w4s sti1000 or belles 150a ref for audio physic??

Tvad, okay, just to be clear, it was the Belles stereo 150A. While I don't doubt that the 150A Reference monos are the best of that series, as I said, the Belles I had in my system would have had to improve by orders of magnitude to compete with the Wyred. FWIW one of my friends bought the Belles 350A used on Audiogon and didn't even like it. He compared it to his Cayin A88T tube amp, which is a somewhat muddled but very musical sounding tube amp and sold the Belles in less than 2 weeks. I have not personally auditioned the 350A.

But let me ask you the big question: Have you heard either the W4S STI-1000 or the STI-500 in your own system or some other familiar, good-sounding system?

So far, I prefer the Wyred to the other very good amplifiers I've had in my system recently... And did I mention it has a polarity invert feature on the remote? I'm listening to a GRP Christmas CD as I write this and it's really marvelous through the Wyred. You really ought to hear one in your system.

I also wanted to mention that Dan Wright of Modwright has commented very favorably on the combination of one of his Modwright tube preamps and the W4S ST-500 basic power amp.

Beyond that it almost goes without saying that no amplifier will satisfy all the people in every situation. I always recommend that audiophiles audition prospective gear in their own rooms and systems whenever possible. You drink coffee, I drink tea, etc., etc.

Tvad, I assume you're referring to Doug Blackburn's 2004 review of the Belles 150A Reference amp at SoundStage.com? At least that was the only one of consequence that came up in my search.

I have respect for Doug Blackburn's opinions and what he said in that review was indeed high praise. Certainly I can't dispute it as I haven't heard that model of Belles amp.

That said, I am a little puzzled by your apparent closed-minded posture. So because you've heard a couple of ICE amps that you didn't like, now all ICE amps are bad, is that it? That's like me saying, "I heard a few solid-state amps and didn't like them so all solid-state amps are bad and I'll never listen to one again."

Excuse me for saying so, but that is the kind of attitude that prevents progress. There are still people who won't listen to CD's, only vinyl, and while the CD format is not perfect by a long shot, even you'd probably agree that it's not all that bad and is in fact much better now than it was 20 years ago. And of course vinyl is wonderful, but many post baby boomers would disagree with that as well.

Listen to some music, you'll feel better. :)