b&k or Bryston or McCormack?

Out of the three mentioned, the McCormack is probably the best sounding. However, it does appear that you have a pretty good sized room with speakers that are not especially efficient. While the sound quality that they are capable of is quite reasonable, the added headroom and dynamics that they would offer in your specific situation along with the price might outweigh the better sonics of the Mac. Since your primarily a "rocker", this further reinforces my thoughts on this. You can't have enough power when your jamming. Just be careful with your speakers. Adding an electronic crossover sometime down the road would further enhance both sonics and system efficiency. Check out Marchand for something like that when the time comes. Sean >

I own a B&K EX4420 2-channel amp. My associated equipment is as follows: Acurus ACD-11 CD player MSB Link DAC Aragon 24K pre-amp PSB Goldi Speakers NBS Dragonfly ITC's DH Labs Q-10 Bi-wire cables Denon 1500CD-RW Player I am totally satified with the performance of the B&K amp that I use and it has no problem handling the full range of music and frequencies that it's reputation promises to deliver. Is it quiet? Yes!! Is it powerful? Yes!! Does it have the same characteristics of the Bryston or McCormack? I doubt it. Does it sound better than either of the two amps in question? That's relevant to your system and how it's put together. Do I wish I owned a Bryston or McCormack? For bragging rights maybe. Hey, I did always want to date the prom queen back in the days but my girlfriend who ended up being my wife turned out to be the steal of the century!!!

I've owned the B&K 4420. It was very nice but I bought a pair of Hales Rev 3s that are a difficult load. Mr. Hales (speaker designer) suggested the Aragon 4004 or 8008 for their effortless ability to drive difficult loads. I havn't listened to the Bryston but many people compare the sound of the Bryston with the Aragon. If I didn't have the Hales I would have been very happy with the B&K and saved some cash. Don't let what is currently popular change you decision. The B&K will do the trick unless you have very difficult to drive speakers.

Mspencerod: Sorry, I should have looked at your speakers more carefully. I just checked the Martin Logan web site and your speakers might be a difficult load. (4 ohms, 1.2 ohms at 20kHz) You might want to look for a amp that doubles down (ie. doubles wattage when halfing the load). Ignore the power ratings, especially at 8 ohms. The B&K is rated 225 watt/8 ohm but only 350 at 4 ohms. To double down it would need to go from 225 to 450. You might want to call Martin Logan and see if they can suggest some amplifiers (after all they designed the speaker).

By separating the high frequencies from the low frequencies, you effectively double the power reserve of each amplifier and increase its stability. Since he would have a dedicated amp to deal with the "low current" sections ( panels ) at the reactive high frequency points WITHOUT having to deal with the high current demands of low frequency reproduction, he should be fine. In turn, the current demands needed for low frequency reproduction would not be affected by the tweeters reactance at very high frequencies, letting it concentrate on supplying power where it is needed most. As mentioned, an electronic crossover would further increase the efficiency of the system and allow fine tuning / tailoring to meet the tonal balance of ones' room. Kev's suggesting about contacting Martin Logan is a very valid one though and would surely be worth the time and money. Sean >