Monoblocks or upgrade to larger amp?

Viridian: so, does your experience tally with Redkiwi in that the 250 is the better sounding amp?

Excuse my confusion, but your first post just has the one sentence Red reproduced (maybe the rest didn't get posted?) and in the second I can't see your suggestion.

Sorry for me adding more confusion than what already seems to be piling up on this thread. While i have heard the SA-100, i was basing my comments on one SA-100 vs one SA-250 in terms of db comparisons. Sorry for not being too clear on that one.

As to Redkiwi's comments, i too would go with whatever amps sounds best. If the sonics are there but the power isn't, you could always double up on the amps. While this could be quite costly, did you think that you would get away "cheaply" in a hobby like this : ) Sean
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I must have been in a bad mood with my earlier posts - sorry about that. Knowing both these amps, it does not gel with me to consider the SA250 as just being a more powerful SA100. Secondly there is a significant difference between the SA250 Mk3 and the Mk4. I don't mean the Mk4 is significantly better, but it is significantly different.

The word is, by the way, that US buyers are holding out for a Mk4 version of the SA100 and sales have slowed, causing Plinius to consider releasing a MK4 version, even though they have no upgrades planned. Kinda illustrates the false conclusions people jump to about how a family of products is developed.

Another little story - A friend of mine had a SA250 Mk3 and used it with his Dynaudios and found it lacked life - auditioned the Mk4 and found it went in the wrong direction for him, and believe it or not went back to using a McCormack DNA 1.0, because it gave the added edge that the Dynaudios needed. I relay this just to put the relative sound in perspective. I reckon his problem was his other gear which was Meridian 500 and 566-20, with a Sonic Frontiers preamp, and his insistance on using very ordinary cables.

Last point - if I had an SA100 and Dynaudios, I would be craving for more power too. The Dynaudios require a powerhouse amp and the SA250 may do the job, but may also be a little laid-back in this combination. The SA 250 Mk4 and Thiel 3.6 work really well together for me, but the Dynaudio is not the same kind of speaker as the Thiel 3.6, if you know what I mean.

Thanks, everyone. Redkiwi, let your friend know that cables have a major impact on the sound. I've tried JPS Superconductors II, Harmonic Tech. Pro, Silver Hyacinths, Transparent Super and Ultra (highly overrated), Nordost SPM's and NBS Monitor IV's, III's and I's. Each cable had it's own unique characteristic. The NBS Monitor I's interconnects brought out the detail better than the rest. The III's speaker cable complemented the I's very nicely (especially since the I's speaker cable are priced a bit out of my range). Looks like I'll keep an eye out for the 250 Mk IV instead of getting another 100 Mk III. I really appreciate all the feedback. Thanks again and happy listening!