Whats with the Watts ??

I listened to the DALI Helicon 400 Mk.2 yesterday. DALI makes fantastic speakers. If the Mentors behave like the Helicons, then you'll need solid state with a high damping factor. It's more than watts. Some speakers need an amp that takes hold of the drivers and controls them. If the bass was a little wooly, it's because the AR wasn't conrtolling the driver. Rowland, Bryston, Conrad Johnson and several others have high damping factors. Most tube amps do not.

You can mix a tube preamp with a SS amp, but, like I said earlier, don't get too hung up on SS vs. valves.

If you really like the Maggies, then the issues that you heard can probably be fixed with a different amp.

One wild card when listening in stores is that the speakers are seldom set in their ideal positions. Also, nearby drivers suck up the power of the speakers you listening to. The back wave off the Maggies cancels the energy of the front wave, prompting you to keep turning them up. They can be set up to minimize the cancellation, but I'm afraid that you probably heard a set with both the wrong set and the wrong amplification. The fact that you heard the potential would say not to give up on them.

What did you think of the DALIs? They DEMAND a good setup and high damping factor, but they're incredible when everything is right.

What part of the world are you in? Maybe someone can suggest a particularly insightful dealer for you. Only one out of five seem to know their *ss from a hole in the ground, unfortunately. I highly recommend good dealers, but the others do more damage than good, IMHO.

Dave

Dave - I live in NJ (Essex County). I visited three dealers thus far. Two were outstanding - Audio Connection and CSA. Both were very knowledagble and helpful. The first is where I listened to the Maggies and AR. CSA had the Dali's and Totem (I listened through these with Simaudio I3 integrated and Simaudio cd player - don't know the model). I really liked the Dali's but wished they had other models, such as the Helicons, to listen to. Yes, the bass seemed wooly as you say (not tight). Thanks for the damping factor. I'll try and educate myself on what this means and what to look for.

The bass on the DALIs is night and day, depending on the damping factor. See if anyone carries Jeff Rowland research electronics so you can hear how good they can sound, then see if the dealer has a less expensive option.

Dave

Silver911- Are you taking your own recordings with you to listen to, or relying on what the dealers have on hand? It's always best to have your own recordings, material that you know sounds good on a correctly set up system. Do you have a friend with a correctly set up system, and some well engineered CDs? Otherwise there is really no reference to compare the auditioned systems by. One may have lousy CDs, and the other excellent ones. that could also explain the Maggies sounding better on one type of music than another(one CD being better than the other).

Rodman - I bring my own cd's and have ben playing the same cuts on each system.