Plinius or Mark Levinson for Grand Pianos?

I have got the Plinius SA-100MkIII for my Grand Pianos. Despite running the amp cold in the first 30 minutes, I can verify that the Plinius is a huge step up from the ARC D130.

Jadem6 you are right I am very happy with the upgrade. Basically everything improved. The Grand Pianos are not too laid-back as I have thought of earlier -the ARC D130 is just purely lacklustre. (Please note that this is a comparison between the SA-100MkIII and the ARC D130)

The Plinius is very airy and dynamic. With the SA-100MkIII, dynamics and transient attack were improved by leaps and bounds. More detail at the top end and the bottom end was much firmer and full compared to the wooly bass of the ARC D130. Music sounded like music now, much more lively with a greater soundstage.

Bottom-line is that the Plinius is a much better amp than the ARC D130. Okay got to get back to my listening chair now since the system has more or less warmed up after more than an hour!

Well Kops I don't have a preamp at the moment and currently running the amp straight into my XA7ES CD player. Will get a preamp once I get the Plinius SA100MkIII. Yet to sort out that one. My room is pretty huge so I need the power but will soon place my system in a smaller room to eradicate the problem.

At least now I know I'm not the only one who felt that the ARC D130 sounded lifeless. That's good. Now I can expect some improvements in my upgrade. I've nothing against ARC and I do know the 100.2 is a great amp, but I wanted to try something different and furthermore the aesthetics of the Plinius is very appealing to me.

I am an ARC fan and I have owned the D-130. When compared to the ARC 100.2, the D-130 sounded lifeless. Either the 100.2 is really really good, or the D-130 is really lackluster. Just my two cents.....

magnepanmike

I am very happy with my Sa102 on my SF Cremonas , no need for more power, no need for 2 sa102, unless Cremona needs less power than Grandpianos, I don't think so.

What is your preamp ?
This is something you must check out first.

If you have a chance to audition an Edge M8 do so. It is 175 wpc x 2 and is a wonderful sounding amp. Smooth, detailed amd dynamic. They do come up used on Audiogon for $2500 - $3000 and are worth a look. I personally have an M8 and love it driving Energy Veritas 2.8's.

I have heard the ARC often in that they are built and pushed heavly in Minnesota. I do not like them! I own two Plinius SA-102's and ownd the 100's before that. You will be very happy with the upgrade. If you find you need (want) more power you might find a second one later at a good price. Rather than bridged mono blocks I bi-amp in stereo. One amp drives the bass and the other the mid-upper. I started with just one amp and was very happy, but when a friend brought by a second to try...

Thanks for all your replies. Initially was considering the Bryston 4B-ST but decided to get something more exotic after all. Strongly considering the Plinius SA-100MKIII now and hopefully it's a better amp the ARC D130 overall. The ARC was decent sounding but it didn't play music with emotion as if some sparkle was missing. The dynamics wasn't there and detail retrieval wasn't that convincing. I've read mostly good reviews about the Plinius and they looked pretty nice so I thought I might just take the plunge. Hopefully they will be more powerful than the ARC as some of my mates told me so. Heard that ML sounded typically dark, smooth but uninvolving(I don't like that but some folks do) so have disregarded them.

Circumstances do not allow me to listen to the amp before I buy. Any SA-100MKIII previous or current owners who have heard them side by side with the ARC D130?

2 units of SA-102 would be way above my budget!

Thanks in advance.

You may want to consider using two Plinius SA-102s in mono. They actually sound very nice in "bridged" mode and would have plenty of power.

try an active preamp with the arc piece, you may find you have enough power.

I bought the McIntosh MA6900 Integrated amplifier for my Sonus Faber Grand Piano speakers and the overall sound quality is excellent. The extra power plus the tube like quality of the MA6900 really make these speakers stand out. SF Grand Piano speakers require clean power to make them sound good. I was very suprised at how good they sound (and so were my friends). If you are considering either the Plinius or Mark Levinson units, you need to listen to them in your system before you decide. cheers..

If power output is your main concern, remember that you have to double the power for each 3db gain in SPL. Hence, if 130 wpc wasn't enough, you'll need to get a replacement amp that has output of at least 250 wpc if you are going to hear any appreciable difference in volume (without distortion).

Generally speaking, tube amps are more "forgiving" in their power ratings than solid state units. So, a tube amp with 200 wpc might subjectively sound more powerful than a solid state amp with 250 wpc, but tube amps with high power output tend to be pretty expensive.

When choosing a high-power solid state amp, your subjective taste will be a significant factor. Both Plinius and Mark Levinson make excellent amps, but of the two, I think the Mark Levinson amps, as a family, tend to sound subjectively more powerful than the Plinius family of amps. The Mark Levinson amps that are rated at 250 wpc or more, however, carry higher price tags than the Plinius amps, so price may be the other factor that will dictate your final choice.

The best solution is to determine which ML amp and which Plinius amp will meet your needs, and then audition them in your system. In this price range, I'd certainly want to hear the amps before I plunk my money down.