Levinson vs Threshold vs Plinius vs Bry

You might want to consider one of Randy White's new "hybrid" amps (Llano Designs--Trinity series). I've just received the 200wpc, which has a tubed "front end". So far I'm really enjoying its warm, rich, but amazingly detailed sound, and it controls the bass great as well.

I have a new Plinius SA100 MKIII and could not be happier with it, I auditioned the ML and it sounded too thin, I wouldn't put Bryston in the same league and haven't heard enough of the Threshold. Bottom line is they're all good stuff, but my choice was Plinius.

I owned the Bryston 4B ST and replaced it with a Mark Levinson 334. The Levinson surpasses the Bryston in every aspect, including having far greater current capacity even though it is 125 watts vs 250 watts for the Bryston. I compared the Levinson with the Pass Labs X350, the Arye V3 and both the Plinius SA100 MkIII and SA 50 MkII. All had certain strengths and weaknesses, overall however, the 334 beats them all (with the Plinius coming the closest).

Go for the Plinius! for the money can't be beat!

I have the Plinius SA100 MKIII matched with my Audio Research LS-16 tube pre-amp using NHT 2.5i speakers. I tried the Bryston and felt the bass was a little too boomy and not very articulate on some tracks. Also the high-end was a tad bright. The Plinius (once warmed-up) sounds great. Lots of detail in all types of music. I very pleased with this combination.