New Amp for Dynaudio Contour S 1.4 Speakers


I currently have an Ayre AX-7e driving a pair of Contour S 1.4's. Musical tastes are mostly acoustic (Punch Bros, Waybacks, Union Station, Ry Cooder) but I also listen to rock (Clapton, Knopfler, John Hiatt). All sources are digital (CD/SACD or HI-REZ 24/96) no analog. I will be temporarly using my Benchmark DAC 1 USB as my preamp and want to buy a power amp. At some point down the road I also plan to replace the Contours with Dyn C1's.

The amps I'm looking at and at some point in the last few months of research have convinced myself that I should buy are the Bryston 3BSST2, Ayre V-5xe, Channel Islands D200MKII, and the Modwright KWA 100 SE. I am also intrigued by Rogue's new hybrid tube/class D Hydra.

I would like a little more bass extension and grip than my AX-7e has, but most important to me is transparancy and reproducing the natural timbre of acoustic instruments. It would help if it also rocked when asked. I am 350 miles from the nearest audio dealer and it would take a week (that I don't have) to travel around and listen to these amps. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
allenjohns

Showing 2 responses by mapman

BEl Canto Ref1000m monoblocks are top notch with my Dynaudio monitors and would not hesitate to recommend them for Dynaudios in general.
I had Musical Fidelity A3CR amp prior to Bel Cantos.

THis was a good match to the Dyns that many would like. Definitely a touch hotter in the top end and BC does bass imaging and soundstage much different, almost night/day.

These things usually often come down to personal preference and overall system synergy including room acoustics, etc.

There are many good amps out there that can fit the bill I am certain. The only way to know for sure is to try and see. If you buy used and do not overpay, that makes trying different amps as needed more digestible financially.