Looking to match an integrated amp to B&W PM1 or..

Hi Jeff I live in HK and have listened to the PM1 paired with Roksan Caspian as well as Cyrus I didn't like the look of either. The sound was ok but I preferred it matched to the Marantz PM15S2 Int Amp with SA15S2 CD player. This is how B&W store had it setup and it sounded AWESOME! And blew me away whereas the other two it didn't have that effect on me.

Which one in the end did you get?

I was initially going to look into getting the Caspian, the problem is that there are no local dealers and it will end up costing close to $3k delivered. What's more, there are no local repair shops either. The Caspian should really only be a little more than $2k when you take into account the currency exchange. For $3k, I am thinking I might be able to find a better amp.

According to whathifi review of the B&W PM1, the Caspian is a prefect match.

Classe'

I auditioned the PM1's with the Musical Fidelity 3Mi yesterday. The sound was fantastic. When the music first started, I actually thought that the other speakers were hooked up in surround mode, they were that airy. The sound seemed to be coming from the other side of the room. I used to have a pair of Dynaudio Contours and they never sounded like that. After that, they hooked up the B&W CM9's and that airy sound was completely lost. The change was immediate, it was like someone put a piece of paper in front of the tweaters. The bass was certainly better, but I did not think it was worth the cost of the open upper frequency's that the PM1's did so well.

Anyway, I am wondering what others have experienced with Musical Fidelity's. The problem is that I can not listen to the PM1's with lots of different amp's because B&W dealers are not on every corner where I live. 75 watts seemed to be enough for what I listen to, but I am still going to listed to them with the 6Mi integrated for comparison purposes.

Thanks

How about the Rotel's? I heard they always match well with B&W's since the Rotel's are used at the B&W factory for testing. That would sure help my bank account as well.

Other amps are Classe' since they are carried at my local store and I might get a good deal to buy them together.

I don't know if this helps, but with my previous system, I loved the excellent midrange and taught base, but missed good high end treble detail (Dynaudio Contours). When I listened to a CM5 demo, I was shocked at how nice and detailed the treble was. I can't wait for the PM1 demo, it should be much better.

I guess the bottom line is that I prefer to stay away from an analytical system. I like open, airy, mid range; detailed high's for classical; and tight base for rock.

FWIW i used the Rotel 1520 integrated with CM9 and even though it sounded nice the amp didn't have the power for those speakers. How do i know? it shutted down and protected itself afterba while, so go separates if you use Rotel with those speakers.

Of the choices you have listed, the Caspian is by far the best. That particular Krell is not well regarded. I would avoid it.

if i was going to get a new integrated i would definitly call decaware and ask the owner what he thinks. may not be what you are after but it would be interesting to hear that combination.