I'm going with @Soix!
Requesting opinions about 4 specific amplifiers
Greetings Audiogon community,
I am requesting your input about four specific amplifiers in a particular price range and how they may, or may not, pair well with my Dynaudio Confidence 20 stand mount speakers.
My room is 20' x 16' and does have wall absorption treatment. I do not listen at high levels, typically in the 75 to mid 85 db territory.
I currently own a Luxman L-509X integrated amplifier, which is probably the best integrated amp I have owned to date. However I am wondering if there is a better amp match for my Dynaudio Confidence 20 speakers, and so am considering moving to separates. My budget for the amp alone is in the preowned $4K to $5K range.
Here are amps I am asking for your input about ;
-Simaudio Moon 860A V1 (Dynaudio dealers seem to endorse Simaudio)
-Pass Labs X150.8
-PS Audio BHK Signature 250 stereo (PS Audio has dropped the price on new amps in their closeout sale)
-Parasound JC 5
I realize there are many, many, amp manufacturers, and that of course if I reach a bit higher I could consider Ayre, or Aesthetix, or Coda, all of which interest me, but seem to stay outside of my budget.
I wish I could side-by-side compare or demo all of these amps, but unfortunately it is not possible. I am looking to your experience to help in any way possible.
Thank you!
64 responses Add your response
If you decide on Pass, skip the X150.8 and go directly to the X250.8. Had the 150 for a while and traded it for the 250, no comparison. Don’t really know why they even added it to their line up. Owned 3 different Parasound products and while ‘nice’, they all had to go, unoffensive is about the best description I can offer. The only real negative I can think of re: the Pass is its sheer size and weight. It is a beast. The ‘heat’ thing is overstated in my opinion. Unless you put it in a closet, it’s just not that big a deal. SQ? Nothing I can think of NOT to like. I understand personal preferences etc., but there’s really nothing it doesn’t do extremely well. Coupled with a nice tube pre ( my First Sound for example ), the combo is just dead quiet, dynamic, detailed, sweet, full, magical. Comparatively affordable, US made and serviced, and if you believe reviewers, the ‘real deal’. |
You can mix and match McIntosh pieces just like any other brand as long as they are electrically compatible. In fact the Mac preamps are IMHO the weak link to an overly warm, rounded off sound. Power amps are where they excel and they do it all day long. I run mine with a Cary Audio tube preamp and am constantly amazed with the clarity and sound stage. |
I am Dynaudio customer with C2's. I have long been a Krell fan and listened to the latest SimAudio amplifiers at AXPONA and they are very nice. I do NOT believe they are any better than the latest Krell series. If you can find a nominally used Krell 300XD (and I believe you CAN) you will save yourself multiple thousands as this amp just kills it and will stash dup against most anything in the 15-30K price category. You can score for under 10K I believe |
Good info @jpipes . The only McIntosh piece I have had in my home was the C2700 preamp, and I found it veiled. I will keep a more open mind about their amps! |
No disrespect to not being able to answer your question directly. I have not had any of those specific amps but did use older Parasound for several years. I had the HCA 2200ii and then the HCA3500. All being John Curl designs may mean the older ones have similar sound characteristics to the JC5. I was always curious about tubes and chose Audio Research and fell in love immediately compared to the Parasound. Since then I have compared a CODA and McIntosh to the REF 75 and the REF 75 was more detailed, musical and natural sounding. If the JC5 is similar to the others, I think you owe it to yourself to check out an ARC REF 75. The non-SE seem to be around $4000 and the SE $5000. They are still very well respected amps with solid resale value. If the sound wasn't for you then you would sell it and move on. The REF 75 are fairly simple to maintain and with only 6 tubes total aren't too expensive to retube either. Whether it is to try something completely different like this or not, following that used strategy with patience to possibly resell will hopefully find you what you are looking for. |
What's the sensitivity of the speakers you have? If I had to do it again I would pick a tube amplifier that can run on low wattage with speakers that are higher sensitivity. There are a lot of very high-quality tube amplifiers that use just a few tubes, operate with a lot less watts, which are worthy of a lot of attention. I have speakers that require a lot of power and I biamp with a McIntosh 901 and that's an ideal configuration. And if all else fails I would buy a puppy.
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A bit of a delayed follow up to my original post... Thank you all for your kindness and generosity to share your experiences and insight! Sometimes things take a different route than anticipated. I was offered a generous trade-in opportunity for the Luxman L-509X from Dedicated Audio toward the purchase of a new, factory sealed, Hegel H600 integrated amp. This is Hegel's new top-of-the-line reference integrated amp. It pairs with my Dynaudio Confidence speakers really well. I have been enjoying many albums for a couple of weeks now through it, and am very impressed. It is also allowing me to simplify my system a bit and sell my streamer and DAC due to it's outstanding built-in capabilities. So for now, I am sticking with an integrated amp. So many choices and opportunities with this hobby, it's fun to try new things. Thanks everyone! |