2. amps-preamps
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Parasound - Pass Labs - VTL - Krell Amp Selection

Hi,
I noticed a similar thread to this a few days ago, from Punkawalla, but just wanted to add another variable or two.

I'm shopping for a new amp for Maggie 3.6's....the Krell I'm using is excellent, but I have the upgrade bug and would like a little more power for the 3.6's.

I've seen a few decent amps and just wanted some opinions to help me unravel the options and hopefully make the best choice.
Setup options steer me toward monoblocks, these provide the easiest integration into my room with WAF considerations.

I hope Sean spots this thread, since I know he has respect for Nelson Pass and John Curl, and wondered if ultimately he had a preference.
The amps I've shortlisted are all available used on 'Gon and I'm listing the prices to help with perspective:

Krell 350Mcx Mono's $7700
Pass X600 $6500
Parasound JC1's $3700
VTL 450's $4500

The Krell's at $7k+ are a little more than I want to pay, though if I could justify the higher price based on margin of improvement over the others, I would probably stretch to it.
The JC 1's seem like an absolute bargain, so much so that I'm skeptical if they can really compete against say the X600's with an original $16,000 retail.

The VTL's really whet my appetite, since I'm a tube kinda guy at heart. But, since I've bypassed fuses on the 3.6's, I must have peace of mind that the amps are capable of delivering the current that these speakers need and that there is no clipping at high SPL's. Also, I need to know that the internal protection circuitry is of high integrity....I don't want a tube failure taking out my tweeter(s).
I've read that the JC1's and the X600's have 'tube like' quality, so I guess I'm trying to achieve 95% of what tubes do best from a SS.

I've been trying different amps now for almost a year. My home office looks like an elephants graveyard (for amps and cables), and it has to stop!!
I need an amp that I can plug in and sit back and enjoy the music, without having to worry about power, or if I should have gone with tubes, or whatever else I worry about!!

My priorities are:
Good soundstage and presentation of scale.
Clarity - natural - openess.
Truth of timbre and natural non-fatiguing presentation- it all happens in the midrange for me.
Enough bass but not bass that overwhelms the midrange and hides inner detail.
Clean highs, maybe on the darker/warmer side of neutral.
Fluid - flowing presentation, not necessarily with the dynamic snap, pop and tizzle that many crave.

Everyone has a different opinion about these things I know, but I've had a lot of good advice here in the past, and I don't regret any choices I've made based on the advice that I've received.

Thanks much

Rooze
rooze

Showing 5 responses by rooze

rooze's avatar
rooze OP
656 posts
 
Hmmm...some interesting thoughts and perspectives! I was a little dubious about the Parasounds, they seem almost too good to be true, given their competitive price. Tireguy emailed me since he uses the Parasound with his 3.6 with very good results, though he threw the Classe Omega into the mix as a potential winning option.
Krell would make sense, since I own a Krell, like the sound in most respects, and could probably work with more of a good thing.
Hmmm.....
eehhmmm...
Nate, the $7700 was for a used pair of the 350mcx, and it's about a $1000 more than I really wanted to spend, it delays the vinyl project for at least another few months.

Mono's are prefered since I can make use of my Sonoran and Audio Insurgent speaker cables, and save $1000 or more and all the hassles of trying speaker wires. It's not essential, but prefered.

hmmm...what to do....what to do.

Thanks for suggestions so far.

Rooze
rooze's avatar
rooze OP
656 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestions. Muralman, I think you and I have 'talked' about the H2O's in the past. You sent me a contact for Henry, and I spoke with him and recieved some info. About that time the price of his Mono's went up a $1000 and it put me off taking the gamble on them. I picked up a pair of Carver digital amps, and had one modified....
Anyway, I wouldn't take a chance on the H2O's without hearing them first in my system.

The pass 600's will probably drop a few more $$$ now that the new model is due to be released. In fact, a pair popped up here yesterday for $6250, which is the lowest I've seen. I'll probably drive the Carver for a while (which is a very nice amp in many ways) and wait for a sub $6k pair of Pass 600's to come along.

Rooze
rooze's avatar
rooze OP
656 posts
 
Loudandclear...thank you for being the voice of reason. There are too many people making wild and unsubstantiated claims about equipment performance....my Carvers are remarkable amps for the money. The dealer that I bought them from claimed that people were rushing to trade-in their big Krell and Pass monoblocks for the Carver. Though excellent amongst amps in the $3000 - $4000 range, I hardly think they can compare with a pair of Monoblocks costing $16,000 and I suspect that the H2O's, as good as they might be, would not compete in that league either.

Rooze
rooze's avatar
rooze OP
656 posts
 
Muralman, I know you have an allegiance to Henry, and you are passionate about the amps you own, there is nothing wrong with that. However, we all have very different systems and rooms, and equipment works quite differently from one setup to another.

I've lost the contact info for Henry, why not talk to Henry for me and see if he'll send a review pair up for evaluation?....I'm active in the Wisc Audio Society www.newaudiosociety.com and we are always looking for new equipment to review as a group. In January we are hosting Ridge Street Audio with a new speaker design that looks very impressive. If Henry were interested in sending his Mono's along, we would review them at a group meeting and post our findings online. If they are significantly better than the Krell MDA300 Mono's that I'm using at the moment, I'll buy the review set from him.

Rooze
rooze's avatar
rooze OP
656 posts
 
I guess all things come down to a dual between personal preference and system synergy.
No one can really comment with any degree of authority on a component outside of their own system. How on earth do you know how it will sound with my Magnepan's, fed by a signal from my ARC LS 15, with Virtual Dynamic speaker wires and in a room that is 25,000 cubic feet?
I've heard many good things about the JC1's and I've been very close to picking up a set. Heck they seem to be a bargain at under $3500 used. But instead, I went with a Carver ZR1600 and had it modified. It supposedly beats the JC1's and 'big' power amps from Krell and Pass. Well, it does in some respects beat the bigger Krells (MD 300's and FPB 200), but not hands down. So it comes down to personal preference. Are the areas in which the Carver surpasses the Krell of more importance to me than the areas in which the Krell surpasses the Carver?
No one can answer that, only me.

Rooze
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