McCormack.
mid-fi to hi-fi evolution...power questions
current:
vandy 2ce sigs in a treated room. love 'em. might add a sub.
acurus rl-11 preamp. totally under-rated. after a ken ealey massage, a giant killer at just $1k.
cal cl-10
magnum ft-101a
music hall mmf-5 & acurus p10
power has been acurus A250, then Bryston 3B-ST, currently PS Audio 200C
despite the barely mid-fi rep, i liked the acurus power amp with the vandys quite a lot actually. they are fairly inefficient (~85dB/1w/1m), 6ohm, and in a big room...they liked the big power and tamed the harsh reputation a bit.
the 3B was installed with perhaps too high expectations, and was underwhelming. underpowered? i did see the clip indicators a bit too regularly. the 4B would have been a better choice i think.
the current (25 year old!) 200C is also excellent...the best of the bunch. has the low end grunt & control of the acurus, with more refined mid/upper registers...but it's a bit long in the tooth and i worry about its longevity.
but the real truth is, i just have an itch to try something different (power, and possibly pre). budget ~$2k, maybe a touch more. i'm thinking actual (not rated) power at 8ohms of ~200wpc. that's the background...
tightwad (er, 'smart shopper') in me says 'definitely buying used'. auditioning all the varieties of used gear is impossible of course. cosmetics are not so important, but reliability is.
i have a local deal on a conrad johnson pair that is quite intriguing...very clean 17LS pre & MF2500 SS power at ~$3k. is that fair? a steal? it's a bigger fish than i though i was looking to fry, but if it's a give-away, i might bite. beyond that, it's the usual suspects...
given my fondness for the mondial (acurus) sound (really did seem to match well with the vandys), i'm thinking aragon. 8008BB @ ~$1k?
up from there, maybe a krell KSA-150? the age and the heat give me pause however. $1.5k? should i skip the KSA and move on to the FBP? that prototype FBP-200 has my eye...
the rational side of me says '4B-ST is an almost unanimously regarded amp', but given my disappointment with the 3, i'm inclined to look elsewhere, especially at $1.5k. mistake?
what else have i bookmarked? BAT VT-220? belles 150A? threshold s/500? halo a21? so many choices!
what would you add? thx...
vandy 2ce sigs in a treated room. love 'em. might add a sub.
acurus rl-11 preamp. totally under-rated. after a ken ealey massage, a giant killer at just $1k.
cal cl-10
magnum ft-101a
music hall mmf-5 & acurus p10
power has been acurus A250, then Bryston 3B-ST, currently PS Audio 200C
despite the barely mid-fi rep, i liked the acurus power amp with the vandys quite a lot actually. they are fairly inefficient (~85dB/1w/1m), 6ohm, and in a big room...they liked the big power and tamed the harsh reputation a bit.
the 3B was installed with perhaps too high expectations, and was underwhelming. underpowered? i did see the clip indicators a bit too regularly. the 4B would have been a better choice i think.
the current (25 year old!) 200C is also excellent...the best of the bunch. has the low end grunt & control of the acurus, with more refined mid/upper registers...but it's a bit long in the tooth and i worry about its longevity.
but the real truth is, i just have an itch to try something different (power, and possibly pre). budget ~$2k, maybe a touch more. i'm thinking actual (not rated) power at 8ohms of ~200wpc. that's the background...
tightwad (er, 'smart shopper') in me says 'definitely buying used'. auditioning all the varieties of used gear is impossible of course. cosmetics are not so important, but reliability is.
i have a local deal on a conrad johnson pair that is quite intriguing...very clean 17LS pre & MF2500 SS power at ~$3k. is that fair? a steal? it's a bigger fish than i though i was looking to fry, but if it's a give-away, i might bite. beyond that, it's the usual suspects...
given my fondness for the mondial (acurus) sound (really did seem to match well with the vandys), i'm thinking aragon. 8008BB @ ~$1k?
up from there, maybe a krell KSA-150? the age and the heat give me pause however. $1.5k? should i skip the KSA and move on to the FBP? that prototype FBP-200 has my eye...
the rational side of me says '4B-ST is an almost unanimously regarded amp', but given my disappointment with the 3, i'm inclined to look elsewhere, especially at $1.5k. mistake?
what else have i bookmarked? BAT VT-220? belles 150A? threshold s/500? halo a21? so many choices!
what would you add? thx...
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- 12 posts total
- 12 posts total