Power amp around $3000 for C-J Classic preamp

I was recently chastised offline by a Vandy dealer for recommending 80 watt amps for the 3a's. So, whatever you get, make sure it is fairly potent and doubles down to 4 ohms at least.

"10x rule is oft repeated fallacy"

For the stated output impedance at least. Looks like for tube amps you suggest 100x is a better rule.

If you are looking for powerful amp under $3K new to match with the cj Classic and big Vandys, I might suggest:

Cambridge Audio 840W - unique design inside, great result.

Vincent Audio SP-T100 Hybrid Mono amplifier - not full on solid state amp, but powerful and great anyway, and in your price range for a pair new.

Odyssey Audio Stratos Mono Extreme - My favorite Sleeper product - in this case the hybridization is German engineering and built in the USA - they are almost as good as our hockey team, but in this case, you win!

At a bit to well over the $3K price point you could check out:

Musical Fidelity M6PRX - latest 260W offering from the company that thinks power is almost everything.

Bryston 3B-SST2 - if you like that sort of thing, transparency may match well with cj warmth and Vandy presentation - although the 4B might better marshall the big Vandys around - Oh Canada!

McCormack DNA-250 - va va voom!

John,

Well intended, yes. Misguided? Probably. Your velvet hammer can actually lead to enlightenment for me and perhaps others in the long run if we know what the actual numbers are for the input impedance's for each of the solid state amps I suggested:

-Cambridge 840W = 38-68 kOhms

-Vincent SP-T100 = 48 kOhms

-Odyssey Stratos Mono Extreme = 22 kOhms

-Musical Fidelity M6PRX = 50 kOhms

-Bryston 3B-SST2 = 20-50 kOhms

-McCormack DNA-250 = ???100kOhms???

Balanced inputs are lower of the two impedance numbers where two appear.

So if what you say about the MF and Cambridge having "Lowish input imp" holds for the others, then all of these amps except perhaps the McCormack have input impedance's that are too low to match well with the cj Classic. I can't find a value for the relatively new McCormack DNA-250 anywhere, but the DNA-225 was 100 kOhms, so I assume, perhaps wrongly, that they are the same. (side note, Spearit Sound has a refurbished DNA-250 available for $3000 right now.)

To help with understanding these relationships in general, it would be very helpful to know what the output impedance value is for the cj preamp to know what you do not consider a good match for these fairly typical solid state amplifiers.

For comparison, the output impedance of the matching Musical Fidelity preamp is 47 Ohms. The output for the matching Cambridge preamp is 100 Ohms, while Odyssey preamps are listed as 70 Ohms (solid state) or "low" (tube). So all are fairly low.

In contrast, the PrimaLuna Prologue Three tube preamp is a whopping 3.5 kOhms, while their matching mono block tube amps have a fairly high input impedance of 100 kOhms. If the cj is considered such a tough match with many of the solid state amps listed above, then it must also have a fairly high output impedance - more similar to that of the PrimaLuna?

Enough said.

OK, well, one more thing. If you are considering dumping the cj Classic idea, then I would suggest pairing any of the amps listed above with their matching preamps. I.E. Cambridge 840E (solid state), Vincent SAT-1 (tube), Odyssey Candela (tube), or the Bryston BP-6 (solid state). These systems could all drive the Vandys and the preamps are nearly guaranteed to match well with the same name amplifier.

A completely different approach would be to pair the Primaluna ProLogue Three preamp with the ProLogue Seven mono blocks. All tube system, but self biasing and a lot of tube power on hand to drive the 3A's.

Actusreus,

Good to know and a good point. While I have been told and/or read that the PrimaLuna pre is a bad match for amps like the Stratos, I cannot see that impedance mismatch alone could be huge problem for pairing the cj Classic with any of these high value solid state amps given an output impedance of 200 Ohms.

Audioconnection's point about sticking with tried and true combinations may more appropriately apply to speaker/amp interactions in this case. I tried to suggest the amps I like below or around three grand new that could drive the hungry 3A's. These should all sound "good". Whether they will sound as good in combination with the 3A's as many here suggest ARC gear will sound, I cannot say but doubt it. In many cases you get what you pay for. ARC pre's and amps are listed here all the time used, and sell faster than pretty much any other brand.

No matter what direction you go, good luck, the Vandys are nice speakers.