2. amps-preamps
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Choice of amplifier

I recently purchased a pair of Sonus Faber Extrema. For those of you who know the Extrema, they need a lot of power. I currently own an EAR 890 (70WPC class A), which has plenty of power, but not enough to drive the Extrema well. So, I am selling the EAR to get a bigger amp. Here are a few choices I am considering:

a) CJ Premier 140 (or Premier 12)
b) A muscular solid state (a 300WPC Cello or a similarly powerful Edge)
c) I might get another EAR 890 and use them in mono

What do you think?
ggavetti
plato
1,543 posts
 
Monarchy Audio SE-100MK2 class A monoblocks, currently on sale for $1358/pr would likely sound as good or better than any of the amps you've listed. Or... you could pay more from a more upscale company and get less sonically.

They sound excellent from top to bottom with a very musical/natural tube-like midrange. At 4ohms they'll put out 165W/channel.
elevick
2,636 posts
 
If they can bridge mono, a pair of those would be really tough to beat!
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Gavetti, it appears that the Extrema may have a variable impedance that dips as low as 4 Ohms, with a nominal value that is 5 Ohms if I recall correctly. This suggests that an amplifier with a high output damping factor may yield very good results, mayhaps better than just a high powered amp. You may want to give a try to the Bel canto Ref 500M monoblock, if 250W per channel into 4 Ohms doubling into 4 Ohms were adequate, or its bigger brother, the Ref 1000M monoblock, with 500W per channel at 8 Ohms, doubling into 4. I have used the exceptional 1000M very successfully with the Vienna Mahlers V1.5, which are also difficult speakers to drive. See my 1000 Mk.2 (recently renamed 1000M) review on PFO at:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue43/bel_canto_ref1000.htm
hifitime
715 posts
 
An Ear890 running into mono might not make it with the low impedence characteristic's of your Sonus.Here is a link from Stereophile about your speakers.More like a 5 ohm speaker.I would consider something that could drive 4 ohms all day long.When you run a lot of amps in mono,8 ohms may be the lowest for them.EAR doesn't seem to give any spec's on the net.Link>>[http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/915/index3.html]
plato
1,543 posts
 
Of course if you want to go class D, which is not a bad thing at all, few amps can keep up with the Wyred4Sound amps for overall performance and bang-for-the-buck. I have their STI-500 in my other system and it is very good indeed. Dynamic capability is among the amp's strong points and it puts out a healthy 550W/channel into 4 ohms. If you have any specific questions about its performance you may e-mail me privately.
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