Integrated Amplifier for Sonus Faber Olympica II

For some background, these are your speakers, and some relevant specs…

SENSITIVITY

88 dB SPL (2.83 V/1m)

NOMINAL IMPEDANCE

4 ohm

SUGGESTED AMPLIFIER POWER OUTPUT

50W – 250W, without clipping

 

So for some commentary, these are some nice speakers.  88 dB is not bad.  Using the glass half empty point of view, let’s say the manufacturer overstates the sensitivity just a bit, and what you actually have is a 86 or 87 dB rated sensitivity figure.  Going by this, and to state the obvious, if you want to make these play dynamically, you’re going to need some juice.  While your $5 large is not exactly chump change, it’ll get you mid-grade stuff of good quality.  Yeah, you can go used and buy a Levinson 383 Integrated, but its internals and their useful service life is either expired, or somewhere near, even if it has low hours on it.  Now, a Levinson 383 completely refurbished by say George Meyer AV, who is an authorized Levinson repair facility, would be the right way to go, most definitely.  Here it is:

George Meyer AV wants $4 large for it, and it’s re-capped and refurbished.  
Website:  

Below are some specs for the Levinson 383…

Description: Solid-state integrated stereo amplifier.
Preamplifier section: Line-level inputs: two pairs balanced (XLR), three pairs single-ended (RCA, optional). Outputs: one pair record outputs (RCA), one IEC AC mains receptacle, one ground terminal. Controller connections: three 3.5mm mini-jacks (IR input, DC trigger out/in), one Mark Levinson Link communications connector, one 6-pin RJ-11 RS-232 port, two 8-pin RJ-45 control ports (PHASTLink-compatible). Voltage gain: 0, 6, 12, or 18dB in line stage (26.9dB in amplifier stage). Volume control range: 72.2dB. Gain resolution: 0.1dB steps above 38.5 in display (-34.7dB). Input overload: 4V on XLR, 2V on RCA (gain set to +12dB); 16V on XLR, 8V on RCA (gain set to 0dB). Frequency response: 10Hz-40kHz, ±1.0dB. Input impedance: 100k ohms. THD+noise: ±0.3%. Mains voltage: 100V, 120V, 220V, 230V, or 240VAC at 50 or 60Hz (factory set). Power consumption: typically 100W at standby, 200W at idle, 1200W at 4 ohms at rated output.
Amplifier section: Rated output power: 20Hz-20kHz, less than 0.3% THD (FTC): 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 200W minimum continuous into 4 ohms (20dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, ±0.1dB. Output impedance: ±0.05 ohms, 20Hz-20kHz. Damping factor: greater than 800, 20Hz-20kHz into 8 ohms. Speaker connections: one pair Madrigal-designed speaker binding posts.

200 wpc of Levinson power will drive those SF speakers nicely.  Not everyone likes the idea of used gear.  If that is you OP, then new is the way to go.  When it comes to mid fi and bang for the buck, I like Schiit Audio.  Here is something for you to chew on… 

The above is the Freda+.  It comes in at just below $1 large.  Specs…

Compound Differential Buffer

Gain: 1 (0dB)

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.2db, 3Hz-500KHz, -3dB

THD: <0.004%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS 

IMD: <0.0055%, CCIR 

SNR: >120db, A-weighted, referenced to 2V RMS 

Output Impedance: 75 ohms SE, 600 ohms balanced

Topology: JFET differential amplifier compound pair with equalized-gm followers 

 

Tube Gain
Gain: 4 (12dB)

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.2db, 3Hz-200KHz, -3dB 

THD: <0.01%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS 

IMD: <0.01%, CCIR 

SNR: >115db, A-weighted, referenced to 2V RMS 

Output Impedance: 75 ohms SE, 600 ohms balanced

Topology: differential triode input with semi-circlotron follower stage

Now for some amps…

Get two of these Class A amps…  $800 each or $1,600 total.

What if we made a Class A version of the Vidar? No, wait, strike that. What if we made a better-than-Class-A-in-many-respects version of the Vidar? Well, here you go. Meet Aegir.

Continuity™: Benefits Beyond Class A

Aegir is our first Continuity speaker amplifier, extending a technology we introduced with the Lyr 3 headphone amp. Technically, Continuity is a way to eliminate transconductance droop outside of the Class A bias region, and extend the benefits of Class A biasing. It also solves the NPN and PNP device mismatch problem, since it uses both NPN and PNP devices on both rails. It’s still a very hot-running amp, though, with over 10W of Class A standing bias.

Power Output:

Stereo, 8 Ohms: 20W RMS per channel 

Stereo, 4 Ohms: 40W RMS per channel

Mono, 8 ohms: 80W RMS 

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 3Hz-500KHz, -3dB

THD: <0.01%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 20W RMS into 8 ohms 

IMD: <0.01%, CCIR, at 20W RMS into 8 ohms

The Schiit gear, you’re in for $3 large, and you got money for nice interconnects and speaker wire.  At 80 wpc for each speaker, AND Class A sound, that should do the job nicely.  The tube input stage of the Freya + and the Class A amps should get you a very nice lit from within sound, and that midrange bloom most people like.    Anyways, that’s my 2 cents.  Hope it helps…. Have a nice new year.  

Moon is a good choice and so is McIntosh in my opinion.  I have Olympica iii and a McIntosh MC452 and sounds wonderful.  The post above with the Levinson is something to consider also.  Not sure its a good match as I haven't heard both together but have owned several Levinson amps.  Great quality units and the 383 has been refurbished so that's a fantastic piece of mind.  Or a Primaluna integrated would be a great choice for a tube amp.  A tube rollers dream :)

Thank you guys for your recommendations. It would be not a easy task to find a good technician in my region to restore used gear older more than 10 years so i would stick with gear no older than 3 years. I’ve narrowed my choice between Luxman L-507 uxii 1 year old still under warranty priced at 4.5k and McIntosh MA 5300 2 yeas old no warranty priced at 3.5k.

What would be your choice?

The Levinson is restored so no worries but if you want newer then understandable. Have you read reviews for each integrated? What kind of sound do you prefer? Both are different. I wouldn't hesitate for either one as they both are very dependable and well built. I do know McIntosh has been showing with Sonus Faber very successfully.  

hypersound just found this comparison on audiokarma. 

 

At this level, I do not think you can say definitively one is better than the other. Both are incredible sounding and have their respective strengths and weaknesses. It is more about a different flavor of presentation, if you will, that one brand takes as oppose to the other. When I auditioned the Mac amps I was floored at the depth of the soundstage - they all had it. The MA6600 in particular had a very nice weight behind the music, possessed a very nice "liquid" sounding midrange for vocals and had a nicely detailed yet smooth high-end with no perceptible fatigue. The Mac's are very musical - if you like hearing chairs move or pages being flipped in the orchestra, this is NOT the amp for you. If you like music…and being emotionally stirred by it, then you can do no better than one of the McIntosh amps.

The Lux possess the same musicality and adds a bit more dynamic swing to the music. In case you haven't guessed, I like "musical" amps; I cannot stand the sterile "analytical" amps of which there are many examples. The 507 is NOT an analytical amp - it's presentation is slightly warm and sweet but neutral. You will miss none of the detail but it is not in your face nor does it leave you hanging by a thread - it lets you hear everything intended in the recording. The 507 has the most fantastic bass I have ever heard in an integrated: it is textured, deep and does not posses a one note quality.

I am very susceptible to harshness in the highs which is why I only use a soft dome tweet in my speakers and I have sold many an amp simply because of too much detail and grit in the high notes. The Lux excels in the highs and lets you hear all of the detail one could ever want but it is smooth with absolutely no harshness or grittiness. The Mac amps possess this same ability in the highs.

In terms of soundstage, the 507 does not have the depth of the Mac amps but it is wider and extends well beyond your speakers. Every time I listen to the 507, absolutely zero sound comes from the speakers - it extends horizontally, in proper placement, and it is eerily realistic, especially with live recordings.

Both amps have tremendous flexibility and connectivity: tone controls (which was a must for me), phono stage and headphone amp. I could find no other example of a modern amp that had the type of functionality of the Luxman or McIntosh (well, except for Accuphase, but I am not a millionaire).

To me it is all about presentation. I do not feel the 507 was any better than a McIntosh integrated of the same specification/price. Just different. In fact, I am upgrading my second system and it WILL be driven by a McIntosh.