I couldn't wait. Hooked up both Plinii with an extension cord out to the kitchen. The extension cord fed an industrial 5KVA transformer, supplying balanced AC to the SA100's. Other gear included a Talk Electronics Thunder 3.1B CDP and a DIY TVC passive pre. The speakers are Genesis 350's with planar "ribbons" and their own servo bass amp with active crossover The room is roughly 16X30 with several DIY membrane bass traps. ICs are all XLR, mostly Nordost Blue Heaven.
As I said before, I wasn't expecting much. I was wrong. I've had or tried a couple sets of monoblocks with these speakers including Monarchy SE100's and Manley Snappers. The Monarchy's were from the previous setup. When I got the first Plinius, my first reaction was "natural" but it was a little laid back and polite which is typical for class A. It did everything well but in a Canadian character. I only know a couple Kiwis. Bridging them made them more American, but in a good way ;)
The first thing I noticed, and surprised me, was more upper midrange energy and a more forward soundstage. Still, it never got bloomy or as forward as many. Vocals and horns were more pronounced and cleaner. What wasn't as surprising was the added snap to the leading edges. Snare drums,in partcular, were more distinct between the hit and the rattle. There's a bit of Supertramp's "From Now On" that has the cymbals sweeping across the floor that I've never heard better. Formerly, the Monarchys were the imaging champs. Everything was a little better, more natural. Some subtle differences and some not so subtle. That's American, isn't it?
I decided to drag out my old Kappa 8's. They're power pigs, just like the 802's, and don't use that bass amp. Notice that I didn't say "don't need". I hope you appreciate this. We're talking about some heavyweights here. It was revealing to me too. I've been much too polite to the neighbours with the bass volume. What can I say, I'm a Canuck. After the initial shock of how lo fi my former beloved were (I've been spoiled by the Gennies) and the rotted-out hole in the surround, I popped in some Dire Straits.
Let me start by saying that you gotta love sensitive amps. I had this at one-quarter volume and Private Investigations rattled the doors. With an active pre and even moderately efficient speakers, these could fill a stadium. When I tried with one Plinius, I had to turn up the knob a few clicks to match SPLs.
One Plinius definately sounded thinner but don't ask me which is more neutral. The bass, either way, was better than I ever heard with these speakers. The character change was similar to the Gennies but harder to hear.
Funny thing is, I still have a Canadian-made Mission 777 amp (I got to get around to selling stuff) that was rude and crude but had incredible dynamics. It would assault you and slap your head into the chair. Dual Plinii aren't quite that aggressive, but close. Do it.
