For classical music lovers best amp for large orchestral forces?


I recently upgraded my pre to an arc ref 6se. Currently using pas xa25. It's a very good amp but I'm noticing a fair amount of compression when playing large symphonic works. My speakers are Dalis and they are excellent as is the arc.

For smaller forces, chamber, piano and voices the system works beautifully. But if I'm looking for more transparency and a deeper sound stage for symphonies I find sometimes a boxy cramped sound. Looking to spend around 8k or less either tube or solid state. There have been discussions about the xa25 and what's better but they fill up immediately with tangents of philosophical and technical discussions of how one hears. I'm looking for as many possibilities of actual units that I can read about and possibly hear.

Thanks for your ideas.

roxy1927

Showing 2 responses by rvpiano

I listen to classical music 90% of the time and am a retired classical musician. ‘The amp I use is the Benchmark AHB2.
It produces a room filling realistic orchestral sound, yet is greatly detailed.
I highly recommend it.

Perhaps it’s the efficiency of my GoldenEar Triton1 speakers that are at play.

Its a remarkable amp though.