plinius 8200 will best krell and classe together. |
Plinius is one of the benchmarks in this class, I was never a fan of the Krell piece, but if you want the hyper detail it provides it's great. The best integrateds in the plinius price range are: (ss)
Plinius
Sim Audio
BAT
McIntosh
The Bryston and Classe are in the same class sonically IMHO. IF you liek the Bryston sound but need mro epower Classe may be the way to go. I have heard the Bryston and think it is the best in its price range. I would reccomend Plinius |
I used to own Krell equipment but currently prefer Classe sound - although I now own McIntosh and like it best. The new BAT vk300 is super nice. The cap101 is not a lot more power than your B60 but the cap151 is liked by many. Don't know your speakers or Plinius, yet. |
I ran the 300i w/ Concertos (and Transparent Super bicable) for a while. The Krell offers great control of the lower range of the Concertos abilities, but the detail can be excessive (read bright) unless you are very careful with your other components and room. I have also run my Concertos using a Classe CA151 (150w power amp, not the integrated), and I thought it was a better match for the Sonus Faber. I'm now running a 12w single ended integrated amp and Nordost cable. The Sonus have never sounded better in my room. There is a magic that the single ended amp and fast cables wrought. Feel free to email me for more information or comaprison equipment.
Trey |
Try auditionning the YBA Integré Passion (100W into 8 Ohms). YBA and Sonus Faber are a great match (actually I beleive Sonus Faber and JM Lab use YBA gear (and other brand as well) to voice their speakers). I auditionned the Krell 300i and the Integre Passion side by side (using Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage speakers)... In my opinion, the YBA comes out way ahead in terms of detail and neutrallity. Look for the different thread discussing about the integre Passion.
By the way, If I remember well, the YBA is just a bit more expensive than the Krell... If you were looking for a used amp, do not look for the Passion, there are no used Passion on the market (at least on audiogon).
I did not audition the Classé so I can't talk about it.
Best Regards |
I second Lgregoir's opinion on the YBA-SF combo. Generalising, I listened to Krell 80 (old) & 250 driving Guarneri -- they didn't seem to like each other. The YBA (passion integre, YBA 1, passion separates) matched very well. But then, so did the Pathos
I'm not sure the Concerto's need many watts -- current maybe (as Twylie implies).
Don't know the classe. |
nodody has recomended the krell amp for my speakers, so i am taking it out of the list. because i live in mexico i cant have a in home audition, so i will have to buy on the recomendations that you guys give me. for now i am considering this amps:
yba integre dt, classe cap-151, plinius 8200 and electrocompaniet eci-3
thanks for helping me. |
Try to audition Audiomat Arpege tube integrated. I'm waiting for my Arpege Reference to arrive. It will replace my Blue Circle BC21 tube preamp and Bryston 3B-ST combo driving the Concertos. Its 30w sounded more powerful than my 120w Bryston. Most importantly it just sounded more musical to me. You can go pre-owned route if price ($2490 list) is a concern. Good luck. |
User Warrenh had the Integre DT and Sonus Faber concerto combo... I know he just bought an Integre Passion (he actually reviewed it).
Drop him a few lines... As far as the plinius 8200 or the electrocompaniet eci-3, I haven't auditionned them...
Good luck. |
I love the concertos, and I also love YBA. I don't own either, so that's based on store auditions only. I would also add the Sim I-5, though, if you want a punchier, bigger sound. The YBA is silky smooth and wetter; the Sim faster and more tart. A chacun son gout. |
I own Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home speakers. They have the same tonal balance as the Concertos, with a slightly lower bass extension. This means the Concertos are great speakers.
My absolute worst match was the Sim Audio I-5.I really don't know what all the fuss is with this machine, looks nice but it's not very musical. It made the Sonus sound bright and thin,even in the midrange (and the Sonus, like most italian speakers are midrange champs) pretty awfull. Tried a Magnum Dynalab MD-208 receiver, ( with apparently a Sim Audio amp inside) - even worse ( the class A rating from Stereophile is a joke on this, maybe an ''B'' for value, but certainly not ''A'' for sound quality ).
A very nice match was is Electrocompaniet EC-3. Not bad is the Musical Fidelity A-300. Best yet is the Sonic Frontiers Power 2 and line 2 combo, but it's way too expensive !
The best solution so far: Any nice quality TUBE integrated, from the Audiomat Arpège to even these inexpensive antique Sound Lab integrateds...they make the Sonus Faber sing...Hope this helps ! |
Hate to tell you but the bright, thin sound is part of the sound of the Sonus Faber Home series of speakers. They are voiced for home theater and their character is very different than the Classic series. The Sim I-5 (and the Magnum Dynalab) are a very neutral sounding amps but you will never mistake them for tubes. But like you say, the Home series really do need a warm tube amp to sound their best and with the proper match (Cj/Rogue) they can sound pretty good. |
Of course it is more costly but...hearing the Concertos with a McCormack RLD-1/DNA 225 combo with AQ Coral and Granite wiring was simply fantastic. |
