Amp for Focal Diablo Utopia Colour Evo

I know this is a bit of an old thread, but I had Diablo EVO and felt it was wonderful with Luxman.  I did not care for Focal with Audio Research Ref 75 or Simaudio 700i or Boulder 565.  Also sounded good with tube pre into class A amp. 

Now I better understand your situation and not being able to try it out in your system in your environment makes it difficult. I would look at upgrading your preamp/streamer if it were me as the Primaluna is a very good power amp. Or you could switch out to an Integrated, Primaluna makes several models of tube integrated(s) and they should have a similar sonic signature to your power amp which you already said you like. Good Luck

Chuck

One more thing, the houses in Hong Kong are tiny unless you're mega rich.  So I don't have a listening room and my system is in the living room which is about 300 sqft.  One major limitation I have is that my hifi components has to go on TV cabinet/desk which is only 16 inches deep (wife won't allow a hifi cabinet or changing to a deeper one), this really limits the amps that I can get to 17 inches deep..So the Pass Labs stuff won't fit

oh, and I'm from Hong Kong where the shops won't let me try out the systems, can only listen to them in the store.  But it's impossible to find a store that can replicate my system at home for a test as they carry different brands.. So I pretty much have to research what I want then buy it and hope for the best.

I only started getting into hifi a couple of years ago, started with a NAD integrated driving a pair of Revel m106.  I thought it sounded good until I went to a store and listened to a primaluna driving a pair of Focal Kanta No1s.  It sounded much more open than my system, so I bought the primaluna evo 400 about a year ago.  At the same, changed to streaming instead of CBS, so much more music and convenience, went with premare for the streamer preamp.  But still didn't sound very open, so got the Diablo Utopia a couple of months ago.  It made a world of difference and the system now sounds very open but I wonder if I should now upgrade the amps and the streamer
Sounds like maybe I should stick with the primaluna and upgrade the preamp and streamer instead!

I’m a big fan of JRDG, owned several of their products over the years but unless they’ve changed something the 535 class D amp is getting pretty long in the tooth technology wise - I had the same Pascal modules in the Continuum integrated and it just was sort of a boring amp - I tried Primaluna separates against it with both the Vandersteen Treo and Magico A3 and in both cases I found the JRDG much less favorable sounding.  Very precise and good in its own way, but it can be sterile.  Plus there’s been a lot of new Class D tech coming out.

Agreed that tube amps do well with Focal as do many class A ss amps. My limited experience with ss A/B amps has not been good meaning the tweeter is harsh and I find myself looking for ways to pull back the tweeter. This is not good because when you find the right amplification (personnel preference) that tweeter is marvelous. 

You might want to try RENO Hi-Fi as Mark offers a demo period and if you don't like the amp you can always return it. Pass also makes a couple of very nice class A integrated(s) if you are inclined to go that route. 

I am curious as to how you like you Diablos and what your previous speakers were.

Chuck 

The PS Audio would probably be better than the other two.  I can think of a few other options that would do a good to incredible job depending on budget.  

- the Naim NAP 300 DR.  Naim and Focal go together like peanut butter and jelly.  Focal speakers are voiced using Naim amps.  The NAP 200DR or 250 DR will do the job but the 300 is best with external power supply.  

- the Bricasti M15 would be brilliant.  Bricasti amps just are exceptional

- AVM SA 6.3 is incredible.  Very refined with a warm, smooth yet detailed presentation.  The MA30.3s will do the job well at a lower price but won't be quite as refined.

- Hegel H20 is warm and refined.  I find the sound somewhat analytic yet not cold.  it is a very unique presentation that would do a really nice job with those Focals

I am a Focal dealer and a dealer of all of these amps.  All are pure SS without tube input stages.  None require a fully balanced connection to get great performance so they will work with you preamp.  They range from $5300 up to about $13.5K so in the same range as to what you are looking at.  

if you want an integrated, Hegel and AVM have excellent options.

Thanks for your reply guys.  I'm currently driving the focals with a Primaluna Evo 400 power and a premare pre amp.  While I like the sound of the current setup, I do feel that the accuracy can be improved.  That's why I was thinking about the 3 amps that I mentioned.  You think these amps will be too revealing to the tweeter?  Many thanks 

Chuck is absolutely correct in that the Focal tweeters can be ruthlessly revealing with the wrong equipment.
I use an Octave Audio HP700 pre/RE320 amp with super black box with my Focal Scala Utopia Evos. In my opinion tube amps sound great with focal and I’ve tried various SS amps including the Gryphon Diablo. I’ve heard VAC amps sound great as well so that may be another option.
If you can, try a few amps out and see what you like. Good luck!

I use PASS XA100.5 with my Focals the class A amplification really smooths out that Beryllium Tweeter.

Enjoy the Focals they are a fantastic speaker when driven with the right electronics but can be ruthlessly revealing when they are not. 

Chuck 

Folks here seem to like Gryphon Diablo and Focal. 
Plus, it's not often that your amplification and speakers can have the same name.