Take a look at Sim Audio - the W-5 stereo, Titan 5-chnl, W-6 & W-10 monoblocs. Sounds like they would fit your requirements beatifully.
They run incredibly cool, are superbly constructed and can be had for quite reasonable money. |
I would support the Odyssey. The original upon which these amps are based (Symphonic Line) are voiced as you describe. That may be some indication... Cheers |
i have odyssey monos-extreme version and standard ones.
great amps:)great service if needed from klaus. |
Odyssey monos with caps upgrade for me running Martin Logan Ascents for my SS base system. Although I have a 300B amp, before it arrived I drove my MLTL Fostex 167E speakers with them and it sounds great.
Second what Polara mentioned! Support from Klaus is top rate.
Preamp use for both config is a Supratek Chenin. Source is a Jolida JD100A modified and Teres 255 TT.
Good luck! |
The new upstart H2O company makes extremely powerful stereo amps for $3000 and less, that house the same module as the astronomically priced class D Rowland amps. They are as detailed as an amp gets, yet always musical. They are a tad on the warm side of neutral. They produce a huge stage with tremendous depth, are lightning fast, and are truly analog. |
I'd have to pooh-pooh the Monarchy Deluxe 100 option based on my experience with them, and the very poor support I received from the owner of Monarchy, Mr. Poon. I won't be back! |
Try the Levinson 436 monoblocks. Buy them on Audiogon. They do the trick for me.
Steven |
i have the sim audio moon w5. i don't consider it to be warm. it is much too neutral for that. don't forget that most systems include a preamp that could be used to achieve the warmth you are looking for. i don't think it is realistic to try to achieve 'the perfect sound' with only one component change. as if that single component were going to take be the silver bullet and take you to sonic bliss. imo, a holistic system approach that takes into account component synergy is much more realistic. |
For the cheap but can be modified try the B&K mono's. They show up for $700 a pair every so often and can be moidified for under $1000. 150 peak amps, 200 wpc. They are warm musical and with the mods offer really nice details.
Happy Listening. |
I have to agree with all said about the Odyssey amps. I have the Extreme Monos ($2600 new) and they are as mentioned, slightly on the warm side while still maintaining the delicate balance between detail and musicality. These amps have a mid-hall perspective, so consider that when matching your components and preferred sound. They are stable driving difficult loads down to 1 ohm and put out around 225 watts into 8 ohms. |
Gamut amps are not exactly warm, but are very musical, detailed, and 3D -- almost on the level of a good tube amp. Really quite unique-sounding in my experience, and I've heard the majority of SS amps. Go for the Mk3 version though, since the earlier versions are a bit lean-sounding, without enough tonal richness. |
Muralman1
How wud the H2O match with dynamic loudspeakers like Dynaudio? |
Mick, glad you asked. The H2O stereo can power any speaker. I have mine doing wonders for 1 ohm speakers. So far, I have only heard a loaner prototype on dynamic speakers, Green Mountain. It was eery. The H2O provides a huge soundstage - very deep. The Green Mountains dissapeared. |
Used Pass Aleph amplifiers..single ended class A..no push pull
Used Threshold SA3 around 700/800 is a very good and powerful 50 watt pure Class A amp with huge power supply; ditto for the Krell KSA50 but they trade for around a grand or a bit more. The Threshold seems a bargain. |
take a look at muse mono's or jeff rowland.
mike |
Can someone post a link to H2O Amps?nt |
There is no link to H2O amps yet, other than an email address. The builder has been finding it hard to find the time necessary to build a web site.
I can tell you there are people I know who are selling off Evo, Krell, eAR, Pass, HSA, and Rowland amps, for a stereo or mono H2O.
The startup company H2O is going to be in full production sometime next month, including a web site. |
Muralman1 - are you affiliated with H2O? |
NO!!!!!!!! Henry Ho lives a continent away. He an I are members of an Apogee user group, and, though we never have met, we consider ourselves friends. So far, the H2O is a one man company. I think Henry was surprised at his amp's instant success, and was caught unprepared for the activity. I understand he has got the help of a friend there to develope a badly needed site.
I bought his mono amps to drive my nearly impossible to drive 1 ohm, 76db Apogee Scintillas. I had run Pass Labs X600 monos and the eAR2 MKII subsequently on them. The H2O is leagues better.
I'm not financially affiliated with H2O. I am just lucky enough to know Henry. That put me among the first ten in line to get the amps. There are other happy owners, I just happen to be more vocal. |
I heard Odyssey's on HE 2004 sounded too boxy for me, without details, try more expensive Clayton M100, sound much more refined to me. |
Any Sierra Amplifier,If you could find a used one.
Made by PBN Audio,Maker's of Montana Loudspeaker's.
They Rival in Performance pretty much anything out there regardless of price. |
1 ohm, 76db ... that's nuts. It'll be interesting to see what he's come up with, when his page is ready. I'll keep an eye out. I must say I'm intrigued by the new generation of digital amps, and think it will be interesting to see if they really take off. They're making a reasonable splash so far, but will they replace conventional design, or just become another option alongside of them? Time will tell.
As for me... 8 ohm, 104db sensitivity. I'm sure you can hazard a guess what type of speakers THOSE are ; ) |
Yes, that is an amp load. Ken Kessler, audio reviewer, has been using them as his reference speakers for many years.
It is wonderful there are affordable amps now in the H2O that can fully realize the magic in the Scintilla's ribbons. |
I just went to visit Henry Ho last week to listen to his amps. Muralman is right that the H20 is very good! |
I think you like the suggestion by Mike. The Rowlands are Great! |
the classe cams mono 200's and 350's are also very, very nice. |
I went on a similar quest, and ended up with a pair of Theta Digital Enterprises. Although MF would disagree with me to a certain extent, I found them to be the best SS amp I could find in the three categories your list in the subject. |
Those who have heard any Rowland and the far less expensive H2O have judged the H2O a clear winner. |
I just bought 2 Threshold T400 and I am running them brideged to mono with my B&W 801 S3 Matrix. They sound great! 450 watts Class A in 8 ohms and double down in 4 ohms. They are fast, clean, detail but sweet at the same time and the bass is just incredible.
I also tried them in a bi-amp configuration. One amp driving the bass in stereo and the other the mid/high frequencies. I really like better the sound in mono mode.
The extra power provides so much more control of the speaker. You can hear how the speaker is reacting to the amplifier much better.
A pair of them will cost you under $4,500. |
