2. amps-preamps
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For classical music lovers best amp for large orchestral forces?

I recently upgraded my pre to an arc ref 6se. Currently using pas xa25. It's a very good amp but I'm noticing a fair amount of compression when playing large symphonic works. My speakers are Dalis and they are excellent as is the arc.

For smaller forces, chamber, piano and voices the system works beautifully. But if I'm looking for more transparency and a deeper sound stage for symphonies I find sometimes a boxy cramped sound. Looking to spend around 8k or less either tube or solid state. There have been discussions about the xa25 and what's better but they fill up immediately with tangents of philosophical and technical discussions of how one hears. I'm looking for as many possibilities of actual units that I can read about and possibly hear.

Thanks for your ideas.

roxy1927
jbuhl's avatar
jbuhl
910 posts
 

The PS Audio M1200 Mono Blocks (Class D/ tube hybrid?) are about $6.5K and I believe they have a buy/try option. Their BHK 250 also has same option. affords in home audition.  Cambridge Audio mono blocks are also winning people over.

 

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,640 posts
 

@roxy1927 I hope you've sorted out by now that the mismatch between the amp and speaker is the problem and not any of the components otherwise. If you like the sound of the amp at lower volumes, If I were you I would consider a speaker that is easier to drive and by that I mean a lot easier to drive. By about 10dB or so- something in the upper 90s instead of the upper 80s.

Then you won't be pushing your amp into clipping, which is the source of your 'compression'. Also, more efficient speakers have less thermal compression and so sound more dynamic on that account.

wspohn's avatar
wspohn
580 posts
 

A class A amp that has very good current capability and is stable into very low impedances is hard to beat (and often, to pay for).

I use a pair of amps that put out 160 W into 8 ohms and 500 W into 1 ohm.

curtdr
348 posts
 

I dunno...   Marantz Ruby PM KI perhaps?  not super pricey

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dbphd
1,624 posts
 

Although I put together the setup for jazz and baroque, JC 1 monoblocks driving KEF LS50 Metas augmented with a pair of KEF KC62 subs prove surprisingly credible at portraying Mahler’s 2nd. I’ve been surprised that I prefer the sound with an Ayre K-5xeMP preamp to that with the JC 2. I plan to replace the two JC 1s with a stereo Ayre V-5xe as a decluttering effort. I predict the dynamic range will be entirely adequate.

db

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