I want to talk to Wyetech Topaz's owners

If you have read the Soundstage review of the topaz, you'll find that Mickelson reviewed them on a pair of WP7's and found they had plenty of power. In comparison to the Lamm ML2:
" The amps' power output seems about equal, with perhaps the Wyetech amp playing more loudly before it lets you know that it has reached its limit."
The similarities and differences are laid out between the two in the review (the $9,800 Topaz and the $30,000 ML2).
Personally I have found the grainless purity combined with the power and extension to be unbeatable. I have had amps that have sounded slightly more powerful in the bottom end (60 w push-pull tube mono's) and other SET's that have had a sweeter tone but I have found the Topaz to be amazingly natural and real sounding. I've had OTL's too. They have their strengths but are not as natural sounding.
FYI my taste in music spans the entire spectrum. Jazz, Folk, Blues, Classical, Rock, Metal. The Topaz was the only amp that did all of these well. And I owned the other three amps while I had the Topaz so the comparisons were done over several months of ownership, not an evening of listening.

Well if you ever add an Opal to the Io let me know what you think. The Io can swing a mean sine wave so I don't think lack of input sensitivity of any modern amp will be affected by the abiltiy of the Io's drive. But who knows, this is widely uncharted and when I asked Aesthetix about this they suggested to try and see.

I have not had the need to add a line stage to gain dynamics in my system. Dynamics and sensitivity is largely system dependant right from the source to the speaker along with the room interface.. a additional line stage may or may not help. For example I'm not a fan of passives..but that's just me YMMV and all that.

As for the Wilson's, Nuttella mentions the review in Soundstage which may give you some information...but with this kind of investment you really need to try first. Hebert may be on his last few chassis of Topaz and they may or may not go back into production when those chassis are used up and he moves on to his more expensive and elaborate designs. It may be close to last chance to buy an amp of this caliber from Wyetech at "reasonable cost".

I have owned an Opal for the past 3 years and don't even think about replacing it. There simply is no "upgrade."

Neal

Hi. I replaced my Classe Omega amp last year with Topaz monos & have not looked back. They easily powered my SF Amatis & are fantastic with my Acapella LaCampanellas. I think so much of them that I just dumped my ARC Ref II Mk II to buy either the Pearl or Opal from Wyetech directly. I've never heard one of their preamps but based on the Topaz's & the few reviews I've read, I'm jumping in. I think it's interesting to note that the reviews have been unanimous in their praise for a company that doesn't spend a dime on advertising.