Experience with Plinius M8 & P10

Hi J -

I have experience with both Plinius and Symphonic Line gear driving Revel Salon 2s although not with the same models.

I had a Plinius M8 pre feeding a Plinius SB-301 power amp in my system for about a year, before I turned to the Symphonic Line tube pre-amp and Symphonic Line Kraft 250 monos last summer. While slightly recessed in the treble, the SB-301 is indeed a powerful amp that provided bass weight and slam in spades.

I first replaced the M8 with the SL tube pre, which in tandem with the SB-301 provided better soundstaging, smoother mids and a more detailed yet less fatiguing treble. But the biggest difference was in microdynamics, which improved dramatically.

I would have been very happy to stay with this combination but for the fact that a pair of not even broken in SL Kraft 250 monos were offered to me at a price that I simply could not refuse. So in they came, and into the box went the SB-301. Where it stayed for the next six months, as I could not bring myself to sell it. Just a few weeks ago it made its way to its new home, and the new owner is very happy with it.

I love the Kraft 250s and see no reason to even bother considering other brands. They provide better microdynamics than the Plinius did, and better stereo imaging as would be expected from monoblocks. Their tonal balance is nearly perfect, and they actually play louder than the Plinius did despite their putative 250 watts into 8 ohms. And I have never heard an amplifier reproduce drum strikes so realistically - they are as fast as it gets.

Yet despite their clear overall superiority to the SB-301, the Plinius did have a weightier bass. At times I prefer the agility, tautness and accuracy of the Kraft 250s bass, but at times I miss the sheer oomph of the Plinius.

Now while I would not expect the 200 wpc P10 to produce the same weight and slam of the SB-301, I would expect it to best the 140 wpc SL RG 9 in that departmemt. The M8 should pair well with the P10, although my experience has led me to prefer a tube pre - SS amp tandem.

Hey P59teitel...

Thanks for your detailed insights and experiences...
I listened to teh Plinius M8 and P10 today on Expolinear speakers in Berlin...
I did not know speakers, room and electronics before... So it is really a hard guess on the components I listened to today...

I guess the Expolinear's ribbon tweeters created a very special airiness and "lightness" in sound, that Wilson's don't create. It was close to electro static sound. The Expolinear guy is a very experienced Audiophile.

He described old Plinius components in general as balanced with longterm satisfaction guarantee. If that is so, his loudspeakers seem to be very airy and transparent.

Bass control in this room and the speakers was not so impressive, but definitely had a certain slam...

My impression was, Plinius seems to be more significant sounding than symphonic line...

I of course asked the retailer, if I could check the components at home. He declined. So I felt a little pissed. As a reaction he offered 5% discount on top of the 50% overall discount. Components are new... but I feel like I would by "the cat in the bag", like we say in Germany...

So... I am sure, the components are fine and well built.
But I am not sure, if I would exactly like the character of the Plinius...
:/

The price is very attractive and I guess it will be sold within the next few days... Tough situation.

I don't expect airiness of Symphonic Line, but I want some more Slam and still good resolution and strong imaging (not necessarily to the extent of SL)...

Tough decision making...

From your description of your audition I would guess that the Expolinears are voiced differently from Wilsons and may not produce bass the way that Wilsons do? You might want to try a few different amplifiers with the Expolinears to get more of a sense of their tonal balance, and from there try to project to your Sophias. If you find the Plinius combo to produce the most bass weight and slam with the dealer's speakers, they should do the same with yours.

But yes, still a risk to buy and pray. The price though is low enough that if they didn't work out, you could probably sell them here and come out even or pretty close. And I have heard that Plinius is more widely known in Europe than in the U.S., and is widely understood to mate well with Dynaudio speakers. So at least you'd have a strong used market if you wanted to keep looking after getting them home.

Decisions, decisions...let us know how it works out.

Okay... So I did the "Leap of faith" buying a still expensive Preamp / Poweramp by only reading about it and hearing it in unknown environment.

I just liked the way it was built, the specs looked nice and design goals were all things I can agree to. Nonetheless risk is high.

So since today afternoon I have M8 and PA10 from Plinius in my Studio room, wired with balanced Vovox cables and Synergicistic Research going to my Sophia's. Source is either Apple with Apogee Ensemble DAC or Meridian G08, both with Symphonic Line cables into the M8.

So... the machines are still heating up, breaking in.
But I already can say, that I got quite exactly what I was hoping for. More balls and punch than my Symphonic Line RG09, but probably not as detailed and open, though really nicely balanced so far. But much more detail and transparency than my old Bryston BP25-BST-4-chain...

So: all good at this end of the ocean... :)
I will judge on transparency, resolution, soundstage and imaging, once I have gotten more familiar with the new components...

AND: My Logitech Harmony now can remote control my WHOLE system here. And the Plinius stuff also looks nice!

I AM VERY HAPPY SO FAR.

My Symphonic Line RG09 will go into the living room and fire my other Sophia's...

I guess I now have the perfect set up for my needs :)))))

Glad you are liking it! Achieving happiness with your system is often an elusive goal.