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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!


jays_audio_lab

Showing 13 responses by dtsht

dtsht
13 posts
 
Gotta say, I have been reading this thread since last week and finally got to today's posts. All I can say is WOW what a journey this has been for the OP. 

I have to agree with some of the posts stating there will be trade offs having a room doing double duty but I also understand the need to do so. Having a home with one bonus room your lucky having a home with 2 bonus rooms? That is for the very wealthy or single man with no kids IMO.  

The double duty room will require a very skilled designer and I feel there will still be some trade offs needed. To do a dedicated HT would require carefully placed acoustic treatments and for 2ch those treatments will be differant.then there is the interference from all the different speakers in that room that could pose a sound issue when the other is playing. Just the sound waves coming from the active system could cause the other speakers to resonate causing issues with the overall sound.
dtsht
13 posts
 
I think that you have to be above a certain level in audio to be able to hear those changes, I believe that was stated in an earlier post. Those that don't believe in it have equipment that while might be good isn't in the same league as the units that do show changes you do to your system. A good example would be when I first got into HT I had a Denon receiver and Polk RT speakers I thought WOW that's nice then was encouraged to add an Amp to the mix and that would make a huge improvement in sound. Well it didn't. Then was told to get better larger speaker wire that would make things change. Well that too didn't do anything. The reason I came up with is nothing in that system was of the quality to hear any changes.

WC and others posting have systems that are at that level, so I take those making those claims about wires and amps not making a difference in sound quality with a grain of salt.
dtsht
13 posts
 
For Home Theater I would look at Marantz, Integra or NAD Master. Integra has a new receiver out that has digital amps and are said to be "REAL" good acording to my buddy who has worked in the industry for many years and is currently with Stone and Glidden in King of Prussia, Pa. I'm currently using an older Integra Pre-pro and like the sound but want to change to one of the other 2 I mentioned. I like NAD's upgrade ability when new formats or upgrades are available so you don't have to buy a whole new unit.
dtsht
13 posts
 
I wonder if you could have the 2ch on one side of the long end of room and have the front 3 for HT on the opposite wall. So you would have your back towards one while enjoying the other.
dtsht
13 posts
 
WC, I have to say that your journey is extremely interesting and fun to follow. The biggest thing I see is when people get caught up in your quest and alot have you can see that with the ones tailing behind your every post which is cool but to some degree I think they are feeling like this is their money too and want you to spend wisely so you don’t go bankrupt while others incourage you to buy the biggest and baddest like you could never run out of funds.

This is all ment to be fun and enjoyable to follow your steps to audio bliss but when there becomes all this bickering like going on a family vacation in the van and the four kids in the back act up. The much needed fun vacation with the family becomes a thorn in the a$$.

I am just a hands on guy working in an automotive repair shop that would love to be able to do 1/2 of what you and most posting here have and can do with their systems and I enjoy seeing what you can do even though I know I can’t. I am into HT and spent a weekend in Philly to listen to and get the best speakers I could. My buddy took me to Overture in Deleware and every Hi-End store from there to Philly. I came home with Triad in room Golds due to Overtures HT room with Triad Plat’s that just slacked jawed me, litterly breath taking. I couldn’t afford the Plat’s and just barely afforded the Inroom Golds but enjoy seeing what those of better means can put together.

I would guess most posting here have a higher level education and have been able to acquire carrers that allow them these luxuries and that all good you did the work and made the right choices to get you there. The enjoyment of this journey ends (for me anyhow) when the bickering starts like the kids in the back of the van.

WC is the parent driving this van and the kids are acting up. WC has kindly asked all of you to please stay on target and not derail this vacation. If WC was like my dad when I was younger he would pull the van over after 2-3 warnings and pull you out to the side of the road to give a spanking infront of the other passing cars (been there, had that). I really think that WC has shown some very good restraint and I feel bad for him that this trip has (at some level I’m sure) been ruined to a degree because of this bickering and little childish digs from posters that I’m sure are old enough and educated enough to know better. Leave the bickering, digs and rehashing of dumb crap to the kids.
dtsht
13 posts
 
Can you adjust the gain? Does that add or take away from the sound Good or bad?
dtsht
13 posts
 
Ok Vinny, don't derail the thread, yes there is alot of reading that will take awhile, I know because it took me just over a week of reading after I got home from work 5:30pm until I went to bed around 10pm. I didn't jump to the last page because I wanted to have a enjoyable, informative experience with what WC is trying to accomplish. There is a whole host of great information in this thread. It reads like a book documenting ones journey to his audio nirvana that few if any have ever done in the past.

I would highly recommend that you spend the time I have done in respect to WC and all the hard work and long hours he put into this for our enjoyment it is really quite a feat he has done and continues to do.

Now please back to our regular scheduled program. 
dtsht
13 posts
 
*edit* wrong audio Co.
dtsht
13 posts
 
I really don't think being a fair and honest reviewer is bad at all IMO. In fact I think the sugar coating and straight up lies in most reviews you read in the magazine's are getting way out of control. To the point of purposely swaying the uninformed public looking to spend their hard (some very hard) earned money on a product that doesn't do what the reviewer described it does either warm, bright, deep, wide etc sound stage. Just to insure that there will be someone blindly spending the cash they saved to only be disappointed. 

I feel there needs to be a change in the way reviews are done and WC does a great job delivering an honest review noting the pros and cons without hyping or sugar coating either one. Having a review stating what his or her other system components are and having the hands on experience and integrity to say while this didn't work in this system it would or could play better with these other components in the mix. That would be a better more fair review of something then having a play with words to come up with a new way of saying manly positive things. It would also put the Manuf. in a position to change something for the better if they really care about the truth. The truth doesn't care about your feelings and if any Manuf. worth their salt and truly believe in their product shouldn't be scared to have an honest fair review of their product IMO. 
dtsht
13 posts
 
WC, your review was very good and non-biased which is the way reviews need to be written, full specs on each would be a nice touch to give the reader a better sense as to which they would like to add to their system any cabling would require a whole nother review that IMO would be unnessary when your in this level and would require entirely too much $$. Nice job.

As for your HT I could get you in touch with my buddy who lives this stuff if you like. We both feel ML inwalls rock HT they are very good IMO.
dtsht
13 posts
 
You could have an electrician install a whole house surge protector at the main panel that way everything you own is protected.
dtsht
13 posts
 
Nice choice on HT equipment your gonna be impressed. Have you picked a screen manuf? If not Screen Innovations Black Diamond's are really nice and if there are windows allowing light in the room light washout is not an issue like some others, the picture remains clear and bright, worth a look IMO.
dtsht
13 posts
 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/255185398981

Been watching and reading these posts and you guys are sure over my humble Triad HT system that's for sure. I was wondering if anyone ever came accross these and ever heard them go. I read about them and looked into them and of course there is always gonna be rave reviews but was wondering if they are all they say they are. Dam things weigh over a 1000lb ea. I almost pulled the trigger on the amps to try them they look interesting atleast in all the wite-ups but a 220v outlet would have to be installed and that changed my mind. I cant imagin resale would be easy either. 
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