The Bryston Cubed "B3" series is a very fast amp. Don't get me wrong, It is very high resolution and an excellent performer, but it will sound bright and lean on the bass/midbass if you pair it with a very fast preamp/processor, such as the Anthem. The Bryston SP3 processor has their fully discrete Class A analog stages and it is very warm and full - I have tested this processor. It was just too warm/full/slow for my system, but it may work great with the ultra-fast 9B3 amp. The SP4 processor is just overkill and I don't think you are looking for a 16 channel Dolby Atmos solution. The new SP4 processor is basically the Storm Audio processor with a "Bryston" faceplate and software. I don't know if they even have the "Bryston" discrete Class A analog stages developed for this yet. I think I read that Bryston would upgrade them for free if you bough the processor now. Timing could be in the next 6 months or so. Oh, another thing, the new SP4 internal DAC will do everything at 48khz, so the hi-res audio such as 24/96 or 24/192 will automatically be down-converted to 24/48. This is not a problem with the previous SP3 processor (which is still available as a current product). The digital architecture between SP3 and SP4 are completely different.
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Other processors that would mate well with the 9B3 amp are Marantz AV8805. This is a very excellent processor. It has a very large power supply and it also has a lot of bass/midbass power and slam/excitement. It is voiced warm, so the high frequencies are slightly rolled off, but it would be an excellent pairing with the 9B3 amp, especially since you are looking for a "warm' type signature. Another possibility is a McIntosh processor (such as MX122 or MX160). The SP3 does not have the "rolled off highs" that the Marantz does, but it is a slower responding sound then the Maratnz, so it might still be a good mate with 9B3 amp. Be aware that the Marantz and/or McIntosh processors will likely also be limited to 48Khz on the internal DAC/DSP, even though you are sending higher sampling rates to the device.
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Just for comparison, the Krell S1000 and S-1500 combination is NOT a warm sounding system. The Krell devices are very high resolution and fast responding. They will come across somewhat bright/thin sounding at time, especially since the power supply in their processors are undersized (in my testing and opinion).
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I have tested several amps, one of them being Bryston 7B3 monoblocks. They are very nice amps, but they are definitely faster and brighter/thinner then some other amps. They are also just about as close to "Class B" amps as you can get. The Bryston amps are very efficient and do not really get hot at all.
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The fast amps vs. warm/slow amps really has to do with how the input stage and output power stage are biased. Some are biased heavily into Class A and these will generally be warmer sounding and fuller sounding. They will also get hot in temperature more so than the more efficient Class AB amps.
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older B&W speakers are described as very bright sounding because they had two issues: 1. metal dome tweeter that caused resonance/breakup and , 2. woven kevlar midrange that had breakup as well. These "breakup" modes caused the sound to be on the bright/harsh side. The later diamond tweeters are not bright at all, and the newest D3 series resolved the issue with kevlar breakup modes.
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I do not have any experience with the Aracam processor. It may be a good choice, but I tend to lean towards processors that have a fully discrete analog section. These include the Marantz AV880x processors, the Bryston SP3, Krell S1200U. I have even tested Theta Casablanca, but I did not feel that it sounded that good. The Bryston SP3 was very warm and laid back sound, but it had just about the best and strongest bass I have heard out of a processor. I think the "laid back" sound would mate well with the fast responding Bryston amps.
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The McIntosh amplifiers and electronics can sometimes be too laid back and soft. They often come across as boring and dull to my ears. Sometimes they are okay, but leave me wanting more. I heard a McIntosh integrated paired with the new Sonus Faber bookshelf speakers and the sound was very excellent. But it just did not have that excitement that I was looking for.
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I assumed you would use the Luxman integrated as part of a "hybrid" system. This means that you setup a normal HT processor and connect the left/right output to a left/right "theater bypass" input on the Luxman integrated. Alternatively, if the Luxman does not have a bypass mode, you can use any input and then have to set the volume to 100%.
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the Luxman is voiced on the warm side, so if you wanted to pair an HT amp with that, I would go for the Parasound A31 3-channel. The Bryston is going to be too bright/thin in comparison to the Luxman.
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THD, IMD, noise floor are all technical measurements that help engineer a good product. However, all electronics will sound different and after 20 years of listening, I really don't pay attention to these measurements. I have tested Bryston 7B3, Parasound JC1, Classe CT-M300, and all sorts of Emotiva amps in my system. All sound radically different and everyone has a different tastes on what they want.
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Pretty much all amps will measure flat and accurate. However, I stopped focusing on "measurements" a long time ago. Some measurements will help, but they will never tell you how an amp sounds. Much of how an amp sounds is how the input stage and output stage circuits are put together as well as how the amp is biased (Class A, Class AB, Class B). Also, how the Class A bias is engineered to initially slew. High bias Class A amps and warmer amps will start slewing gradually and then rise up with their normal "slew rate". These amps will sound more full and have more overall volume, but they will tend to have slightly rolled off high frequency resolution. On the other hand, lightning fast amps, such as Bryston, will have excellent high resolution response, but the bass/midbass/midrange may be light. That is because the slew is so fast, that it is not letting the amp continue to translate the DAC square step waveforms into true analog waveforms. It's all relative, though, and system synergy has a lot to do with it. That's why I thought that pairing the somewhat laid back Class A Bryston SP3 processor/preamp with the very fast Bryston B3 amps would be a good match. They would compensate for eachother's sonic signature.
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Just a comment. maguair is coming from a Krell S1000 as a processor. I have tested the Marant 8805 in my system and compared it to my Krell S1200U. The Marantz is a very good device with excellent bass and midrange impact. Full and natural sound. However, it is voiced warm and the high frequencies are softened and rolled-off. It is very excellent sound, but it could end up being too "dull" sounding for you, unless you want this type of signature.
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Alternatively, if you want to keep on the "neutral" type of sound, but get something better than your Krell S-1500, you could look at things like Gryphon, Soulution, Esoteric (though Esoteric can definitely come across as somewhat sterile in some systems). The previous generation Krell Evolution series was also very neutral, though getting old now.
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I heard the latest Mark Levinson stuff at RMAF. The Levinson is part of the very smoothed over and liquidy type of sonic signature. It's really hard to describe to people unless they have heard this. There are many other amps that have this same type of sonic signature. Your Krell S1500 is going to sound clean and neutral in comparison (although the S-1500 can definitely slant toward the bright side at times). Actualy, the new Krell sliding bias amps have this smooth/liquidy character as well.
The other side of the fence is the FET type warmth, where you have amps such as Pass Labs, Parasound, Marantz. Etc. The Vincent amps with tube input stage are also very warm sounding. It's really hard to recommend equipment to people unless they have heard these sounds and have a good idea of what they want. lol. I mean, there are a lot of people who can say "Mark Levinson is great", but it really comes down to personal preference.
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@maguiar102 - sorry, I have not examined every post in detail. I did go back and re-read your 5/5 post. It does become confusing because I don't know if you are intending the integrated to be part of a completely different system or if you want to wrap the integrated into your HT system using a "hybrid" approach (i.e. taking left/right output from processor and essentially using the integrated as a left/right channel amplifier). That being said, I do have the following comments:
Pass Labs Int250 - this is a FET based warm sounding amp, but with good resolution. It has a very pleasant and very controlled type of sound - the dynamics and slam are not as much as other amps. If you want a very pleasant listening experience with good resolution, this is potentially a good choice, but I would look elsewhere if you want a more exciting sound. I would put Pass Labs like a very neutral tube sound with excellent resolution and a definite FET based warmth signature.
Mark Levinson 585 - very smooth and liquidy, like I said. I would not say this is a "tube like" amp at all. It follows more of a high bias Class A bipolar amp sound. Smooth and liquidy. Again, it may be very hard to describe to someone unless they sit down with me and listen and then it's like "oh, that's what you mean by smooth and liquidy", lol.
Gryphon Diablo - The Gryphon room at RMAF was very nice. Based on what I remember, the Gryphon is not as clean/neutral sounding as your Krell S-1500, but it is still neutral (maybe just a very tiny bit of the Class A smoothness, but not bad at all). A very good contender. Definitely not liquidy sounding.
Hegel H590- I heard the H590 at RMAF. To be honest, it sounded very sterile and "solid state" with that harsh sterile edge (at least to my ears). I can't say that this is what Hegel normally sounds like, but that H590 could very well be a fresh-out-of-the-box amp and at that burn-in stage where it sounds harsh/bad. I don't have any experience with Hegel so I could not comment further.
Soulution 330 Int - I heard the Soulution amps at RMAF and this was one of those amps that I thought was very excellent. Of course, it is so out of my price range that I would not consider it, but it had the very clean and neutral sound. Think of a Krell S-1500 with a much more refined sound and no bright edge. The 330 Int looks to be $20,100 retail. Not sure if this is in your ballgame or not.
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liquidy - like I said, it's really hard to describe this. The best I can do is to say the sound is so smooth and smoothed over that it sounds like liquid. lol
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maguiar - you might like Melody Gardot. She's one of my favorite jazz artists. Her "Live in Olympia" bluray is one of the best sounding live recordings I have heard.
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wow, that's pretty amazing. This really proves that the best amp comes down to personal preference on sound! Because, while I have heard the Pass and it's an excellent and very refined sounding warm amp, it would not be my preference because it's not dynamic enough.
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I wanted to ask your opinion of the Hegel. When you heard it, did you find it sounding sterile / bright / harsh? Or what was the verdict of it's signature?
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Auxinput, just out of curiosity which speakers did you hear the Pass
Labs with? I have always been curious on Pass Labs but have been
steered away since my speakers tend to be on the warmer side.
Oh jeez, I don't remember. It was at RMAF. There was the main big Pass Labs room. I think they were playing the XA30.8 (but I could be wrong here). There was another room up on like the 10th floor that had the INT-250 integrated (I think). I've also listened to several youtube videos with Pass Labs and they are are very similar to real life experiences. |
Yup, The S1500 amp is the low end amps. And I have found that all their processors are excellently designed except for an undersized power supply. Yeah, the Transparent speaker cable are likely to be just fine unless you wanted a brighter or higher resolution speaker cable.
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Transparent Audio Laboratory MusicWave - I looked them up and I can't imagine a pure copper speaker cable with gold-plated terminations as being 'bright". Most likely, it was your Krell. The lower end Krell equipment can be bright/thin sounding due to undersized power supply (in my opinion). The high end stuff (top-level preamp and amps) do not suffer from this bright/thin edge.
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As usual, I always recommend cables that use solid-core conductors because my testing has shown these are superior with a more natural and solid sound (no pun intended). As far as I know, Audioquest typically uses 21awg solid-core conductors in all their interconnects. It's a great option for a manufactured cable.
Wire World is also an excellent option. I have heard the Wire World Eclipse XLR cable in my system and it is a very neutral and natural sounding cable. It is just a tiny bit laid back (but only in comparison to my reference hand-made OCC copper Furutech Rhodium XLR). You can always go to the silver-clad "Silver Eclipse" model if you want a silver-clad cable that is faster and higher resolution.
Also, I always recommend adding silver elements ONE AT A TIME in a system. Even though many people recommend silver, it is very easy to go over that line with too much silver and all of a sudden you have a system that sounds artificial and is not as engaging.
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One really good option if you want a "pure silver" cable is the Audio Sensibility "Signature Silver" interconnects. It uses all OCC solid-core silver conductors (20/22/24 awg sizes). I used to run these in my system before I went to all copper. It is in Canada and lists CAD prices. A 1 meter XLR pair would be about $1,000 USD. For the money, I don't think you can get a better "pure silver" cable.
However, I would not recommend their Statement and Impact lines because they do not use solid-core conductors. Their Impact line actually sound pretty crappy (even though it uses OCC copper). I have tested that in my system.
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