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!
I have the version before the most recent planar driver update and newest style frame.
I would agree with your assessment of the Symphony, solid state sweet. Built in late 2014. It's 200w/ch into 8 ohms so it puts about 400w/ch into my GTA at 4 ohms. I bi-wire to the speakers from the amp's 2 sets of outputs/ch using Analysis Plus Silver Apex.
I usually listen at 85 - 95db depending on program material. The amp can drive the speakers to overload the room. The room cries uncle first as I have never had the system over 105db. It's just too loud even for me. Yes, when I auditioned them at Steve's he was using the 60w Pass.
My room is essentially 18' x 36' x 7'2"(low ceiling unfortunately) and treated. My speakers also have the very first stainless steel stands drilled with 1/4-20 to accommodate the Stillpoints Ultra 5 w/ Ultra Base feet. The stands and feet provide a very worthwhile improvement.
I thought Merrill Audio 118’s were better than the Parasound JC1+ in most recent video. Didn’t think it was particularly close. So much better, that it almost sounded like the presentations were not level matched (not suggesting they weren’t, I’m sure you do those basic things, but that’s how much better the Merrills sounded is point I’m making).
Audio Research preamp sure seemed to help the 118’s.
Yeah, comments seem pretty balanced, although those who prefer Merrill seemed to have a stronger opinion that Merrill won, while those who picked Parasound thought it was close.
I was kinda surprised how easy the choice was for me.
WC, I enjoyed both presentations. The 20.7's sound great, aided by your tweaked placement and the Odin 1 speaker cables. The ARC ref 6se probably contributes crispness as well. I didn't hear any tubey qualities, although tubed stuff initially can sound crisp, which then mellows out with break in. Still, on the last selection, "Keith don't go" I found the Merrill to have a little more jangly quality on the opening guitar, like jangly coins. The voice is more immediate, without the slight veil and boominess of the JC1+. Some people might say that the jangly guitar is too bright and discontinuous with the voice, but I think that's what the recording is, and the 20.7 is telling the truth, just like the 3.7i did on this recording.
I know you will need another video to explain your own findings and rate the JC1+ and Merrill. But please, do a video with the same music to A/B the Gryphon Colosseum and Merrill before they leave. I'm guessing that a Gryphon Mephisto is coming.
I felt the Parasound had more body to the sound and didn't sound rolled off at all. The Merrill did everything right but that's about it, still sounds like class D.
As far as detail and clarity I didn't think it was close. The Ref6 / Merrill combo was much more clear. The Parasound JC1 sounded veiled by comparison....that's over my laptop, not being able to hear bass, soundstage etc...I'm not sure which one I would prefer in person.
This is great feedback. I agree with a lot of the comments here. They both certainly do things extremely different. That said, I will do a Momentum HD preamp shoot out with both monos and see what the outcome will be. For now, what I can say is that I certainly feel that the Gryphon is on another level. I never have to struggle with it. I don’t have to get all fancy trying all sorts of stuff to make it song nice. It just DOES and that is something I can’t say about many other amps. I think the parasound needs help such as powercords, a great preamp, etc to make the amp sound better. I believe the highs on the JC1 are a tad grainy or less "feathery" than say the momentum s250, luxman and simaudio 860v2. I can’t tell if it is that they still need more playtime or if it is that they just don’t have the highs I am accustomed to. More to come
WC, Re-reading John Atkinson's Stereophile review of the JC1+, he said that it is a smooth tubey-type SS amp with bass fullness, which is consistent with our findings, as well as the private poster who messaged me. But since JA is a bass head, he loved it. There is nothing you can do with the JC1+ to give it the clarity/snap/sparkle of Merrill or Gryphon.
Your descriptions of the Gryphon suggest that it rates higher than Merrill. Let's hear your numerical rating categories of the Merrill vs Gryphon.
I think that people are biased anytime they know it's Merrill playing. Some automatically say " it's mechanical, etc etc " just to stay consistent with what their perception is. I believe a blind test is due and that is what I'm going to do next. I'll hide what is playing on my next shootout. I won't even say if it is parasound or Merrill or dag or Gryphon. It's time to shock your own ears.
Yes. Some cannot get past class D bias, I suspect. Totally agree.
Not pointing fingers at anyone here just making general observation after following many class D threads.
The blind shootouts are fun. With the DAWs it was great because I didn’t have to wonder “well maybe it’s a speaker deficiency causing me to pick X or Y.” Could always pick out when Gryphon was playing. Kinda like, yep, that for sure is Gryphon/Wilson, no doubt.
Now with the 20.7 I won’t have that confidence but still look forward to it.
But then this should be even more fun. The fact that it is a speaker that most are not familiar with. I personally don’t hear anything dry or sterile with the Merrill 118s and the ref6se. I believe we are still hearing the ref6se sound a little "out of rhythm" because it needs break in time. Well the next shootout will be with either the momentum HD or the dac direct. I will say that the dac direct Is good but it is BY NO MEANS the Vivaldi.
I did prefer the JC 1 over the Merrill. It is all relative as You Tube is not even CD Quality so we are making this comparison and decision based on a flawed Low quality audio resolution format. In any event I did send Jay a video that we did with the same Dire Straits to compare. I did not want to post it here because this is not the place for me to do this. The main reason Why I am posting is that I do believe if Jay gets his hands on a Audio Research reference 10 there will be a lot more of the qualities that were described about the Merrill that will shine through even more on the JC1 amps.
WC, You are right about how blind shootouts eliminate bias. Just include all 4 amps. If you don’t have the time in making such a long video, just do the blind A/B of Gryphon/Merrill. There have been plenty of videos on the others, even if they were not blinded.
On the other hand, you have implied that although the Gryphon is the best, it doesn’t blow away the Sim and maybe others. That’s why you downgraded the Gryphon for value. If it blew everything away, you would rank it high for value as well. In fact, I admitted to being confused when I thought the Dag on the fabulous Artesania stand had better clarity than the Gryphon without the stand, possibly because of the congested recording that was used. There is the risk of fatigue trying to listen to all 4 amps with several recordings, unless you decide to just use the "Keith don’t go" recording with all 4 amps. I get all the info I need by listening to the first 90-120 seconds of that.
No, I don't hear anything wrong with the ARC ref 6se. I even liked the JC1+ with it, as a total system. The ARC contributed excellent clarity as it is now. Still, whether the next A/B uses the Momentum HD, Merrill Christine or DCS direct, the blind A/B should be informative.
Viber I can’t say a 50k MSRP Amplifier ranks high on the value category. I mean, thats like saying a Lamborghini Huracan is big bang for the buck because it is a far better car than the Corvette. Big bang for the buck, FOR ME, is something that performs far better than the price reflects and while still remaining relatively"affordable". I’ll give you a perfect example, HOW MANY PEOPLE here keep mentioning that there is a Colosseum listed for 29k ? Do you see a line of people trying to buy it ? I rated it an 86 and it is the best amp I have reviewed so far (reviewed meaning using the ratings ) So why is it still there ? Why is it still listed ? Yes , even discounted? Because the RAW TRUTH is that most people HERE , who read this, don’t want or don’t have 29k laying around to burn on an amp. THAT IS THE TRUTH. and YES I can guarantee that the coliseum would smoke 90% of the amplifiers that people who read this thread currently own. So what’s stopping them from buying it ? Why aren’t you replacing your bryston with the Gryphon? Trust me your bryston can’t come close to the Gryphon. I don’t care how many bryston amps you put in front of it or what model you choose. I wouldn’t be shocked if the new gryphon essence is the number one amp under 22k.
kren0006, You mention folks with Class D bias, and while that "might" be right, it might also be that some or all of those folks actually hear a difference and hear something they don’t prefer with Class D. And that will be the beauty of the blind comparison(s) that WC will be doing. Can folks actually discern the difference? We shall see. Looking forward to it WC. Dave
WC, Agree with everything except my Bryston. Trust me, my Bryston is unlike the other Brystons you have heard. As RIAA says, don’t judge anything unless you have heard it, and I would go further to say, unless you have heard it at home in your reference system. For detail and crispness, the Bryston is way better than the Merrill 114. My Bryston may even better any Gryphon for the qualities I want. The 114 has other qualities that appeal to a larger audience than my Bryston, I’ll grant that. If the 114 gave me the sound I wanted, I would have gladly spent $22K for the 116, which I believe is the best value in the Element line (although these amps are getting much lower prices on the used market).
But can you say that the Colosseum smokes the 118? Let’s just hear your ratings on the 118, and also the A/B of these 2 amps.
If you eventually get the GTA speaker, it is so efficient that the Gryphon Essence with its low power rating will have plenty of quantity and quality for that speaker. Who knows, just as my little Bryston is superior in quality to the bigger Brystons, the Essence may have equal or greater quality than the Mephisto. Also, even the Mephisto doesn’t have the high power of the top Pass or Dag amps, except for peak power bursts, so quality is what counts.
You guys (especially Viber) are all forgetting that WC proclaimed the Gryphon Colisseum one of the 3 best amps for the money that he has ever owned, just a couple of months ago. Spent a whole video talking about it and two Luxman in same regard.
The other two were Luxman m900u and L-590axii. Go back and check the video. It’s in 20-25 in terms of the number since first release.
Relating to the class D hypothesis, right, just my hypothesis (well except WC is the one who first raised it, but ok, I followed up saying I agree). I think the dangerous thing is that class D is evolving so quickly, and improving so fast, that it is especially dangerous to ascribe traits anyone thinks apply to a whole class of amps in that environment. But to each their own.
The Colosseum.....no longer has an MSRP......it is a discontinued product. When it was first released, about 10? years ago....its MSRP was $43K.........it eventually became $49K. You would be lucky if you can still find one new at any dealer. More than likely, the only ones still new are being sold by the US distributor for $27K (with full warrantee). Used ones probably go for about the same price. So, to keep saying it is a $50K MSRP amp and that its value is not so great is silly. Maybe you are trying to keep the used price up since you will be selling it soon. I can surely see why these "discounted" to $27K amps might not be selling great right now. Lots of possibilities......including the new baby Essence amp.....which might even be better, in some ways.......I would think they learned something in 10 years.....of course, the baby amp is rated at 50 conservative watts.
But, as i said earlier.....all these heavy amps will be boat anchors within a couple of years......here comes the Class D revolution.....and it won’t be starring Merrill.....unless, they significantly lower the price and increase their sound quality. There is no reason why a state of the art high powered class D amp that sounds as good as a Gryphon should cost more than $6K sold direct. You will see/hear it sooner than you think. Low heat, smaller size, less weight, less electricity used......but most of all.....great sound and low cost. All these $10K+ amps will be in museums.....as relics.....he he.
WC/kren0006 - agreed that each class D amp needs to be treated individually and not lumped into one category - I think I mentioned this already. Also, the amps need to be heard to make a definitive opinion. Speculation is only speculation. Yes, class D amps are improving, as are other classes of amps. kren0006 - I might have missed it, but not sure why you are reminding that Gryphon is one of the top 3 amps for the money?
haha, sorry Dave the Gryphon comment was to Viber, not you.
Viber had said WC doesn’t think the Gryphon a good value for money, or words to that effect, and then made some marginally-sensical deduction as to how that related to Sim audio. WC thinks Gryphon is top 3 all time bang for buck based on whole video dedicated to just that topic! (in contrast to 30 seconds of consideration on an overall review one of 10 categories) That was my point to Viber.
Sometimes I get ahead of myself. I tried to go back and make clear who I was responding to but time had expired.
Well I admit WC grade for Gryphon value in his review was a bit inconsistent with that earlier best all time bang for buck video. Anyway, I’ll let WC speak for himself I guess.
There is no class d amp that I have personally owned that beats my Gryphon...let me get that out of the way.
Second: I don’t need to keep the price high for my gryphon or any amp. If you must know, or if anyone must know, the Gryphon is sold...and yet it is still here in my possession. I do not need to play the stock market game to drive the price high and then sell ( I don’t know the term for that). I am not a salesman because I actually own all of my stuff. I can easily list it and it will sell. There’s ways a buyer so I don’t worry.
Also, I did not say the Gryphon is a great bang for the buck because you guys are thinking of "the one" gryphon listed as a great bang for the buck but this is just a special circumstance and not the usual scenario That said, and my question to you is WHY aren’t you buying it ? I’m specifically asking Kren or Viber. I highly doubt either one has a better amp than the Coliseum. This can easily be proven by sending me your amps and I will pay shipping plus insurance both ways so I can do a shootout against the Gryphon. Fair enough?
You sure are getting defensive about a silly amp. Who gives a hoot whether anyone ever buys a particular amp.
Lots of other kinds of thoughts will give us higher goosebump ratio.
BTW....the usual scenario.....is now buying used....and the used price on a Colosseum is probably what Higher Note is selling these last new ones for.....anyway.....who cares? I want people to tell the truth.....the truth shall set us free......Love is the highest truth.
ron17 - I'm wondering if it would need to include a Rane EQ, unless that is considered the preamp end of things.
ricevs - regarding your trailing thoughts...have you ever watched Bill Walton calling College basketball games on TV? You and Bill would probably get along well :-) Dave
Ricevs: WHAT TRUTH are you trying to tell? I'm trying to level with what you're saying but I am having a hard time. Don't take anything personal. It is conversation but notice I don't come out of the woods until I need to.
The truth is the truth. It is what you experience on Mushrooms.....of course.....he he. I did do mushrooms years ago (51 years ago).
The TRUTH is what you experience......not what you think. The only way to know something is to experience it. You cannot know anything truthful about fuses unless you listen to them. You cannot know much about what is true in life unless you let yourself expand and get out of your comfort zone and try some new FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLINGS. We are feeling beings....we love, we enjoy, we scream, we cry, we are alive....in our feelings. OUR mind is a trap.....it mostly serves the ego. Our feelings show us the way to our heart....to our self...to the NOW....to the infinity of feelings that we are. The knowledge of which fuse sounds best is nice....but the feeling the best one brings to us when we listen is the real TRUTH. There is wisdom. Love and Power. Wisdom is knowledge in service to Love.....ie....you know what to do to make more love........Power is Love in action....the more you DO love in action the more you and others feel love........LOVE is the TRUTH. It is what we are.
Is it the truth to keep saying the Colosseum amp is a $50K amp and therefore not that good of value....when it is a discontinued amp that sells for $27K new and can be bought for that same price used? At every level there is truth. The truth about how the 118 sounds versus the Gryphon will not be known till you A/B the two and tell us what you hear....that is truth. All the stuff that people make up (Viber loves to make up stuff....he he) is not the truth. The truth in audio is what you hear. You can interpolate.....we all do that. But the sound of the 114 may be very, very different than the 118, for instance. So, if we just say what we know......then we keep to truth. If we interpolate or guess....then it should clearly be stated as a guess. If more clear listening tests are done then less guessing will be done. When I read reviews......I am reading them for the bottom line....ie...how does it sound...and versus what? This is why listening to a Merrill system versus a DAG system or whatever means so little to me....and to many others. i want to know what each component is like and how it compares to other components. Maybe some will just buy a pair of whatever from one manufacturer.......but mostly because we don’t have any real info about what is out there. This is why you can really serve us by giving us real info (your listened TRUTH) about how these things sound versus each other. Then we truly know something.
I am currently doing audio evaluations on my system.....which is a highly modded Oppo 105 as a transport....a modified SMSL 500 DAC (you would be shocked if you heard how good this modified $400 DAC is) driving directly my modified VTV Purifi amp that I am finishing as a product. You can see info on my website about the mod....quite incredible really. I am listening to modified hardwired (at both ends) Sennheiser 600 headphones with 3 feet of custom wire hardwired......pretty transparent sound. When I listen to speakers....it is a pair of speakers I made that use a B&G Neo 10 and Neo 3 planar combo on an open baffle and below that two 6 inch woofs in a box.....all hardwired, super xover parts....time aligned....felted front baffles, isolated xover parts, ground enhancers, PCOCC litz wire. Speaker wire is 14 gauge PCOCC litz wire on mids and highs and Furutech wire on the woofs....no wires ever touching the floor. I use a low distortion sine wave inverter on the front end and right now the amp goes into the wall (the amp wire is hardwired into the wall...yes, sir)......no fuses, anywhere......except when I sell the modded amp.....then there is a $20 audiophile fuse standard with options for the big boy fuses.
WC, Congrats on selling the Colosseum. That's why for some time I have requested you do an A/B with the Merrill before they leave.
Even if I sent you my Bryston, you would say it is cold/sterile, lacks soul, etc. There is no Bryston 2.5B SST2 on the market, but the Benchmark AHB2 I tried for 2 months had very comparable tonal attributes. The AHB2 is widely respected as a neutral, detailed amp. Its only deficiencies are low power and inability to drive low impedance loads. Benchmark has shown that they can make a SOTA amp for neutrality and clarity for only $3K retail. My Mytek for $2500 has comparable clarity and is even smoother than my Bryston. For clarity/neutrality in class D, it beats any other class D amp I have tried, and you know what other expensive class D amps I have tried. You wouldn't like it either, because you still want to flavor your system. My guess is that the Gryphon still has a little flavor infused into its other excellent qualities, judging how you found it to have more sweetness than the Sim 860 V2. My guess is that you found the Merrill to have more sweetness than the Gryphon.
But enough of my speculation--just get on with your rating of the Merrill, and the A/B with Colosseum. Thanks.
Ok. Let's leave things alone. I will do a 3 way shootout soon. Please don't ask me which is which because I want for people to hear the differences and select without knowing which is which.
Excellent. Then in a followup video, you will reveal which is which. This is the best and fun way to do A/B/C's. For all of ricevs' colorful and fancy language, he is right on the money about how only listening reveals the truth.
No return? Oh, you will return. The amp door/window is always open and revolving. Wait till you hear easy to own, easy to lift, easy on electricity, class D done way beyond Merrill for pennies. This game never ends.
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