amp and pre for Soundlab M-1's

The very best sound I've heard from Soundlabs was with Viva electronics driving them. Astonishing. This combo readily proves how bogus most power ratings are as applied to the ability to drive a speaker.

If you can eval the Vivas in your system, I'd think it would be worth your time to check them out.

Tubes108, are you thinking of the setup Jim Aud used a few years ago at the show? It sounded good, but unfortunately the amps clipped without too much provocation. Good power supplies help, however power and dB are related logarithmically, so the laws of physics still apply.
Brian

Keep the JC-1s and acquire an Aesthetix preamp (mine happens to be a Janus, but a Callisto would do in a pinch :) ). This, in my opinion, is sonic nirvana.

Yo John, why didn't you tell him to run, not walk, to scour the streets for a CAT??? After all, the question was about amps as well! Wish I could visit with you and Brian in January, but alas, work calls.

Curriemt11: I did not want to obliterate his bank account all in one day. You gotta do these things slowwwwwwwwwly. Yes, I am a big fan of the amplified felines as well. These with the Io/Callisto results in sonic nirvana indeed. Mighty nice. Just wish my room were bigger!

I am in the western burbs of the Minneapolis area so if Seadogs1 is anywhere nearby, a friendly visit is always welcome.....after the holidays of course.

John

Hey Brian. Sure I agree that in the real world, just as I learned in engineering school, that "power and dB are related logarithmically". But...in our audio world, an amplifier's power specification is derived from standardized tests that in many instances has little correspondence to the amount of power available to drive a speaker. Among other issues, the power rating is based on an amplifier driving a dummy resistive load. As most speakers have impedances which are a much more difficult load to drive than a pure resistor, the power ratings, most of the time, are but vapor wear. The specs are great for marketing, but do not necessarily correlate to a given performance level in a real stereo system.