Solid State Power Amps

I have not followed this forum so I would not know. I apologize if it is annoying you. I’m interested in others opinions. Even your unhelpful one. 

Ok, here’s an opinion — pairing a $25k amp with a $5k preamp is stupid.  Hope that helps. 

I would listen to Audionet Max amps, MSRP 30k.  GTT Audio.  In my house easily bested the BHK 300s, Kalugas, Classe CA 2300 and Parasound JC1+s. (To me).

I own the BHK 300.  Great amps. Check the return and trade-in policies. 

I have not followed this forum so I would not know. I apologize if it is annoying you. I’m interested in others opinions. Even your unhelpful one. 

@soix +1. How often do questions like this get asked here? Many

@zuesman 

but have you heard the 861 amplifier that's a whole different league better than the 860A V2? I have heard the 861 and it's much better than the 860 A V2.

Last Friday, driving back from LAX airport (a nightmare). I stopped by a dealer on the way home. I wanted to hear the 861 with my Yamaha NS5000. Unfortunately, they had closed early that day. I am heading down to LAX again in 4 weeks and will try to make a stop at the dealer once more.

I've owned the PrimaLuna EVO 400 and a couple different Pass amps. While perfectly sufficient I prefer the all ARC REF system I'm running now. Speakers have been Wilson Sasha and now Harbeth M40.1.

yyzSantaBarbara,

but have you heard the 861 amplifier that's a whole different league better than the 860A V2? I have heard the 861 and it's much better than the 860 A V2.

Anything with a strong power supply. Everyone is suggesting along the same lines- large stiffening caps, lots of output devices and a good sized toroidal transformer. The Coda line is what I would take IF if didn't want gobs of power on tap for lower efficiency monitors. 

You have what you need for a tube amp, splurge on some SS and see how it goes. You really can't lose on an S5.5 if you don't like it sell it and you will know better what it is you would like a little cost on the S5.5

Especially at this level it really depends on what specific improvements you’re looking for and what sound characteristics are most important to you.  Without that info this is just a pure crapshoot of recommendations of amps other people like that may or may not have anything to do with what you’re looking for. 

JA: "The Focal will play loudly when fed only a few watts, my estimate of its voltage sensitivity being 89.2dB/2.83V/m. However, as fig.1 shows, the Sopra No.3 is a difficult load for an amplifier to drive, with a minimum magnitude of 2.75 ohms at 96Hz and a combination of 4 ohms and a –56° electrical phase angle at 68Hz, both frequencies where music can have high levels of energy. Because the magnitude is considerably higher in the treble, the speaker will sound brighter when driven by tubed amplifiers, with their typically high output impedances."

@hilde45 Its pretty clear that JA has no idea of what he's talking about. If the tube amp employs feedback (and most do) then there will be no brightness.

SimAudio and the Be driver on the Focal may not be a great match. I heard the 860A V2 on Paradigm Persona 5F. While I enjoyed the sound I knew I could not listen for long periods.

For a Be driver, I would look at Class A like the KRELL Duo 175XD (or the rumored new model) or the CODA #16. The new CODA S5.5 that people are raving about is also something to consider if the speaker does not need a lot of power. I have the CODA #16 and had the KRELL. Great amps, though I wonder if the SimAudio 861 would be a better match with my slightly warm Yamaha NS5000 over the CODA #16.

Why don't you look at the SIM audio 861 It's in your price range and SIM audio makes some of the best amps out there.

I now own the Michi 8 power amps, check out my review in the Members review section.

Audiogon Discussion Forum

ozzy

I know you are looking for Solid State amps, but something else you may want to consider are Octave Audio monoblocs with the super black boxes(a must IMO).   I owned the Sopra 3 and now the Utopia EVOs and originally used the Gryphon Diablo 300 on both.   Worked great and terrific synergy.   I got the upgrade bug again and started looking.  I'm not a huge tube guy but after trying several amps I ended up with Octave Audio with KT150 tubes.    Has a lot of the characteristics of tubes in the mids and highs that I love, but also good authority on the bottom end like SS.  Very good synergy with Focal.

Good luck!   Once you find the right amp for your tastes, I'm sure you will know it right away.

McIntosh is good gear.  IMHO you pay something for the brand.  But one good thing is they maintain value, and occasionally gain in value (probably not from new price), whereas with most other gear you'll take some loss on resale. 

When spending that much $ on an amplifier, McIntosh is the way to go.

Get enough power.

JA: "The Focal will play loudly when fed only a few watts, my estimate of its voltage sensitivity being 89.2dB/2.83V/m. However, as fig.1 shows, the Sopra No.3 is a difficult load for an amplifier to drive, with a minimum magnitude of 2.75 ohms at 96Hz and a combination of 4 ohms and a –56° electrical phase angle at 68Hz, both frequencies where music can have high levels of energy. Because the magnitude is considerably higher in the treble, the speaker will sound brighter when driven by tubed amplifiers, with their typically high output impedances."

You should throw CODA into the mix. The 16 will drive them with ease.

Pass should pair well with Focal Sopra 3. The PS Audio should also be a good match based on what I read. You don’t want bright or forward sounding amps with sopras. 

Thanks - I don’t know these brands. I will look into them. 

Mola Mola Kaluga, AGD Gran Vivace, AGD Solo,

Electrocompaniet AW 800M, TIDAL Intra

Focal Sopra 3 - not a challenging speaker to drive

From your list I’m only familiar with X260.8. They drive my Wilson Sabrina without breaking a sweat. Preamp is Pass XP-22. I tried Audio Research Ref 6 tube preamp as well and the synergy was excellent. What speakers are you looking to drive with the new amp?