Bel Canto Ref 1000 ice monos- heard/compared to??

I see no one has posted yet, so I'll chime in. I know your question related to the comparison of these amps, which I cannot answer. However, I can say that I recently purchased the Bel Canto M300s and love their clarity, bass extension and dynamic soundstage. A great amp for the money, and the 1000s are supposed to be even better. Good luck in your search.

Tgrisham- thanks for chiming in- I felt the same things about the Ref 1000's...

I have two Acoustic Reality eAR 1001 ICEpower based mono amps, which I slightly prefer above the Accuphase A-50V class A stereo amp. It is weird, but the Accuphase is almost 10 times the price of the eAR amps when new! I wonder though if the eAR amps (or similar amps like the Belcanto Ref 1000) are really that good. I mean, it is almost absurd that the very expensive super hi end amp is not superior to this sub $2k amp.

Chris

I think it will come down to mating these types of amps with the right speakers. They are fantastic with my Dynaudios which run at a steady 4 Ohms and are relatively "tight". Once they are more commonplace, we may find their limitations, but I already prefer them to typical solid state; tubes are another matter. If they hold their own, SS amps will have a hard time competing. I wonder where the technology will go next?

Tgrisham- agreed- speaker mating important- the Dynaudios are probably a fab match- I use Coincident Victory speakers in that system- 97db/14ohm- more meant for tubes, however with a 1 year old who is mobile now, I am shying away from 'hot' tubes and need a simpler, yet pure-sounding solid state solution (the system also doubles as 2-ch home theater).