Amp for Vienna Acoustic Mozart speakers

Budget approx 5k? I would buy a pair of Beethovens first, and then start out with around a 3K integrated. You can get a BAT or Rowland integrated for around $3K-$4K. You could get a Classe CP-60 preamp and CA-200 amp for under $3K. You would be better served spending the extra $2K upgrading your speakers than in the electronics, IMHO. I'm not saying that electronics aren't important, belive me, they are. I just believe if you spend $5K on electronics then you'll be unhappy with your speakers, because they won't really be able to show off your electronics.

That's just my opinion, take it with a grain of salt. I started with the Beethovens and have since moved up to the Strauss, no regrets. I do remember listening to the Mozarts when I auditioned the Beethovens, and really stretching to make the Beethovens happen. I think the Beethovens were a larger improvement over the Mozart's than the Strauss over the Beethoven's.

Regards,
John

For $5K you can do quite well. I own a pair of Bachs
and have had them for a couple of years. My system has
really evolved over this time and so I think I have
a pretty decent idea of there vices and virtues.

The Vienna's bass can be a bit boomy if not setup correctly.
A good amp will go a long toward's fixing this. You have
a whole lot of choices. BAT,Krell,Pass Labs, McCormack
etc. Krell might be a good match with the Mozarts since
the Vienna line tends to be a bit more laid back.

If you dont go with seperates dont spend all your money
on the amp. From my experience the pre-amp is at LEAST
as important as your amp if not more so. Again you have
many choices here.

Last but not least the Vienna's tend to be really finicky
about positioning. Spend some time on this. It took me
over two weeks to finally work it out.

Good luck

I am going to agree with Jmcgrogan on this. Don't dig yourself a money pit trying to make a speaker do things it really isn't the best at.No speakers perfect but you can find a speaker with the qualities you seek without dropping 5k.

I have an audio buddy who has done what your trying to do.
I am not even going to call the name of these speakers for fear of flames.LOL
They cost around $4000.00 new...he has dumped at least 15k to 20K just trying to make them be something they aren't.
So don't waste your money...find a speaker with these qualities and work from there.

Good Luck with the Hunt!

Pathos Acoustics Twin Towers ... excellent with the Mozarts (and don't forget to tilt the speakers back!)

I have owned the Vienna Acoustics Bach,Mozart,Beethoven,and Hayden. Setup is something you learn to enjoy. I would not use any type of stranded copper cable with the V.A. line. I would not use a B&K amp.(I do use the REF. 30 Pre.) The amp. I use is a EAD powermaster 1000 and I love it. The soundstage is the widest of any speaker that I have ever heard. The depth is also awesome. When playing Roxy Music you can pinpoint exactly where each instrument is located. I was trying to borrow my friends Krell amp.,I think that would be a good match. What ever you do,buy it on audiogon so you can sell it if you don't like it without loosing too much.

Regarding the Pathos Acoustics Twin Towers, I beleive it is a 35W per channel amp. I was told that the Mozarts need 120W plus to drive them. Was I misinformed?

Check out the Plinius stuff. I bought a used 8150 integrated and the sound is unbelievable. To my ears these two pieces sound amazing together. You should be able to get a used one for $1100 to $1400 depending on the seller. Before the Plinius I was using a Audio Refinement. The Audio Refinement is pretty good but compared to the Plinius it sounds like a transistor radio.