ASR Emitter II or Burmester 911?

Said that I consider the thorens a good amplification, but not as same class of mactone. If so give me so much and right to the conclusions that you draw more appropriate.

Kind regards.

Many thanks to all who have taken the time to contribute their thoughts and experiences. I greatly appreciate all your comments. I guess the question was really a bit simplistic and only one step better than "what is the best amplifier?". Of course at this level they are all great pieces of equipment, and of course each will have its own particular strengths and character, and these will inevitably suit some loads/speakers more than others.

It is interesting that posts have discussed experiences with Acapella speakers - I actually owned a pair of Violon Suboktav Bass (about 2000 vintage) for a few years. I had B&W801ns before that and in the end I went back to the newer B&W801ds (the choices are not so wide out here in New Zealand). The Violins did some things incredibly well, but I listen to more modern music, jazz and electronica than classical. Not surprisingly perhaps in this case I guess I found the 801s were more integrated, controlled and forceful, if ultimately less resolving. Giving up the plasma tweeter was hard though :-(

Casouza, thanks for your advice. I actually listened to the 800ds as well before returning to 801s - the 800s had better mid-bass integration and in retrospect I should have bought those probably - but for electronica and recreatign ahll ambience the lows from the 801 are hard to beat. I think the top B&Ws can do better than most people give them credit for, but I'd agree the mids have a certain coarseness to their character. Several years ago I heard the Burmester 001 player and 911 amp driving middle of the line (Strauss) Vienna Acoustics speakers with live jazz club music. The realism was quite stunning, particularly in the portrayal of depth, so I have been attracted to that combination since. I guess their new speakers must be quite excellent. I think you are quite right to identify teh speakers as the weakest link (well probably my room is weaker unfortunately.....)

Thanks again to all for the time taken. In my case anyway, I find with good gear that, yes, in a given system one amp my sound better (usually to all listeners) than another. But actually both sound great and either would be fine. So probably there is no wrong decision and other factors (availability and ease of resale for instance) must be considered too. So... I have the small ASR with its particular character, and I have no thought to sell it at this stage, but I'll also find a 911 and see how it works out.

Thanks again for so freely and enthusiastically sharing your experience.

Murray

I just purchased a Burmester 089, their new CDP/DAC/Preamp with Reference parts. I bought the 089 based on my freinds 069 ($70K). Burmester electronics have the most natural, emotional and engaging sound I have ever heard reproduced music.

Getting my Burmester 089 on 7/20/10. I will report once I break that bad boy in.

I agree with Casouza. But first I have to honest. The level of gear you people are talking does make me a bit jalous. I think I have spend less then 10% on my system then you spend on amps. You have the gear I could only dream of. But I have heard some high level gear at shows and dealers. So my info might not be the best but still here it is.

Dump the speakers. I have heard most of the B&W 800 series but thought the 801 was the worst of the bunch for the money. The 802 with a pair of velodyne DD12 subs or a B&W 800 with no subs. But still at that level I think there are better speakers like Wilson Audio, Verity Audio, Martin Logan Summit, Martin Design etc etc all depending on personal taste.

Enjoy the music.