My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!


So I have been in a long journey looking to find the best amplifiers for my martin logan montis. As you know, the match between an amplifier and speakers has to be a good "marriage" and needs to be blend exquisitely. Right now, I think I might have found the best sounding amplifier for martin logan. I have gone through approximately 34-36 amplifiers in the past 12 months. Some of these are:

Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005

With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:

ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)

NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)

Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)

rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)

cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)

parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)

lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)

McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.

butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)

pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.

classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)

Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:



PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.

Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.

Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?

Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.

 It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.

Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.

Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.

Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.

Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.

Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.

My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.

That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!


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Showing 50 responses by zprr

Thanks @4425
Running a full Odin1 (pcs, xlrs and scs) loom, I agree with WCs observations although I have never compared V2 to O1 xlrs in my system. I have had the chance to compare the O1 vs V2 pcs and scs as well as recently an O2 pc. I would definitely not characterize my sound currently as bright having heard such systems and WC makes a good point re: mix and matching. Glad you have found the right combo for you!
Hi WC
Any further impressions on the speaker and power cables? Specifically on the four comparisons you laid out that you wanted to get to the bottom of?
Hope you are still getting some good listening in during this waiting period.
Hi @lalitk,
I think you will find the video you are looking for and the commentary back on 6/18 of this thread...ah, now I see that it shows up as ‘private’...
Hi WC - Any further observations from experimenting with the power cords and speaker cables that you have had in house?  Strengths and weaknesses? 

500lbs each!?  that’s amazing.  they look insane

btw, for what it’s worth, spent last 4 hours listening to yg’s. pretty engaging for my ears
Yeah, the second series Hailey & Sonjas use the Billet Dome which trickled down from the Sonja XV. I moved from the Carmel2s to the Haileys 2.2s last year and I do feel the new tweeter added a touch more detail and focus and a slightly smoother presentation. This is particularly true at higher volumes, so not helpful for everyone.

I believe YG felt that metal hard dome tweeters (aluminum, beryllium or diamond) can ring when pushed high enough. They tried to take advantage of both technologies.

But, I have never heard a Be tweeter to compare... and it sounds like WC is finding no trouble at higher volumes...
Fantastic.  
Sounds like you have alot of shootouts planned for the weekend!
Will be curious to hear any further impressions on the new pieces but also on your current cables (PCs and SCs) and how they compare to the new SC arrival this week. 
Awesome WC. 
With your experience with the Odin 1 PCs so far, are you generally seeing the most upshot when connected to sources/DAC vs preamp vs amps? Or, maybe it is hard to compare, as the upshot for each brings out different qualities?
WC - Can you share your top 3 tracks that you listen to when making your comparisons that draw on different attributes that you are looking for?  You have mentioned a few in the past but it could be 60 pages ago...

I know we all have different music tastes, but it would be helpful to listen to those tracks on my own system to try to discern those same attributes as a point of reference when reading your reviews if you mention a particular track.  I forget if you stream from Tidal or another music service, that would be an easy way to compare, but even if you are playing them off a CD we could download or stream the track.  
just so soothing listening to all these recordings tonight. thanks for sending these around.  will take some time to know each of these tracks
wc - for fun, just a few
- Ballad of the runaway horse - Rob Wasserman
- Mansa - Djelimady Tounkara (extra nice 24/96 version)
- Birds - Dominique Fils Aime - Nameless
- Terracentric - Rodrigo y Gabriela
- Love came here - Lhasa
- for Trouble is what’s your’re in -  my favorite version is the live from union chapel in london. (maybe what u listen to already)
awesome WC. 
let us know how systems 1, 2 and 3 compare.  lots of great tracks to use!
awesome. thanks for reporting back on this.  two different flavors it seems. 
are any of the cables not ’fully’ broken in yet?
WC - Is this based on your System 1 or 2 from the weekend?
Congrats on all the trials to get to this point!
Very interesting that the 860 v2 would supplant the 870a for less $$ and a pair would outperform the 880s.....  hopefully we’ll get some verification, if possible, from Munich
WC - Is it safe to assume you preferred the Odin 1 speaker cable? Any specific characteristic?
Also, still curious about the other interesting observations re: your cables that you mentioned a few days ago, if you get the chance to relay your thoughts...
WC. How are things taking shape w the build out?  Are you getting any listening time during this transitional phase?  Take it easy and looking forward to the next phase of your journey
Really happy for you that you will have this new room. Awesome. I imagine the baseline sound will be quite different due to room, distances, materials etc etc. and will take some time.  Did the Odin’s not quite have enough hours on them?
Have to admit I get lulled into thinking folks that post here aren’t affiliated with a specific company. That is my bad/naivety.  But I do appreciate, and I imagine others do, when people are forthcoming with that info upfront.
gtaphile  thanks for sharing your findings. Sounds like v2 is a major improvement over v1. Any theories on why it may be running hotter in general? Is it too hot to keep your hand on it?

WC - Any chance you can post a few pics showing evolution of new room? It has to be exciting that it’s nearing completion. 
haha i do think there are trends depending on what time people post. very excited for the next reveals. still digesting the boulder vs pandora video. so many insights. thanks again 
!! that’s awesome...  the room and an amazing speaker to get your views on
Very curious about and excited for the reveal.
Thanks for all the work WC and congrats in advance on this next phase!
gorgeous pics WC. very inspiring, man..
Congrats to you to have gotten to this point and glad you are breaking in the room and listening again.
Have the cables you have in house changed any in the last 3-4 weeks?

happy to see this thread re energized again.  hey mr D i appreciate your insight over the last 2 years on this thread and particularly your perspective in your last post. thank you
Glad to hear things are ok and ruminations continue. Bigddesign asked the question i imagine a number of us were thinking.  also, in the new room, would you now consider the sonja 2.2s? they seem to have made their latest impression at ramf. i know you were previously concerned about their dispersion...
awesome WC. For me the post cut out at 28:16... just when your point on innovation and need for change away from needless power consumption was hitting its crux. really appreciated your point on that as well as the synopsis of all 5 amps!
Toasting 3 years of this chain. Such great info and insights.  Thanks of course to WC and everyone else for keeping this good thing going. 
Thanks for sharing ghosthouse.
I had a similar exceptional servicing experience with Simaudio in fixing an ailing amp.
WC - I really enjoyed that video. You gave many tangible, easy to understand points of comparison. Obviously drawing on your experience w many other amplifiers.  Your excitement for these amps was on full display.

I look forward to better understanding your differentiation between resolution, clarity and detail. Have heard other folks use categories like detail, air and transparency to get at these nuances. One other thought, is there an adjustment factor based on your cabling components and speakers at the time of rating. Obviously that will influence your overall sound but may be tricky to translate into ratings for each category.

You have set a great baseline tonight. Really looking forward to how future amps stack up!

Man, was just really starting to absorb some great fresh thoughts on this thread, what seemed not a moment ago re: clocks, dacs, inputs, balancing neutrality, transparency vs long sessions/ certain genres vs catering to more genres.  The journey to find the elusive balance for each individual’s taste. Love that. Found an interesting experience comparing the simaudio 740p and 850p versus the arc ref 10 in my system this month. For me it really shed light on those trade offs. WC has clearly articulated his goals and motives, and how they have evolved, during his search. I think many of ours evolve as well.  Thanks again WC and all for the organic positive discourse
Agreed tjassoc and riaa on the above.
Concerned about wc’s back....
For what it’s worth my 2 cents on the Simadio 740p, 850p and arc ref 10 comparisons as a couple posters asked. A few folks on this thread including WC gave me very helpful advice throughout so thanks again.

Over the span of 2 weeks I had many hours to compare these 3 broken-in preamps in my system.
Final notes on the 740p vs the Ref10 in my home system:
- Ref10 a touch warmer/richer.  740p can sound a bit thin on certain songs in comparison
- Ref10 wider stage. some songs remarkably so
- Ref10 a bit more engaging and less fatiguing
- Ref10 more bottom weight, but not boomy
- same resolution/detail.
So, if I had to choose bw these two, definitely Ref10. Perhaps a 15% bump in overall enjoyment. That said I was quite surprised how well the 740p held up.

Then I brought home the 850p.  Compared  to the 740p my jaw dropped. The 850p performed with an increased overall smoothness/liquidity, brought forward recessed instruments w exceptional spacing, resolution increased/inner details on songs I had never heard before, tidied up the soundstage, added coherent bass,...was hard to put a finger on any one exact change. Overall I had never experienced the lack of fatigue after playing for hours.  

That said, I can see why someone might prefer the Ref10 even in my Sim (amp and DAC) dominated system (vs the 850p). The Ref10 adds a touch of warmth and a wider soundstage and perhaps is a slight touch more forgiving. I think the 850p gets out of the way better to play what is on the recording more than the 740p and the Ref10. I decided to stick with system synergy (which I think may be the primary reason for the slight nod to the 850p vs ref10) as I wasn’t quite ready to build a system around the Ref10 (although I was tempted). I think the 850p and ref10 are incredible and a good example of how individual preferences may vary.  

oh man.  that’s pretty amazing you are already hearing such a clear difference
fantastic WC. Thank you for sharing those observations.  Unfortunate news in some ways ;)
Would you roughly say the O2 speaker cable also gave a 30% boost compared to the O1? or greater?
Btw, your finding re: the cardas clear xl PC seems to match mine when compared to a O1 PC.  I found while it may have added bass (which also felt less layered) it gave up too many other attributes in comparison especially dynamics and detail.
Awesome wc. Very excited for this next phase of your journey. One of the aspects I have enjoyed most about this thread is the relatively real-time observations and feedback from the followers here. You have an amazing audience that we all learn so much from and, of course, from you. Will be curious to hear your vision for whether that can/will continue as you slowly transition to the new media and this thread comes to an end (which makes me sad btw)...
That’s awesome WC. Really cool to hear and see. Your point at the end playing music via the channel is well taken.
impressive. very impressive merrill. will be most curious to hear your thoughts on how these sounded in your room. 
Awesome. Looking forward to it as well any further impressions on the Odin 2s