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

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).

As another point of reference for you, I've got the REF1000's driving Zu Druid (101 dB, 12 ohm). Best amps I've heard. And the speakers definitely like them. And they don't heat the room way up. At first I thought it was nuts to pair up 1000W with a 12-ohm wide-range speaker, but after enjoying the music for a while I really don't care how it looks. If I'm a nut, at least I'm a happy nut.