Best power amp for Avalon Opus Ceramique


Trying to downsize my system to a speaker/power-amp/ cd-player set-up (with digital volume control e.g. Wadia 581, Audio Aero Prestige or EMM Labs).
Which power amp (ss or tube) in the range 5k-10k is recommended to use with Avalon ?
Will ICE powerd amps like BelCanto, JRDG or NuForce work as well ?
frankpiet

Showing 4 responses by mu6

Frankpiet:
If you own an Ayre V-1xe which I think is one of the best amps on the planet, you should concider K-1x and D-1x, with or without "e". The K-1x is a very neutral preamp smartly built and forever lasting and the D-1x is the cleanest player I'm aware of, far better then any Wadia. To me Wadia is a bit colorating and lacks some drive.
The only minor thing (which I actually like) of the V-1x is it's slightly emphasis on the base, so you have to match this with a leaner speaker (if you have the same experience and taste of course).
For cabling I like NBS most because it is neither dark nor bright. So it tells you what is wrong in the chain. Very useful as an audiophile if you want to improve your system.
Vicdamone:
I fully agree that positioning the eidolons (which I own as well) is most important. I also have good results with decoupling the speakers and electronics with Stillpoints. To me these devices act along the entire frequency range. They make the sound better flow without colorations.
yep, you need them with inverse risers or mini inverse risers depending on the type of floor. with carpet you can use the inverse risers en with hard floors like wood or tiles you can use both. Just place the inverse riser on the floor and insert the stillpoint with the ceramic ball down, the metal bottom with the logo should touch the bottom of the speaker. 3 stillpoints for each speaker will be sufficient. each single stillpoint can bear 100lbs, so no problem here.
And it looks good too!
Frankpiet: Thank you for the comments. I heard the Nagra once in my system but has too much sound of its own and lacks deep base fundamentals, also don't like the design. I don't know audio aero, but never heard interesting audio from France. They have good wine and food, but about audio? So I have my doubts. May be i'm wrong.
I like the design of ayre very much, it's more like no disign which leaves your mind open when you look at it. Probably it's a matter of taste.
I'm very curious how the Boulder will be compared with the Ayre. When it's really better I will always concider to buy it. So let us know.