Any thoughts on Audio By Van Alstine DVA M225 mono amps (and Van Alstine products in general)? These are small, high power, appear to run relatively cool, yet class A/B. Interesting...
The May/June issue of The Absolute Sound gave them a terrific review. One of my friends is using older Van Alstine amp and pre with his Philharmonic 3 speakers and the sound is awesome. AVA has been making well regarded audio equipment for years.
Just bought a pair about a week ago and I must say I am loving them! I am using them with Black Ice F 360 Pre and Zu Def. IV's They are smooth and warm sounding with great dynamics and slam. . Not sure how much warmth the F360 adds? Forgiving of bad recordings. I feel the reviews that are out there are pretty much spot on. As efficient as the Zu's are they can also take a lot of power. I have driven them hard and the amps have only gotten warm. I believe the first 20 watts are class A I would be interested in pairing them with their new digital preamp but at this point I am content. Finally!
Currently I possess two AVA products. One is a modified CD player “FET Three” from the later 80’s I’m guessing. Works perfectly. Also have a modified Dynaco qsa 300 that was transformed to the “MOS-FET 250E.” That unit also works perfectly. AVA products are solid as they get. Buy Franks products with confidence.
Van alstine is the best bang for the buck bar none.Franks products compete with anything. That review compares his amps with some megabuck amps and they do well. I have his dva600 monos and with my system best ever sound.
I own these amps - paired right now with a Luxman C900u pre and Dynaudio Heritage Specials. Great amps. The dual differential design to remove residual distortion seems much in line with what Ralph Karsten has been saying about the philosophy driving design of his new class D products. Of course, the AVA amps are class AB, running class A for the first 20 watts or so. Amazing little boxes that run pretty cool for what they are.
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