What made you finally choose the Simaudio? I have followed your thread because I have gone through similar choices. I also had Infinity Kappa 8's for almost 10 years. I didn't think I would ever replace them. People always claimed they were had an engineering flaw with their impedance problems but I used a McIntosh MC2205 on them with no problems. Once I finally upgraded to a pair of Legacy Focus, the fun began. The Focus doesn't appear to produce the lowest bass frequencies as the Kappas but the Focus are much more detailed and dynamic. The McIntosh is a sweet sounding amp but it is a little too ambient sounding. On the Kappas, I guess I liked that since they through sound around all over the place, completely filling the room but the Emit K's could be a little bright. I wanted more of a tube sound without the hassles of a tube amp so I tried a Mark Levinson with about the same power as the McIntosh. Both amps bring out the details on the Focus but the Levinson produces more of a linear sound at all levels. With the Levinson, it doesn't matter if I am listening at low volumes to fall asleep or loud volumes to shake my living room - it always stays crystal clear and all frequencies are reproduced at the right levels relative to one another. With the Levinson, I can easily focus on any instrument at any level.
The Focus definitely has a smaller sweet spot compared to the Kappas and the Levinson allows you to get completely lost in the music when listening within the sweet spot.
In summary, I am very happy with the Levinson on my Focus as main speakers in my living room setup with also consists of a Krell 3-channel amp on the center and surrounds. The Krell is supposed to be a good match to the Levinson according to many people I have talked with. I am in the process of locating a Legacy center and Legacy surrounds to properly compliment the Focus and replace my Kappa video center and Kappa 7 surrounds. The McIntosh ended up in my bedroom on a pair of Legacy Studios and only gets played at low levels to go to sleep. I am thinking of adding a powered sub for my bedroom but my priority is first to locate Legacy speakers for my living room setup.
The Focus definitely has a smaller sweet spot compared to the Kappas and the Levinson allows you to get completely lost in the music when listening within the sweet spot.
In summary, I am very happy with the Levinson on my Focus as main speakers in my living room setup with also consists of a Krell 3-channel amp on the center and surrounds. The Krell is supposed to be a good match to the Levinson according to many people I have talked with. I am in the process of locating a Legacy center and Legacy surrounds to properly compliment the Focus and replace my Kappa video center and Kappa 7 surrounds. The McIntosh ended up in my bedroom on a pair of Legacy Studios and only gets played at low levels to go to sleep. I am thinking of adding a powered sub for my bedroom but my priority is first to locate Legacy speakers for my living room setup.