I am using KR242 tubes... it’s the newest tubes that were just recently manufactured for lampizator this year.
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!
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!
Showing 50 responses by jays_audio_lab
1:22 AM right now. I’m getting off the couch. I am extremely impressed with the Rowland 925/lampizator pacific combo. My overall level of satisfaction is extremely high. Having the constellation centaur 2s off to the side reminds me that I might have to do one last shootout before I decide what’s staying and what’s going to be leaving my system. Thanks everyone. Good night |
Shootout begins shortly. I will listen to several cuts of music and each dac will be used as a preamp. Volume will be between 85db and 88 dB. Set up #1 DCS Vivaldi DAC 2.0 ($36k) Wireworld Platinum 7 USB Nordost Odin 1 powercord WIreworld platinum 8 xlr Rowland 925s (stock powercords) Nordost Odín 1 speaker cables 6V setting on volume output Set up #2 Lampizator Pacific ($32k) KR 242 tubes Wireworld Platinum 7 USB Wireworld 7 powercord WIreworld platinum 8 xlr Rowland 925s (stock powercords) Nordost Odín 1 speaker cables |
Ok guys, i played mainly redbook files and I played with the filters on the dcs and settled on filter 5 which is what the manual recommends. Here are my main impressions in my system based on the set ups described above: DCS Vivaldi: PROS: - outstanding bass with tight, clean, punchy notes throughout all music played -Clear mids with an incredible level of articulation. - highs are clean and crisp with no edginess of any kind regardless of the content - MQA is insane. I’m now an mqa believer because of this machine. - amazing instrument separation - the best solid state dac I’ve had here CONS: - soundstage is big but not the tallest - lacks the 3d dimensionality of some of the best gear I’ve had here -lacks the emotion of tube equipment -although it has accuracy in spades, it can also rob you at times from connecting to with the music - Short decays Lampizator Pacific (KR 242 tubes) PROS: -Huge soundstage that is both, wide and tall - deep presentation where you can hear words echo in deeper layers - world class highs with outstanding decay - midrange is excellent as expected from a tube - insane amounts of emotion and feeling with the music you play through it - the best 3d sound I’ve ever heard through my Neoliths (Rowland & lampizator) CONS: - bass control could be tighter, deeper - Tubes aren’t cheap so there is a cost of ownership which is not the case with the DCS - Long listening sessions end up being until 2 am which makes you sleepy the following day. With that said, please remember I’m doing an instant A/B comparison. I’m not comparing things using my memory. This is being done RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. A few things that jump at me through the DCS is instrument separation and bass. They are so amazing and incredible and yes they do beat the lampizator’s own BUT I prefer the massive, musical and engaging presentation of the lampizator. I realize you can’t have it all with a component so I choose the musical & emotional presentation of the lampizator over the accuracy of the DCS. Of course, if the DCS was indeed the full system then I expect it to beat the lampizator but I’m trying to do an apples to apples here. Dac vs Dac. I also could have used the expensive powercord on the lampizator but I decided to use the cheaper wireworld silver 7 instead and the Odin 1 on tbe DCS and I still choose the lampizator over the DCS based on my own preference. I also wanted to say that the Virgo preamp DOES help the DCS become more romantic sounding with more 3D sound. If I were to keep the DCS, I’d have to keep the Virgo 3 preamp. |
Ricred1, So I think right now I am getting a balanced soundstage but I don’t know how this will be impacted once I am in the dedicated room. The centaur 2 monos definitely Throw a larger picture so maybe it might be better for a larger space? It is tough with components of this caliber guys. It is not simple and easy to gauge. It becomes a matter of WHAT you like best. Accuracy is indeed important but if I find myself analyzing the recording rather than enjoying it then that is a problem FOR ME. I am also a huge believer that about 90% of well designed dacs pretty much provide the same picture from redbook files with differences being more having to do with system synergy. If your system can’t let you hear what else a certain dac brings to the table then it doesn’t make sense to spend more. MQA sounded HUGE, more volume, more body, IMAX like presentation. It was as if the music was on steroids but in a good way. |
Centaur 2 Monos back in the mix after a 3 day hiatus. Here are my impressions: - massive stadium size soundstage making the Rowlands sound small in comparison. - bottom end that is perhaps 3 times deeper than the Rowland 925s - tons of detail and clarity - when pushed hard, they sound like an airplane taking off. Big, bold, deep, wide, huge, no fatigue. This added a boat load of confusion for me now. Going back to the constellation amps just made me fall back in love with them. They are reminding me WHY I chose them at AXPONA. If I listen at low volume, I’d probably take the Rowland 925s just because they sound really detailed and liquid but when pushed hard they simply can’t hang with the constellation centaur 2s. They begin to “thin out” just a little bit. I guess we don’t realize what we have until it is gone but I’m glad I’m my case the amps aren’t gone :) |
Vinny, Tecknik is right. You gotta read in order to hopefully get your questions answered. The jc1 and 250.8 were good UP UNTIL that point. I eventually reviewed more amps which are better and about the same money. For instance, the simaudio 860 amp is a better amp than the 250.8. It can be bought for about 1500 dollars more than the 250.8 on the used market. It adds better bass control and a much bigger presentation with silky highs. Jc1s are beasts with bass control but they don’t have the best highs. They are a little unrefined when compared to the simaudio. Hope this helps. |
Vinny, I don’t want to say I recommend this to you today and then you say I recommended something else before. This is why everyone is asking you to not skip chapters or you’ll get lost. The evolution of how things came to be what they are today is important. Right now my updates will be less because I’m running around trying to figure out what I need for the room that is being built. |
Ok guys, this review of the lampizator pacific came out yesterday. Enjoy ! https://www.audiostream.com/content/lampizator-pacific-balanced-dac-review |
Update: Merril Audio has just sent me their Christine Reference Preamp for me to review. I want to thank them for being the first manufacturer of amp/preamps to send me a component they believe in. I plan to give this preamp a fair shot once the room is built in about 3 weeks. I am also on the waiting list for their element 116 amps. Ill keep you all posted. |
Update: Nordost Odin 1 powercord does not have as much synergy on the constellation Virgo 3 preamp as the Shunyata alpha NR powercord. The latter adds more meat on the bones and muscle. It seems as if the Nordost Odin 1 pc takes away a little of the tonality of the constellation while it does its magic. That said, the Odin does wonderful things on the DAC. It pulls more information and detail and separates things better. I’m guess that because the Virgo 3 preamp has an external power supply it might not benefit as much from ultra high end powercords. |
I will stay as objective as possible without damaging any relationships. My take on it won’t be “this is garbage or don’t buy this or that its the best I’ve heard, etc”. It’s going to be more along the lines of a comparison against my other amps. For example, will it have better bass control? How deep is the soundstage? Is it a warm, neutral or bright? Who would benefit the most from buying it? Etc. Etc. I’ll do a comparison right now of my 925s vs constellation: - Rowland 925s have excellent clarity and liquidity at low volume. They remain unmatched by any solid state amp in this department - Rowland 925s have clean background with excellent resolution - May not be well suited for bright speakers such as horns, etc. if you enjoy low to moderate level listening and you don’t have power hungry speakers that demand sledge hammer attack, this is your amp. Constellation centaur 2: - control from top to bottom - huge sound - luxman- like musicality but more of it - intoxicating, beautiful mids with emotion - HUGE AMPS that will command your space - blue light on the front is annoying and can’t be turned off at night who is the Constellation Centaur 2 for? Well this is the amp to have if you have demanding speakers that can’t seem to sing. They push out blanket of sound that is complete from top to bottom. It’s hard to find a fault on the presentation of this amplifier. Mind you, I’m back to using stock powercords and they STILL sound AMAZING. I was actually thinking of selling them when I brought the Rowlands because I was enjoying the Rowland SO MUCH that I felt they were for me to keep, BUT as soon as I went back to the constellation I was reminded of what they are capable of. It is almost as if I feel I would regret selling them because finding another set won’t be as easy. So as of today, the constellation centaur 2 will be my go to amplifier and the amplifier from which others will be judged so please don’t be complaining if I’m comparing cheaper offerings against this amplifier. |
Constellation vs Block Audio: Block Audio: -Block audio has perhaps the tightest, most visceral bass control of any power amplifier i have ever owned. i suspect this amp is in the same camp as the Solution 711 when it comes to bass control - Block audio has sufficient current, drive and soundstage width & height to satisfy the most critical audiophile. - Block audio easily beats every single amplifier i have ever owned from Pass Labs with the exception of the XS300 which i have never owned. - Magical mids (class a trait) with great projection into the room - It does not run ANYWHERE near as hot as many Class A design out there - Built to military grade specs and far more beautiful in person than in pictures. If i were to say WHICH amp i prefer, i would say FOR ME WITH MY CURRENT SPEAKERS, i prefer the Constellation Centaur 2. It has perhaps a little better separation and is EXTREMELY MUSICAL. The Block audio is towards the neutral side of things which means it tries to not get in the way of the music so it doesn't impose itself. This is a good and bad thing because as you all know there are some recordings out there that we like and don't sound good at all (not the case with the constellation Centaur 2). I also feel that the Block Audio and Lampizator Pacific Dac as a preamp sounded INCREDIBLE and better than with the ARC REF10, but the Lampizator/Constellation isn't as good (less synergy). Both amps are awesome at what they do, but it really comes down to this: Do you like full muscular sound with neutrality? - Go with Block Audio Do you like musicality, sweetness, huge sound? - Go with Constellation |
No acoustician. I am doing a special soundproof drywall throughout the entire room. It is especially designed for studios and it also is costing me far more than the regular drywall. The plan is to get rid of any external noises and once I am in the room, I will begin the madness of connecting everything over a weekend. Heres what I am thinking for the home theater as far as audio: martin Logan axis inwalls for front left, front right and center which will go behind a perforated screen. Martin Logan axis for surround left and surround right. Martin Logan helos for Atmos Klipsch LCR for surround rear. 4 REL predator subwoofers Either marantz 8805a processor with ati class d amps handling all speakers OR a denon 8500 receiver for simplicity. The goal is to not have my audio for movies interfere with 2 channel. I decided to not make the Neoliths part of the movie experience because of the added cost associated with the matching 7,000 center channel. I also go through different gear so if let’s say tomorrow I sold my Neoliths, it won’t stop my movie experience. The audio from movies will be completely independent of the 2 channel. I also feel that having everything with inwalls speakers will make the room look cleaner. I want to only see the Neoliths and the constellation Monos along with the subwoofers in the corners. Nothing else. |
I am waiting... the synergy of this preamp with the centaur 2 is magical. I don’t want to jump the gun just yet because it’s an initial impression and everything seems to always sound good right out of the gate. The key is LIVING WITH IT and seeing if it turns into long listening sessions or not which is something that luxman and constellation have totally done with me. |
All I have to say is that those gryphon colloseum monos listed are tempting lol. My situation is kinda like this: if I move out of my constellation to try another amp and they don’t check all boxes and I end up hating myself for that.... been there done that and this is where I am at with the constellation amps/preamp. |
Update: The lampizator Pacific is set to leave my home. It is time to move on. i will be bringing the Jeff Rowland Corus Preamp with the optinal PSU along with the Esoteric K1 DAC. The goal here will be to do a full constellation set up VS a full rowland set up VS a full Merrill Audio set up. The dac will be the K1 (not to be confused with the K01) DAC. |
All- lampizator was sacrificed in order to bring the rest of the Rowland pieces and a solid state dac. For now, I think a solid state dac will blend better with the Rowland and constellation because the lampizator is bringing more musicality and sweetness but both front ends are already sweet and musical. At times I find them a little too syrupy with the lampizator. These fronts don’t need added sweetness from the source, but rather a dac that is more about resolution so that they can compliment that resolution with their musical tonality. |
I’ve listened to the constellation set up today for about 2 hours and I continue to be floored by what it does to me. I’m so impressed that I have it as THE BEST sound to come out of my Neoliths. I’ll be VERY VERY SHOCKED if the full Rowland set up beats it. Right now I’m VERY CLEAR on the fact that the the Rowland monos didn’t have the heavy punch in the low frequencies that the constellation Monos have. If I am going by my gut feeling and take an educated guess, I will say that the Rowland preamp and PSU unit will add more detail to the amps but it still won’t touch the combination of slam/soundstage from constellation. Yes, I could be very wrong but that’s WHY I decided to do a full Rowland set up in order to be fair. As far as the Merrill preamp, it has tremendous detail and extremely dynamic. It’s so dynamic that it almost startles me at times which can be a bad thing if there’s too much of it at once. That said, I can’t do a full analysis of it until the Monos arrive next month so I’m going to not give much in depth analysis on the preamp but rather just try to enjoy it and take notes. I’ve only had it connected to the constellation Monos so maybe I’ll try the Rowland’s with it this weekend. Lots of stuff doing on .... |
I spoke to Merrill and they said to not worry about powercords with their preamp because they’ve not had any positive results by adding expensive powercords. The external power supply does all the work for this preamp so I’m not going to drive myself crazy with it. Current cables are nordost Odin 1 speaker cables, nordost Odin 1 powercord on the dac, Shunyata alpha nr on the constellation preamp, stock powercords on the centaur 2 Monos, wireworld world platinum 7 & 8 xlr. |
My Constellation Centaur 2s are using the $2 dollar powercords they come with and the slam/thump/bass is ridiculous to say the least.. My source is going to be the Simaudio 650d until the Esoteric k1 arrives in about a week or so. I almost bought a Gryphon set up last night consisting of a Mephisto and the Pandora preamp, but i had to sacrifice my Constellation set up and i just can not seem to dare to sell it to try something else. Maybe one day i go up the ladder and the get Constellation Altair preamp which is designed "suspended in air" internally. Nothing inside the unit is bolted down, but rather sitting on some sort of spring mechanism that completely repels vibrations. |
If you occasionally play music loud, luxman and constellation are killers at this. They never make you leave the room or turn the volume down. The Rowland will get a fair shot in here with its matching preamp and the psu unit. Both are pretty much broken in so it should be ready to plug in and wait for 2-3 days of play time and let it rip. Keep in mind, I’m not going to be coming to say one rips apart the other but rather which one I choose over the other and why. Again, maybe that Rowland preamp with PSU comes in here and blows me away. I’m not biased at all because I own both set ups and I can keep either one so it won’t matter. All I can say is “let the best man win”. |
Mrdecibel: Detail is there With resolution but this detail feels as if it’s a little rolled off. I also hear things that are a little more obvious here that perhaps the constellation set up presents but it doesn’t push them out because it’s busy giving your ears tremendous bass control, insane mids, and a 3D effect. Your ears are entertained by other qualities from the presentation. I had someone ask if a preamp intervenes with the presentation of an amplifier and the answer is YES. For example, the ref10 has the largest soundstage of any preamp I’ve owned. The luxman and constellation Virgo have sweetness and musicality and the merril has dynamics and bass control in spades. |
Rowland 925s with merril preamp: - smaller soundstage - warmer sound signature - detail is there but not as obvious - mids are good but not as articulate - highs are smooth but sound as if I turned the treble down a few clicks - bass is clean but lacks that visceral punch that makes my chair vibrate - separation is good - lacks the decay of the constellation set up - less 3D effect - dynamics might have been decreased - less sense of depth. what stands out for me from this combo? I’d say that occasionally I hear things that weren’t as apparent with the constellation set up. An instrument to the left or right, a clap, whispers here and there, etc. With that said and to be fair, the 925s have beeb unplugged for a few days and I just plugged them in so they are cold and need playtime so that I can do another analysis. It appears that the star of the show is the constellation centaur 2 monos. They let me hear the differences between both preamps rather easy. They also force 3D images out of the speakers that really blow me away. Cranking things up on these amps and me resting my head on the chair means my head feels the vibration on the chair. They also make the wall behind the speaker seem to be farther away creating a sense of more depth in the music. This is indeed superb. To be revisited later... |
This is why I still think constellation is #1 with my current speakers. With the Neoliths having 12 inch and 15 inch drivers, TRUST ME they will let you know if the amp you are using doesn’t have enough muscle to push them. It’s EASY AS HELL with these speakers to find out if an amp has great bass, mids, highs, soundstage width and depth. The size of these panels make it easy to tell what changed when you swap out components. This is how I know the fact that the Rowland so far doesn’t have the bottom end fullness with the preamps I’ve used with it. That said, this might change when I use the preamp it was designed to be mated with. I generally WILL NOT like an amp that lacks 3 dimensional sound or a wide and deep soundstage. These are huge for me and if an amp lacks these traits, I end up not liking it. |
Ricred, first off, I didn’t say they were bad value. You are arriving to that conclusion on your own. Secondly, I stated very clearly last night that the amps were dead cold and they needed more days playing music in order to let them play at their best. Thirdly, I am also not using the matching Rowland preamp with PSU. There are too many variables to take what I just stated as gospel. I like to be fair and this is WHY I said that I will evaluate things again once I have the other pieces here. I’ve not arrived to any solid conclusion just yet, but rather preliminary findings and what my ears are picking up early on. I’ll keep playing music on these amps and keep listening and then add the preamp with the PSU and report again |
The room is about halfway through. the audio for movies has been purchased and will hit my door next week. It consists of the following: Marantz 8805 martin logan axis inwalls for FR, C, FL, SR, SL (behind a perforated screen) martin Logan helos for in ceiling Atmos klipsch thx 6502 in walls for SBL, SBR Four REL 1508 Predator subwoofers Epson 6050 projector 135 inch acoustically transparent screen wireworld xlr throughout after careful analysis, I decided to go with a mark Levinson 533h 3 channel amp to drive my 3 front inwalls and the ATI 528 8 channel class D amp for the surrounds and Atmos speakers. These 2 amps keep things simple without the need to use too many amps. As far as audio rack, I have ordered a SOLID TECH RACK 7 in silver. The room still needs the walls sanded, painted, ac unit needs to be installed, the floor riser needs to be built and lighting needs to be done as well as carpeting, Comcast needs to come out and wire the room for internet and I need to buy another row of recliners towards the end too. Once all that has bee done then I’ll begin to move all the equipment inside the room and begin the madness of installing all the electronics, protector, the screen, assemble the audio rack, etc etc. I also had four 20a dedicated outlets installed on the front wall so that power is never an issue. I will need to figure out what kind of power surge protector I’m going to buy just to get me through the next few months. Im not going to spend big money on a power conditioner at this time to only have the home theater electronics connected to it. I’m thinking of a furman unit and calling it a day. |
Rowland Corus with PSU initial impressions:
Overall, this is an incredible preamp. I hear a ton of things that i did not hear before. I would not be shocked if this preamp with the Constellation Centaur 2s sounds killer. That said, my Nordost Odin 1 speaker cables are leaving tomorrow to be put on the machine and add more hours on them. I figure right now is the best time to do this since i am not doing a lot of critical listening. The first shootout i will have in the new room will be Jeff Rowland vs Constellation with the Esoteric K1 Dac. Stay tuned, more to come. |
Listening at louder volumes right now and here’s what I’m hearing WITHOUT NORDOST speaker cables: -Incredible level of detail. The nuances are laid out for you to listen and indulge. - clarity in spades - bass is still not as “muscular” as the gryphons and constellation - soundstage height is not as tall - excellent depth and imaging - relaxed, smooth, silky with zero harshness. It could lead to countless hours of listening sessions. If you value detail and clarity, this is your system. If you value muscularity, HUGE soundstage from top to bottom, and musicality, constellation has it. That said, this might change over the next few weeks once I connect the esoteric k1, add a nordost Odin 1 on the preamp, etc. These are preliminary findings so DO NOT take them as gospel yet. There’s still a lot more to do here. |
These 2 systems couldn’t be more different. They are smooth and detailed but they go about their business in different ways. I will expand on this in the next coming days or weeks. Whichever system I keep will be the one that I felt was the one that better fit my current needs and not because the other one was no good. Both systems are excellent |
Just connected the nordost Odin 1 into the Rowland preamp and now this is a dog fight. The preamp opened up and now it has EVEN MORE detail. Those of you who don’t believe in powercords have no idea what you’re missing. More bass has been added, soundstage is slightly larger and there’s more depth happening now. This BY FAR an extremely difficult task. That said, the big constellation Monos are still off to the side waiting to enter the fight. I’m ITCHING to try them with the Rowland preamp |
Ok guys, the Centaur 2s are front and center now. They are dead cold after being unplugged for about 10 days so we will see what happens. Will the centaur 2s Godzilla-like bass control and devastating soundstage make me change my opinion or Or will the Rowland's articulation and resolution continue to trap me and make me forget about the huge canvas of sound from the constellation set up ? |