Looking for 200 watt Amp to drive Dynaudio Heritage speakers


Hi Everyone - 

BACKGROUND 


A few years ago, during Covid and after having worked for so many years without really treating myself to a sound system, I took the plunge and started purchasing audio equipment. Unfortunately, I was a terribly uninformed audio buyer and dove in with some purchases that were not terribly well considered. Oh well. 

So here we are today... I have a pair of Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers that I was considering selling.

The Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers require power to open up. Driven at 100 watts, they sound a little anemic and the treble dominates at lower levels. So they ended up in the closet for the last year with plans to sell them. In retrospect, the dealer I purchased them suggested a lower wattage amp than was advisable. 

For my primary system, I'm now running QLN Prestige Three speakers with a Conrad Johnson Classic 120 EL34 amp, LTA Microzotl preamp, Merason DAC1 and Innuos Zenith. The sound of this system is wonderful - ethereal, nuanced, great soundstage and imaging. Very relaxing combo. 

I'm thinking of cycling the Dynaudio into circulation for a few months a year to change things up. I'm looking for a 200 Watt Solid State Amp. But here's the thing, I'm getting older and lugging heavy things around - especially when stairs are part of the equation - is terribly unappealing. 50-55 pounds is pretty much my limit right now.  

I had some Pass Labs amps in for home demos and the thing was a back breaker. I think it was 80 pounds or so. My days of pseudo body building are over... so lugging that thing up and down stairs is something I NEVER want to do again. 

QUESTION FOR THE FORUM 

Can anyone suggest a reasonably priced solid state 200 watt SS amp - no more than 50-55 pounds - that I can use to enjoy these Dynaudio Heritage Speakers? Class AB or Class D, obviously. For weight considerations, I'm really open to a Class D amp, assuming it sounds good. 

Budget is $5K or under - new or used. 

In terms of what I'm looking for - and given my weight requirements - I'd say the primary thing I'm looking to avoid is overt brightness. Otherwise, I'm pretty open to what suggestions the forum might have. Thanks in advance! 
 

128x128bluethinker

"it seems that lack of soul or engagement is a common theme more so than other critiques"

Everyone describes what they hear based on their own impressions, so I can only speak to my impressions of the Class D Acoustic Imagery Atsah monoblocks, that I owned for over a year. Those amps were built using the very same Hypex NC1200 modules used in the Merrill VERITAS monoblocks, and in Bruno Putzeys’ own Mola Mola Kaluga monoblocks.

As I wrote in these forums in 2021, the Atsah’s sounded, “dry, or at least dry’ish and lacking in that last touch of "realness," which better amplifiers are able to convey.”

A similar impression was conveyed in a review of the Mola Mola Kalugas, where the reviewer for “Mono & Stereo” wrote, “All notes were there but the illusion of musicians standing in front of me wasn`t convincing at all. The music didn`t sound inviting and involving, it was just… there. The emotional content was missing and the tonal colours were somewhat bleached. For lovers of analog reproduction and concert goers the sound could also be quite fatiguing and plain boring."

To me, those impressions are mostly consistent with the current comment,

lack of soul or engagement."

I completely disagree with this post and actually find it somewhat amusing, however audio is subjective and is dependent on the listeners ability to listen. 

I find the new GaN amplification rivals tube amps in every way and modern tube amplifiers are actually lacking in comparison. These are my subjective findings. 

 I also don’t  believe you’ll get there with Class D amps  knowing what I’ve recently found after purchasing them myself and what you’re expecting sound wise from your amp despite claims of Class D now sounding like tubes.  They’re close but just don’t sound like tubes imo, particularly el34’s. 

To me, those impressions are mostly consistent with the current comment,

lack of soul or engagement."

@mitch2 Right- but apparently, only holds true for those examples. They don't represent all class D amps any more than saying something like that represents all class AB amps. And there are plenty of the latter that suffer the same problem and are bright and harsh to boot.

But there are class D amps that are as involving and as musical as the best tube amps, perhaps even better as just pointed out. The ones I'm playing at home are more revealing than the triode OTLs I was playing for years prior but just as engaging so I don't miss the tubes at all.

@atmasphere - No argument on the possibility of better sounding Class D amplifiers.  I think some of the perception problem is due to the level of hype surrounding each new amplifier release, which peaked with those Hypex NC1200 amplifiers when several reviewers declared them "as good as Class A".  They were not as good as the two Class A amps I owned at the time, Clayton M300s and Lamm M1.2 Reference.  They did some stuff nicely including well-damped (maybe a little over-damped) bass, nice tone, macro impact, and smoothness, but compared to the amplifiers I have enjoyed most, they came out a little flat and uninspiring for $9K amps.  I believe I once described the sound as musicians each playing in a separate room instead of a band playing together.  There was something about the ambient sounds that was not coherent as it is in real life.

I would love to hear a pair of small, light amplifiers that overcome that issue.  OTOH, my somewhat large heavy amps sit in one spot, don't bother anyone and sound great, plus I can lift them if I need to, so I have no reason to change anything.