SimAudio or Classe for Power Amplifier

Get the W5, it sounds much more powerful than its 190watts, I was driving b&w N801's with it. It is sweeter, with a more shimmering top end.
Wilson Benesch speakers tends to be more polite and would work better paired with amps that are more dynamic.
The classe is a bit polite sounding too.
The control on the w5 is amazing with a fuller upper mid bass punch that is incredible.
That said, its down side is its filter caps. They are big, 8 of them, and vibrates a lot (I believe thats what gives them extra shimmer at the top end), you have to tune the sound of the amp for synergy with your system by adding weights on the top plate where they put a rubber stop that presses down on the caps.
A small freezer zip lock and some shots (8,1/2 size) mixed with 40% playsand will be a good mixture to start. add spoonfulls by spoon full and you will see what I mean. Just be careful not to spill anything. Once you determine the best weight, get a fillable ice pack and transfer the stuff so there is no chance of the ziplock breaking.

ronniekoh:

wow! so you put weight on the top of the amp and this affects the sound? to me this would be a total turn off. is this amp designed that way? is it intended to be tunable?

Almost all audio compnents will be affected by vibrations to a greater or lesser degree, especially caps and transformers in the power section.
I don't believe that the amp was intentionally designed that way but your system will never achieve its true pontential without paying attention to tuning vibrations. I do not have the amp anymore, I moved on to very low power amps and horns. Which is even more suspectible to vibraion tuning. I still miss that amp. Just before I sold it here, I was driving my avantgardes with it and it was very quiet. Simaudio components have quality and value in mind. The sound is very pleasing over the long run. It is especially sweet, I find it more so than classe, even where the omicron is concerned.
I find the emotional aspect of my system more important than analytical. It is beauty in sound that I am after, not accuracy. ymmv.
my setup is not what most people would consider as sane, especially in the vibrational control aspects. Most dealers do not promote this as they consider the difficult of tuning to be 'a total turnoff' to potential customers.

I have not compared these amps side by side but, I have experienced them both in my system driving B&W Matrix 801 S3 loudspeakers.

I'll begin by stating the obvious, they're both great amps! My initial impression of the W5 was how similar it sounded to older Classe gear, I presently own a Classe S-1000 amp, and I found the sound of the W-5 to be somewhat similar, albeit I preferred the midrange presentation of my amp a little better.

The new Classe gear is "leaner" to my ears, but I find the vast majority of mewer amps heading that way, Plinius and Krell included. I suppose it's due to the chronic desire of audio gear manufacturers to seek truth in the audio chain, no character of it's own is what they say, but some of us like a little character imposed on the signal.

Anyway, my memories are that I still preferred the Classe 2200, a little better midrange, sweeter highs, and really didn't give up much in the low frequencies.

Good luck in your pursuit, and pick the amp that sounds right to you.

I recommend you take a good look at the W-8, which is Sim's Evolution top model. It is H-E-A-V-Y. The transformers are HUGE. Basically, I'll parallel what someone else already said, that they will drive any speaker, and they have a 10 year warranty to top it off. I have compared it to the Classe 2200, and the Sim wins, easily. It has a tighter, deeper bottom end, and a huge soundstage. It also focuses better, and the top end is more detailed fast and extended. It is NOT aggressive, but very revealing. BTW, Ultra Audio, which is part of Soundstage magazine, just reviewed Sim's top three pieces, the W-8, P-8 and Andromeda, and were very enthusiastic, saying they even beat the mega-dollar Boulders in many respects. Plus, my experience with Classe dealers lately is that they seem to get very pushy, and I feel they are biased. It seems to me that Classe is only demo'd with B&W, and this seems obvious when you realize that they are both sold by the same importer. I cannot deal with a biased dealer, because I naturally feel they are not looking out for my best interests. My Simaudio dealer seems much more up front and honest. Now this may not be true for you, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Classe dealer you talk to plays you Classe with B&W. This is not because the match is excellent (although it is a good match IMO) but because they are financially bound to do so and contractually required by the importer. How can you trust a dealer like that?