Amp recommendation for Martin Logan Odyssey speakers


It's time to upgrade my aging Adcom GTP-500 pre-amp and GFA-545 amp.

I'm looking for recommendations for a new amp.  My speakers are Martin Logan Odysseys with a Descent subwoofer.

I also have a Oppo UDP-205 and a Technics SL-1600 turntable.

I listen to probably 60-65% classical music, especially piano, with the rest being rock and occasionally some vocals like Diana Krall.

Much of the time I play a CD or SACD on my Oppo, but also play some vinyl.  I also have thousands of CDs ripped onto my iMac which I play back through an Airport Express and its optical output fed into my Oppo.   Occasionally I also stream with Spotify or Qobuz through the wireless network using the Oppo.

I am planning on a 2-channel amp.  As I have no experience with tubes, probably solid state.  Although I occasionally play Blu-Ray videos and stream videos at times, for my use, I think I would probably be better off sticking with a 2-channel stereo amp rather than try to go with multiple channels.  It would be nice to have some additional speakers for the SACDs but I figure it makes more sense to get a A/V unit and some smaller amps in the future if I decide to get a center channel and surround speakers. Although a 3-channel amp might fit the bill ...

My budget is $6-10,000.    I plan on listening to a McIntosh, probably the MC152 and MC312.   I have also read good things about the Pass Labs, perhaps the X250.8 and will try to locate that to listen to as well.   At this point I am not sure if I will get a pre-amp as well (tube or solid state) or try to do something with what I currently have and use the Oppo for its DAC.

Any suggestions for these or any other amps that I should consider with these speakers would be greatly appreciated. 
likes2hike
Hello likes2hike,

     I think you did the right thing by calling D-Sonic’s owner, Dennis Deacon. As you now know, he’s a good guy who’s also very knowledgeable and experienced with class D amps. He was very helpful when I was considering buying a pair of D-Sonic M3-600-M monoblock amps about 5 years ago. He offered me a free 28 day in-room home trial period, with a no questions asked full refund policy if I didn’t like them for any reason, to audition them in my room with my preamp and Magnepan speakers. I’m sure he’d offer you the same deal if you’d like to do the same.
     These are the best amps, regardless of type or price, that I’ve ever used in my system. They’re very powerful with plenty of headroom for realistic dynamics, they have very good bass performance due to their rated damping factor being very high, have a very low noise floor that is dead quiet and are very detailed but smooth in the midrange and treble without ever being bright or harsh.
     Initially, I used my former Oppo 105 as a preamp with them in an effort to streamline my system that only used discs, streaming and an attached hard drive with hi-res files as sources. I perceived the overall sound quality presentation of the Oppo and D-Sonic amps combination as being very hi-end and sophisticated. Powerful, dynamic and dramatic with the music emerging from an inky black and dead silent background. The overall presentation was neutral in character, highly accurate and detailed but, at the same time, also very smooth, non-fatiguing and natural that created a wide and deep sound stage illusion that was three dimensional, very realistic and enjoyable.
     After 5 years of using my D-Sonic monoblocks, I can honestly state that these are excellent performers that have also been very reliable, I've had them powered on 24/7 for the past 5 years with zero problems and they're still going strong.  I highly recommend D-Sonic class D amps and suggest you at least give them a month audition before you decide to buy anything else. On top of their very high performance, these amps are also excellent hi-end bargains. I paid $2,150 5 years ago for my pair of monoblocks and their latest version stereo amps are offered in 3 relatively inexpensive models:

The M3a-800S for $1,475 2x 400 watts/8 ohms
The M3a-1200S for $1,975 2x 800 watts/8 ohms
The M3a-3000S for $2,475 2x 1,500 watts/8 ohms

     Here’s an Enjoy the Music review of the M3a-3000S amp:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0216/D_Sonic_M3_3000S_Dual_Mono_Amplifier_Review.htm

     You may want to ask Dennis which would be the best stereo amp match for your speakers.

Best wishes,
Tim
Have a look at Coincident  211PP Dragon MK. II monoblocks:
http://www.coincidentspeaker.com/mpsip_amps.html (scroll down to the bottom of the page)

$11,000
Output Power: 75 watts RMS - 300 watts peak (Triode) / Push-Pull Class A
Output Impedance: 8ohm
Frequency Response: 20hz-20khz ±1db
T.H.D.: <1%, 20hz-20khz (Ref. Output)
Input Sensitivity: 700 MV
Input Impedance: 100k ohm
S/N: >90db
Tubes: (6EM7×1, 300B×1, 211×2) / Channel