2. amps-preamps
  3. 1269982508

Best Match for Dynaudio Contour S3.4?

Amp Budget $2400. Peachtree Nova Preamp/DAC, Ocos II speaker cables, and a short list of amps as follows; Odyssey Stratos Mono Extremes, Spectron Musician III MkII Se, Plinius P8 (modified), Mark Levinson 331.

I loved the sound of the Plinius 9200 paired with the Dyns, but I was not using the preamp section so I sold it. Might be regretting this... But now I am seeing if I can do the same or better for under $2400.

Who has some experience with any of these combinations that could opine here about their preferences and why. I listen to a lot of soft rock and blues mostly (Steely Dan, John Mayer, Buddy Guy, SRV, etc) as well as female vocalists (from Patricia Barber to Joss Stone and Sarah Vaughan). Well recorded jazz is cool, but classical is not my thing.

Thanks!
fredorama
missioncoonery
1,215 posts
 
I ran a X150.5 for a short time with C4s and it sounded really nice.Yes, when I ran a 350.5 it was more of a good thing..300 watts from the 150.5 is more than enough to drive those C1s where as the SA150 is only 180 watts into that 4 ohm load..Another plus for Pass is they are made in USA and the customer support is second to none ..Buy American and a better amp for your applications..cant argue with that!!IMO
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missioncoonery
1,215 posts
 
Fredorama..Your thought process is all wrong.IMO, I agree with Tvad..Modded amps.NEVER!!..Resale is Sh*t,no service will touch it,chances are reliabilty goes down..Your money but thats just foolish....
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fredorama OP
50 posts
 
Thanks Missioncoonery, Tvad and Dpac for your thoughtful responses. The guy who mods Plinius that I am talking about - Vince Galbo - worked for Plinius for about 12 years. Between him and Scot Markwell (the current US distributor), they were the only two importers of Plinius to the States in the 90s. Vince helped design the amps and knows them inside and out. (e.g. When the company started using cheaper parts to save money, the differences and specs of every component and wire used for every model year, etc).

So.... while I think that your advice may be generally true, I don't believe that is the case here. Even Scot Markwell says that Vince is a genius when it comes to making any Plinius amp sing. With a 102, Vince himself told me not to mod it until I had lived with it for a while - it was that good out of the box.

Now...Dpac, you just killed me with that last post. After many anxiety ridden days, I have on my desk, a check written out to buy an SA-102 for $2400 shipped, mostly due to how great the 9200 sounded, and figuring that the SA-102 would be better in all respects (except maybe raw power). Now you have me wondering again. So I may be back to square one here...

I looked at the Pass X150.5. Everybody says buy the 250.5 because it's just that much better. I can't afford the 250.5, so I punted that idea. Don't know anything about the ARC....but will research that, especially based on your comments. Still wondering about the Odysseys. Spoke to a guy last night powering his Dyn C2s with the Stratos Mono Extremes - had 'em for four years and happy as a clam.

Oh brother.....
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