Best Integrated amp for Wilson Audio Sasha

Keithr: You stated: "just going back from memory on the stereo amp, in which multiple reviews said lower impedances weren't its thing (I believe Mike Lavigne told me that as well a long time ago)"

You are making a statement about an amplifier that has 2 1/2 times the power as the amp Mike was talking about. It is an assumption based on no experience and misused hearsay. Also there are no reviews that made that statement. The stereo amplifier does not have a problem with lower impedance speakers. It just need to be matched with speakers that have the proper efficiency just like any other amplifier. :)

I have had enough personal experience with Wilson and darTZeel products used together that I can assure you they work well together.

All the best,

Jonathan Tinn
darTZeel Distributor (Sorry for the forgotten disclosure earlier)

In fact, you would absolutely not want a "higher power" amp, whether it be a power amp or integrated amp, if you have reasonably efficient speakers, and certainly not on a 91+ db. efficient speaker like the Sasha, as the vast majority of such amps use a lot of global feedback to control the circuit, as well as numerous output devices (i.e., numerous transistors or power tubes) to achieve high power. Feedback imparts a muted, closed-in, two-dimensional sound, and the numerous output devices reduce transparency and just generally muck up the sound on high-resolution systems. In this regard, it is frequently said, with good reason, that the lowest powered amp in a line of amplifiers is the best sounding one - the simpler the circuit, the better.

The new Rowland 625, the Ayre amps, and the darTZeel amps use no global feedback and none has a rated output of more than 300 watts/channel into 8 Ohms. Most Pass amps do not use any global feedback, and a few models have only three gain stages. The darTZeel stereo amp uses only a single pair of transistors per channel.

If you have really inefficient speakers (84 db. or less), if your system is in a really big room, or if you listen primarily to disco at 120+ decibels, then there may be a compelling reason to buy a high-powered (400+ watts per channel) amp. If, however, you're running efficient speakers like Sashas and have a reasonably normal room, high wattage is not what you want.

I was just listening to a pair of very well set up Sashas last week. The electronics were the Audio Research Signature Anniversary line, specifically powered by their 110 wpc VS115 power amp, a huge all tube beast rated at 110 wpc. All cabling was a high level (but not top level) Transparent.

The sound was stunning in every way. In fact, I've been going to the Seattle Symphony quite a bit lately, and this ARC/Transparent/Sasha combo had an immediacy and ability to energize the room and air much like a live performance. It's one of the best illusions of the more elusive aspects of live performance that I've heard.

Not that it's pocket change, but at $12K that ARC VS115 power amp is an absolute stunner powering the Sashas.

I used to on the WP/7s and drove them with a Spectron MIIISE amp and VTL TL7.5 preamp. I happily replaced/upgraded this combo to the APL UA-S4 integrated which is a single gain stage amp with extremely pure tone, which I still own although Ive sold the Wilsons.

JTinn- I looked on the Dart website and there are no specs or mainstream reviews, so I will defer to you.

Raquel- Sashas efficiency is misleading. They spend most of there time below 4 ohms with some tough phase angles---this isn't a 90db flat 8ohm impedance speaker---and not near as easy to drive as higher end Wilsons.