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Amp to match with Meadowlark Shearwater

Like to know what intergrated amps less than $2K anyone has tried with Meadowlark Shearwater Hot Rods especially for jazz(Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans) female vocals(Diana Krall) and classical piano and violin concertos. I currently am running them with a "mid-fi" receiver and the highs are a bit too bright. Mids and bass are beautiful. My room is 22x12x8 with about 50/50 hardwood floors and area rugs. Thanks.
loshinskie0c67
mikec7571
1 posts
 
I would reccomend the Sim I-5, and I can recomend a dealer who will give you an excellent deal.
ljh922f1f
1 posts
 
You don't need a lot of power for that kind of music. I would look at single-ended triodes, which these speakers love. The Cary SET integrateds 300 SEI, can be had for around 2,000 used. Cary has a new integrated which retails for 2795, but would go for less at a good dealer. Call Kevin at Upscale Audio. I really like the Carys (that's what I own) with these speakers.
fuente
17 posts
 
All of the above mentioned will suffice, however, may I suggest a McCormack DNA 0.5 Deluxe/Tube Pre-amp combination. Very musical. As far as integrated amps go, both the Sim Moon and Classe' Cap-100 would be excellent choices. Regards,
mezmo
516 posts
 
While we're all throwing in $.02, I auditioned the Shearwaters at one dealer on Cary, CJ and VAC (dealer wouldn't deign to play them with anything other than tubes--which was not all that impressive as a selling scheme in my book, but what the hey) and at another dealer on a top-of the line Levinson setup. Right off the bat, I'll say that I preferred the Shearwaters on the VAC Avatar over $40k plus worth of Levinson gear. Beyond that, I'm not sure I can be of much use, as the CJ and Cary stuff I listened to was way beyond my price range and, from your description, yours as well. The VAC Avatar was pretty swell though, so I can only echo the encouragment of those above in suggesting you give it a try. Try as many tube combos as you can stomach, from my limited experience, the Medowlarks thrive on tubes. (I ended up with Thiel, Bryston, and VTL -- so that's what my opinion is worth in the end...oh well). Enjoy.
loshinskie0c67 OP
8 posts
 
I had a chance to audition these speakers with an Audiomat Arpege(35 wpc tube integrated)and they sounded wonderful with beautiful mids and wonderful detail. Can anyone comment on how the speaker breaks in over time ? The manual says the highs smooth out and the bass fills in.
I'm hopeful the bass will develop a bit more punch/slam although I know not the expect the same from tubes as a solid state.
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