need amplification help for sonus faber amati


Hallo everybody,

I was lucky to get a pair of SF Amati speakers.listening to them with a McIntosh mc402 and a preamp McIntosh c2200 does not satisfy me. I feel that the Amatis are just perfect for my ears but I need to amplify them better. I would like to find an amplifier and Preamp combination that makes them disapear completely. also I need a second hand combination under 10k € for money reason.
What is out there, a little bit older but still reliable (tube or solid state) that you would recommand to have a big soundstage, lots of details and enough power.
Thank you for your help,
greatings from Paris
Daniel

I also have two understanding questions:
1- the power rating seems so different between solid state and tube amps. why do I need less watts in tube amps for the same result?
2- what is more responsable for a wide soundstage: the amp or the preamp?
dacapobone
Bonjour Daniel,

I have the SF Strads and have spent many long months considering my options by careful listening, reading, speaking with great A'Goners (like Downunder above), Tuboo, Mihalis, Schorly and others. I recently acquired a Gryphon Antileon. It is (to my ears) a remarkable amplifier who has loved tubes for nearly 10 years straight. I still have CJ Act 2 and Zanden DAC (so still very much a tube person)...but the Antileon has added a pure tonality and limitless power and dynamics (which so far have not gotten 'hard' sounding) with which I am very pleased. I have listened carefully to krell, ARC, CJ (my old amp for 9 years), Jadis, MBL, Levinson, Cello, and others). So far I am still discovering the strengths of this amp as I type this. Hope this one man's opinion is helpful.

See if this review sounds like what you are looking for.
http://www.dehavillandhifi.com/GM70_Jazztimes.htm
Hi, Daniel
I have to agree with those A'goners recommending the Gryphon amps. I drive the SF Amati with the Gryphon Antileon stereo amp and a Burmester 808MKiii pre and the results are very satisfactory. I had also the same problem as you regarding the "electronic taste" you mention. Since I have other pair of loudspeakers (Audiodata Avancé) I bought a ASR Emitter II HD (which can be bought second hand in ebay.de for a reasonable price) and I ended driving the SF Amati with the Emitter (power enough, analog sound, elimination of digital glare, etc..).
Best regards
Pedro