2. amps-preamps
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Sophia II's and Pass Labs etc

HI!

I will buy a new amp set up for my Wilson Audio Sophia II's after the summer. I currently use a Burmester 051 integrated amp and a Burmester 061 cd player + a TW Acustic Raven w/Graham Phantom II arm will be ordered soon

I like the Burmester 011 preamp and Burmester 911 mk3 amp very much, although I have not tested the amp set on my speakers. The price for the set in Norway is NOK 276,000,-

The other options I am looking at are:

- Pass Labs XP20 and XA 100,5 / XA 160.5 mono amps, approx. NOK 210,000 / NOK 255,000

- Audio Research REF 3 preamp and REF 110 amp, approx. NOK 220,000,-

- Simaudio Moon P8 and Simaudio Moon W8, approx. NOK 245,000,-.

- Spectral DMC-30SS and Spectral DMA 360, approx. NOK 230,000,-.

And then you have Conrad Johnson, Mark Levinson, Luxman, Accuphase, MBL, etc etc.

Do you have any preferences of the amps mentioned. Do you know if Pass Labs XA 100.5 will be strong enough for the Sophia 2's?

I listen foremost to pop/rock/hip hop/electro/jazz/metal/etc, since I am a talent buyer within the festival circuit in Norway.

Thanks for your help.

Cheeers, ToffenG, Norway
toffeng

Showing 2 responses by madfloyd

madfloyd
411 posts
 
Hce4: thank you very much for that great post. Interesting to hear that you found the XA 30.5 sweeter.

I'm auditioning the XP-20 now.
madfloyd
411 posts
 
I have Sophia 2’s and Pass XA 100.5’s. They are a great match. I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough power and was thinking of the XA 160.5’s but my dealer talked me out of it. He was right to do so. The XA 100.5’s have 200 watts of power at 4ohms – and that’s just in Class A. The amps have a lot more power in A/B. That being said, it took playing rock at close to 100db before the meters on the front of the amps looked liked they were thinking of going over to the dark side. 

I replaced Theta Citadel 1.5’s which were also very good, but Class A power just sounds sweet and effortless.
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