2. amps-preamps
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Amp upgrade for Revel M20 speakers

For the past several months, I've been slowly upgrading my two channel system. Prior to that, I hadn't touched it in over 20 years. For all those years, it was: Denon DCD1520 CD player, Nak SR4A receiver, Spica TC-50 speakers. Today, with latest upgrade of speakers to Revel M20s, the system comprises: Arcam DV-137 (transport for CD, SACD playback), PS Audio Digital Link 3 DAC, Audible Illusions L1 pre, B&K Ref 2220 amp driving the M20s.

I'm pretty happy with everything at this point. At least I think I can finally stop the hunt for the right speakers - at least for a while. BUT....I can't help but think I can do better with my amplification than the B&K. The B&K is very nice but I think the M20s deserve just a little bit better.

There are two aspects of the current system's performance that I am looking to improve with a change in amplification: 1) wider, deeper soundstage and 2) more dynamic transients (I believe the B&K is a bit sluggish though not bad at all)

I have two options that I'm considering and am looking for input from people having experience with the M20s (or very similar). The two options are: 1) change out the B&K for another power amp (budget would be about $800 for used amp), 2) swap out the AI pre and B&K amp for a high quality integrated (budget would be about $1,200 for used integrated).

As far as amps to replace the B&K only, I really am looking for suggestions for something that would mate well with both the AI pre and the M20s and provide a significant improvement in performance.

Integrateds that I've looked into include: Creek Destiny, Nait Naim 5i-2, and Simaudio i-1. Any opinions on these or others in my price range that would give me the performance enhancements I'm looking for would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Jon
jblack16
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
The Revels are medium-low efficiency (87 db) speakers with a 6 ohm nominal impedance that drops to 4 ohms at some frequencies. They would most likely perform best with a 100+ watts/channel amp and would really shine with 200-250 watts/ch.

Emotiva make some well-respected amps in that category - the XPA-2 and the XPA-1L come to mind. The XPA-2 is currently on sale for $799 and a pair of XPA-1L monoblocks are also on sale for $1198.

Both come with a 30 day in-home trial and a 5 years warranty:

http://shop.emotiva.com/

-RW-

PS: I have and Emotiva XPA-5 amp and it really does sound quite good in my system - it sounds quite clean and fast and has a very good bottom-end. All in all the Emo amps are a very good value...
jblack16 OP
10 posts
 
Thanks for the replies.

RW,
I hadn't thought of the Emo amps but I'll look into them now. Do you have any idea how the Emo amps would compare to the B&K I'm currently using? The Revels may actually be even lower efficiency than their stated 87dB. Sterophile measured it at 84dB I believe. Either way, they do need a lot of power which is why I wanted to understand how they behave with integrated amps that aren't rated for as much power as my B&K or other power amps in the $800 price range.

Ejlif,
Thanks for the info on the Destiny and the Simaudio i5. My system is in a medium sized bedroom and I don't typically play at ear-splitting levels. Do you have any idea how loud you had to drive the M20s to get the Destiny to cut off? You said that the Simaudio gave you a tighter, snappier bass through the M20s, how was the bass with the Destiny?
loomisjohnson
1,944 posts
 
jblack, you are correct that the revels are very inefficient and sound better with more juice, esp. at lower volumes. i just saw a harman hk990 on ebay for 999--it's a vg high current integrated and should match well with the revels.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I had the Naim. I know some people like it, but I thought it was an overrated pile of junk. The Creek would be my first choice. I had a 5350 and I heard the Destiny at length driving a pair of Magnepan 12's. It was able to drive those, so the Revel's shouldn't be a problem. The Sim should be OK as well, but I would go with the Creek.

As far as amps go, that may make sense if you can find the right one. You have a pretty good preamp, so I would definately consider it.
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,859 posts
 
I drive my M106 Revels with a McCormack DNA 125... they can be found relatively cheap and it's been a great amp. I should note that I recently upgraded my pre, DAC, and speakers. The McCormack is the only component left from my upgrade five years ago. It's a great amp and I think I would have to spend considerably more to better it. I was going to replace it but I bought a NAD M51 DAC which was well worth it and a huge step up in terms of my source component.
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