Amplifier for Wilson Audio Alexia V

This post is about powering the Alexia 2. I've tried about a dozen top-notch amps with these speakers. Hopefully, my experience will be of some value with Alexia Vs. Keep in mind, my sonic priorities lean more towards harmonic realism and richness. Bronze medal. D'Agostino S-250. These solid state amps don't sound like solid state. They are very natural. I preferred the D'Agostino amp with a slightly warmer, richer preamp, like an Audio Research Ref 6 SE, or my VTL 7.5 III with RCA blackplates. And the bass is stunning! So Good! Silver Medal. Lamm M 1.2 Reference. With Amperex Holland 6922's. Wholeness. Top to Bottom. Not the very highest in resolution. But So Musical. So good, that I kept a pair despite I found a superior amp. Will always hook them up with a party over. Rock the House. Still hooked up for hangover remedy after the party? No problem. Just play some Jazz. Gold Medal. VTL S-400 II. I would have never kept them with stock tubes. The Lamms are better. But, find some NOS Mullards for voltage gain, some NOS RCA 12BH7 Blackplate drivers, and some new production Tung-Sol 6550s, and Magic. True Magic. So Life Like. So harmonically rich, but no exaggeration. After 40 years in high-end audio, I am truly satisfied. Now, I need to hear this amp with the Alexia V.

Think I'm going to try the Dan D'Agostino S250. 

@carey1110 ,

sent you a PM.

B

@gdnrbob im looking at the same two amps and would love his number as well

 

 

I can’t recommend Gryphon Diablo 300 enough with any Wilson. It’s a magical combination 

was just reading articles on the Magtech monos'

 

 dude, they will last a long time, and you will never need another amp.

 

Sanders Magtech monos.

 will control those speakers like no other.

What about the McIntosh MC1.25KW?  Or smaller MC611, MC462?

I use the PS Audio BHK 250 with my Watt Puppy’s and it sounds great. Not at the price point you mentioned but plenty of power and finesse.

Tuned up Sunfire stereo amp

 

Sanders magtech

 

What do you think of Dan D'Agostino S350 vs Luxman M-10X?

Pass Labs XA30.8 (not enough power?), XA larger units are all monoblocks - Class A could be too revealing or harsh with Wilsons?

@chauncey Whether an amp is revealing or not, harsh or not, has nothing to do with its class of operation, just so you know. The Alexia IME isn't a difficult speaker to drive but I think you are right that 30 Watts isn't enough power.

If you are pushing the amplifier hard, its likely to sound brighter and harsher no matter the class of operation. Its a good idea to have a bit too much power than not enough in that regard! You really want the amplifier's job of driving the speaker to have a lot in common with sitting on a park bench. Put another way, if the amplifier has to work hard for a living it will make more distortion and if sound quality is your goal this is a Bad Thing.

Diablo 300! Great amp with my Magnepans.

I know that @audiojan is very happy with the D300 driving his Wilsons.

I would look at pass labs, soulution, vitus or constellation 

I was at a friends home listening to his big Alexia with VTL 450MKII's amps OMG was that wonderful.  I know you are scaling down your system.  Yet, I've never heard such a perfect combination.  I use to live in Vegas and always attended CES and "The Show" and never heard anything system that nice. BTW, Later, I bought those amps and used them with B&W 801S3 speakers.  BTW: If you even think about VTL and research them,  do not believe the BS about poor customer service.  If you purchased from an authorized dealer, VTL will treat you like family.  They have treated that way for over 21 years.

carey1110 - I have a Krell FPB-400cx in my second system but obviously it's on the older side as well.  

@chauncey Ok so I own the Alexx Vs and I’ll tell they are truly amazing. The Alexia V is going to be similar just a little smaller scale. The D’Agostino s250 would be an amazing combo. Of course your source and preamp would have to be considered. What is your main source? However if I were you I’d drop them right in with you current system, you may be surprised. If you want to save space there’s nothing better that the D’Agostino MXV, drop dead gorgeous, small and sound fantastic. On the larger side, some of the older Krells do amazingly well if you’re trying to save $$. I’ve been using a Krell 300c but today I just purchased a D’Agostino s250 stereo but won’t have it till January. My vote would be the D’Agostino then the Boulder. Between those its just personal taste and cost.  You should try talking to Dave at JS Audio, they carry both D’Agostino and Boulder, Audio Research and more. Dave is very knowledgeable when it comes to Wilson.

Aesthetix Atlas stereo or Mono….. add to list….

Once again, I suggest contacting John R., he knows just about all there is out there.-And, his advice is free. Let me know if you want his number.

Like I said, you should listen to your Levinson's. They might work.

If not, then see if you can demo other amps from a dealer near you.

B

I'm leery of recommending amp/speaker combos since the results can vary a lot and the final decision must be personal.

But i thought I'd comment on tube life. In general you're correct tubes wear out and add the fact the decay is slow so you usually don't realize the performance drop off until you finally put new tubes in. But tube decay does not need to be as rapid as most tube amps. As an example I know Berning amps have a tube life measured in many years. They guarantee 10,000 hours and I happen to know David Berning is always very conservative with all his specs including tube life. Unfortunately while this exception exists I don't know of  other examples. And Berning amps are costly and have their own sound like most other amps.

GDNRBOB - yes purchasing from a dealer but I work in the home automation industry so I have access to many brands just don't sell a lot of HiFi systems. 

Erik - I know I picked the Luxman when Jay's Audio Lab did his youtube video on three amps under $30k.  Never heard pass.  Have access to audition Mc pretty easily.  I know someone with a pair of S250 in storage right now that I might be able to use to audition.  

Um, you absolutely have to listen to Pass, Luxman and Mc, because to my ears these are three very distinct and personal sounds, critics (including me) be damned.

You will 100% fall in love with one of them and not the other two.

D'Agostino and Luxman are a lot more similar than different.

No idea about Gryphon, never even seen one.

Given that you’re gonna use this for audio and TV I’d tend to shy away from tubes or pure Class A solid state unless you don’t mind burning $$$ on tubes and/or your electric bill.  In all honesty and given that the Alexia benefits from some power I’d highly recommend looking into the latest GaN amps specifically from AGD or Atmasphere.  All the performance with much less hassle/cost IMHO.  Gotta be at least worth exploring given the rave reviews these amps are getting, and at least the AGD amps are upgradeable at relatively modest cost as tech improves down the line.  Hmmm.  Best of luck. 

One question-

Are you buying these from a dealer?

If so, then they would be the best people to ask.

If not, then PM John Rutan (audioconnection), he doesn't sell Wilson, but knows just about everything stereo and won't try to sell you something.-Just look on Audiogon to see how many of us regard him.

IMHO, Use your Levinson's to see what you might need/want.

Pass and D'Agostino would be high up on my list. But, I would also consider Ayre.

Bob

We would recommend looking at a t+a pa 3000 power amplifier

 https://www.ta-hifi.de/en/audiosystems/hv-series/a-3000-hv-power-amplifier/

 

The Pa300 sounds amazing on Wilsons the Pa3000 is a powerful 300-watt powerhouse that can provide ample current for the alexias

 

The pa 3000 is a remarkable solid-state amplifier that offers a clean high-resolution sound that uncovers all the details in your music but is also exceedingly musical.

 

The HV series was developed due to research done by T+a in uncovering why tube amplification is so musical and they discovered it was due to high voltage rails driving transistors to sound more linear and warmer.

https://youtu.be/GwOcZCPNqXI

 

the Pa 3000 offers a warm sounding midrange yet is fast and detailed and has excellent bass and dynamics

 

in addition, the amplifier is built to the highest standards of much more expensive gear:

 

the amp is built on an aluminum frame with sealed compartments which separate the amps input and output stages

the mains transformer is a work of art it is massive 2kv and is potted and shielded

 

another cool fact is the amplifiers performance can be easily upgraded by adding an external ps3000 power supply this box adds an even larger 2.2 kv transformer used to power the output stages of the amplifier while the internal power supply now powers the input stage exclusively

 

and you can always add a second Pa3000 to make a full monoblack

 

when you add it up you can not find a better or more flexible amp to drive your Wilsons that offers world class sound and build quality yet is affordable.

 

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect NJ

T+a dealers