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Tube pre/power combo for Rockport Aviors

I have a pair of Rockport Aviors on order that should arrive sometime in Jan. The Conrad Johnson CT 5 pre and CJ LP 70S power (70 wpc) that I have at present may not have enough juice to do justice to the Aviors. Given the limited availability of brands/dealers in my part of the world,I have shortlisted 3 pre/power combos :
1. Conrad Johnson GAT and ARTsa(140 wpc)
2.ARC 5SE and Ref 150 or Ref 250 monos
3. VTL 7.5 mk 3 pre and 450 MB series3
The Aviors will replace a pair of Quad 2905s that I have enjoyed for 6+ years. My musical tastes extend to the whole spectrum from large orchestral works, chamber music, rock, blues, Indian music but strictly no Rap or Country. The preferred source is vinyl.
Ideally I would love to stay with the CJ line as I like the sonics though I suspect this may not be possible.I am not looking for recommendations per se but to those Agoners who have experience of any of these brands either through ownership or extensive listening etc. I have been fortunate to be in contact with some knowledgeable Agoners .
Many thanks and festive cheer
Pradeep
128x128sunnyboy1956
soix
9,812 posts
 
You should really contact Andy Payor at Rockport to see what he recommends both for power requirements and what he likes with the Aviors. Personally I wouldn't do anything until I heard them with my CJ gear and then go from there, which is probably what you're doing. If you like the CJ sound it's a little hard to think you'll like ARC or VTL, which in my experience are not as warm or romantic sounding as CJ gear. But then again who knows? I really liked the VAC idea mentioned above -- perhaps a nice middle ground between CJ and the others you mentioned. You probably know Andy uses Gryphon solid state Class A amps pretty extensively to voice his speakers (I think they may be his favorite amps), but I'm sure he must use some tube amps as well so would be interesting to see what those are just for reference. I heard the Altairs with some big Boulder Class A amps and the sound was pretty damn nice.

Anyway, fwiw and best of luck with your high-quality problem -- and congrats on a great pair of speakers.
tom_hankins
928 posts
 
They have gotten great reviews when shown with the BAT REX pre and amps. Heard them with BAT SS amp at RMAF and sound was also good there.
fjn04
1,561 posts
 
I know at one point Andy had C-J amps in house, the Premier 12's I believe. This is going back some time, but he may still have them.
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
You may be happy with your CJ amps. It depends how big your room is, how loud you listen etc etc...I've also heard them with the Nagra MSA's (a pair), that's one nice little amp.

I've never heard the BAT Rex amp...but used to own bat before and that's likely a good combo to. Kinda wish I'd can hear this amp soon...

Soix, those Gryphon SS amps are VERY nice...I heard them with the Altair's...If I could handle the heat output in Texas, I'd be lusting for those one day...
sunnyboy1956's avatar
sunnyboy1956 OP
424 posts
 
Many thanks to all who have responded. I did speak to Andy Payor yesterday . He was clear that 70/80 wpc will be adequate unless you play at head banging levels which hopefully I don't . I am not too concerned about extracting the last bit of LFE as my pair of REL G1 subs are simply outstanding at this.
Soix is correct. I am going to spend a lot of time getting to know the Aviors with the existing CJ gear and only then upgrade. I obviously don't want to spend a lot of money and end up with a sideways shift.
I did get a brief demo of the VTL 7.5 mk 3 pre hooked to a pair of VTL Seigfred monos and the new Wison XLFs. This was a majestic display especially with the large orchestral works. Probably just me but there was no emotional connect with the music . Played a variety of music from Norah Jones, Leonard Cohen( not the best demo material ) Paricia Barber and Bernstein conducting Shostakovich . All the music came via a dcs( forget the model) controlled with a iPad . I am not a great fan of computer audio though I will be acquiring a Mytek Dac this trip. Will demo the VTL 450 MBs driving the Wilson Sashas post Xmas and revert.

Once again many thanks for all your thoughtful advice and comments.
Have a great Christmas
Pradeep
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