very different and have differences sonically due to their design.
Secondly, I’m at a very high level with my system and it becomes more of system matching rather than just inserting a component. The vac monos sound amazing with the REF6SE and i was very impressed by this combo, but i also think it is the synergy between both.
Thirdly, the Soulution 725 could possibly be the best solid state preamp I’ve had in here. That said, the boulder 2110 is amazing too but i haven’t owned both at once which would allow me to pick one of the two.
Finally, let’s wait and see what my new preamp will bring to the table.
I think a lot of you will be highly impressed by it and i am expecting the same.

PS: i sold the Soulution 725 but it will be here until the end of this month It will not be part of any rotations although I did record 3 songs today so i will release those videos over the next few days.

"I’m not predicting he’ll say ARC better all around than Soulution especially when he selling that now"

The Soulution was sold before any of this went down and i didn’t even list it and the buyer doesn’t follow this thread. He has a system that is probably more than mine and has owned the 725 in the past. He doesn’t get caught up with this. 
The 725 doesn't really need acceptance by potential buyers. It has a great track record so it sells itself. Its resume is pretty full and if anyone is looking to buy a 725, i am sure they know what they are buying. Some pieces just don't need propaganda at all. 

kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Got it
petland
85 posts
 
A few comments on some side topics percolating within this thread. One relating to opinion/taste in audio and the other to SOTA sound and does it need to cost a fortune.

I get we are in the era of forced equality of outcomes. My 8 year old twin boys played in a Y league hoops game today where they don't keep score....ever. But the reality in audio is no different than in life, there are things done better and there are individuals whose opinions on said better are earned and more valued and groups of said people could rather predictably form a general consensus on the basic qualities common to better gear. From that perch, personal preference for presentation and style has a safe home and it can flourish, hence many versions of best in class. As an example, we can all agree no one wants spurious noise in any reproduction. We are also all entitled to our opinion. Amps and transducers even many today of high caliber still often can struggle to get piano right. If someone prefers a crappy rendition of piano that is perfectly fine. That preference however changes nothing as it relates to performance.

From the sound of things, and I am new to Jay's crazy world (and have not read this thread except recent pages) , his opinion in '16 when he started would not have been particularly useful. But now it is quite valuable for a variety of reasons none less his refreshing candidness and vast experience with the esoteric. As he just acknowledged this is a task very high in error particularly when inexperienced. I'm guessing too there is a long list of gear he'd like another crack at as he's gained experience.  Safe to assume as well that Jay is knowingly or unknowingly honing his personal preferences largely by accident as we all do "arriving" at some imperfect previously unknown version of it and then messing it up almost immediately.(Jay faster than most LOL) Plenty of ying and yang in this hobby, chase one thing and you are bound to lose another.
Which brings us to Jay's current set of preferences in a decent sized room. Of apparent high value is ultimate scale and maximum uncompressed dynamic capabilities with the last octave present with the ability to go into high SPL unwavering. Check. Those values elevate the cost / complexity equation significantly. Those values also by necessity invite easily predictable subtle limitations as well where smaller less complex systems gain a subtle edge that can stay in the realm of best in class overall. Interestingly, 70% of the music selections Jay gravitates too would perform better with the latter. Certainly this most recent duel.

20 years ago there was no digital source from 16/44K that by today's digital source standards would make the grade. Not one. In 1999 I had 4 of Jeff Kalt's Resolution Audio Quantum DAC's running in true differential mode with the best dac chip made at the time  the UltraAnalog. Today that setup gets smoked by a $2k NOS DAC from China getting fed a low jitter signal juiced by a well executed FPGA.

Right now as I type I am listening through a $4k fully balanced AVC preamp from Great Britian that uses 4 Slagle autoformers and fet switches that it would not shock me if it illuminated more of the quality of Jays MSB stack than his Solution pre that is hitting the road.
My point is, back down Jay's current preferences at the extremes by 10%, pick a proper sized speaker for the room you are in, and the source and component quality that is available today and the sound you can achieve in systems in the $20-$30K range knocks on Jays door easily. I am not saying $20-30K is cheap for many, but its the cost of the Levinson reference 30 digital set from the early 90's that is a better coffee table base now.

This is my prediction for Jay. He will continue to hone his preferences, realize his most enjoyable listening rarely if ever sniffs the upper ranges of his systems dynamic capabilities. He'll dabble less in esoterica and realize many unsung geniuses of practical circuits and design all around the globe. He'll then get hooked on the unrivaled satisfaction of assembling systems that absolutely kill it for way less coin. 

 
 
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Good first post and welcome, post more often.

The thing I disagree with tho is that for WC cost isn’t really ever a concern and he almost never voluntarily takes a step backward in quality.

There are rare occasions but always temporary before it is onward and upward ( possible exception once being at Vivaldi level at DAC and maybe never getting back to that level). It’s a pretty addicting path to follow. Glad it’s his money and not mine, lol
petland
85 posts
 
Will try to, Jay doing an excellent job creating interest in music lovers which is really nice to see.

Fortunately for me cost would never limit my choices, but I love value because it always ties to the truth. My point with where I imagine Jay to be at in his journey is I don’t believe he has yet completely (and happy to be corrected if I am wrong ) had the epiphany that he keeps arriving at nearly the same destination with an almost infinite combination of gear when he stumbles on the right combo in his room, hence the Ref6 "stunning" experience. I would argue most of those experiences are falling back on something already attained.

Take his speakers and mystery class A amps in his current system. Despite what the designers claim, there have been literally zero disruptive changes in the design of both of those items in decades. Big boxed multi-ways with passive crossovers are still horribly inefficient transducers and distortion and phase generators. Mostly what they do is produce loss and the designer, especially the bigger they get, is tasked mostly with trying to contain the collateral damage to the signal as much as possible.

The amps we all preferred in the shootout are the same basic circuit design with multiple output devices from 40 years ago. Differing by design in the complexities of the driver stages and PS and the modes of feedback that companies attach fancy names to suggest breakthroughs. Priced by varying degrees of craftsmanship that we can all appreciate and value as well. Seasoned amp designers around in the 70’s still active might even claim what a pity it is that WC paid so much for output devices in those monoblocks that are likely inferior to the ones they had back in the day, or the stash they have in their closet waiting for their last amp they make for themselves before they hang it up.

Contrast that to the enormous disruption in the digital source space. Esoteric makers of DACs are scrambling to fill the 3 chassis 100lb DAC behemoths with god knows what of meaning as a remnant to the late 90’s when we all assumed the reason digital sucked so bad was moslty bad analog output stages. So the fad was to produce DAC’s with insanely overbuilt output stages equivalent to small power amps. Turned out the problem with digital was in fact digital.

Digital is being completely turned on its ear and 16/44 can now compete with good vinyl for one reason only, code, which takes up little space. High resolution DAC’s are now easily contained in reasonable boxes and are being fed incredibly high quality pre-processed data streams from other boxes not much more than nice quiet computers with mostly intellectual property inside residing in the FPGA code. DACs are teeing off on the quality of this stream as they are now freed from any processing, relegated to conversion only.

My guess was that Jay is eventually going to have increasing clarity of when his money is being put to work and when it is not. In most, that tends to change habits regardless of resources.
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