SST Ampzilla 2000 v2 vs Son of Ampzilla II

FWIW a GAS Son of Ampzilla was just listed in the classifieds.

Thanks, laginz.  Those are powerful comments Re. Son II.  

For those familiar with SST Son/Bongiorno: how long do you estimate it takes (playing music) for a very cold Son to achieve about 80% of its best potential sound quality?

It is mind-boggling how long Van Alstine has been designing amplifiers.  I recall my then-roommate Mark (RIP) close to a half-C ago raving about his Van Alstine power ampflier.  Years before the advent of high powered audiophile car power amps, Mark used a huge power convertor in his car to drive big home power amps and home-style towers with dual 12s p/c.      

I purchased the Son 11 after a direct comparison with the Van Alstine SET500. I’ve also had a Krell 250a and a Forte 1a (Pass deigned) in my home. I found the Son to have the most holographic 3d images of the bunch, deep real(not artificially tight sounding) bass, and an ease to the sound. It had a more immediate sound, but also very good depth, which is sometimes hard to get at the same time. It is not, however, for those who prefer a middle or back of the auditorium seat. On a gut level the old 50w Forte punched way above what some people might expect. It was liquid, with a good soundstage and decent bass for its rating, but the images didn’t have enough meat on the bone for me. It’s possible that the SET 500 had slightly more pristine highs than the Son, but not by much.

Laginz: thanks for your comment. If possible, please list a brief note comparing your Son II to any other amp readers may find interesting. Did you ever AB test Son/Bongo vs. your Son II/Sarmento? If anyone has done that, please post your thoughts.

Srajan Ebaen directly ABd Son II vs. Pass Labs XA25 or XA35 and found Son II remarkably, underscore remarkably competitive. I suspect I’d absolutely love either of the above Pass amps except for their 235W+ idle current. My room is dual use (4k projector > perforated retractable screen;) the 4k projector alone runs warm. Another 235+ W seems a bridge too far.

I was an assembler for a certain speaker brand; the CEO of that speaker company was one of Bongo’s biggest industry supporters. Bongo premiered his new SST/Ampzilla 2000 V1 mono at THE Show with this speaker company, IIRC in the year 2000.

I owned two SST Ampzilla 2000 V1 mono. (AFAIK I never heard V2 but IIRC everyone who expressed familiarity with V1 and V2 unanimously preferred the latter.)

Bongo released SST Son of Ampzilla stereo 2001 or 2002. This is worth what you paid for it: IMO Son stereo was considerably more refined and musical than 2000 V1 mono, whose only advantage was more thump and horsepower. (Note Bongo rated Son 400W @ 2-ohm w/2k VA transformer and 100k uF PS capacitance, extraordinary or beyond in this price class.)

Being the loudmouth I am, I voiced the above opinion often to my boss the speaker company CEO. The following is a little foggy after so many years, but IIRC either the speaker CEO or Bongo himself said that Son stereo’s circuit is more refined and musical than 2000 mono V1. Someone (just can’t recall who) later said mono V2 incorporates Son’s refinements. (To further confuse the nomenclature, SST Son II is a superb but completely different amp designed by the brilliant EJ Sarmento of Wyred 4 Sound, who studied under Bongo.)

At some point later, the speaker company CEO purchased a 2nd Son Stereo, one channel from each Son driving each speaker channel.

Around this time Dick Olsher reviewed and raved about SST Ambrosia V1 preamp and SST Son of Ampzilla stereo. Just prior to publishing, the speaker CEO convinced Dick to audition two Sons as described above, using 1 channel from each amp p/c. Dick posted that the speaker CEO estimated that using Son in this fashion (rather than both channels simultaneously) increased output by 6 dB. (That point too is worth the admission price.)

Read Dick’s review, but IIRC he purchased Ambrosia and two Sons. Dick is positively a self-described tube fanatic.

Please continue with your regular programming...

Ditto on the misinformation regarding the ‘Son of’ being monoblocks. The Ampzilla 2000 monoblocks are available in v1 and v2 and the v1 I owned for a couple years sounded fantastic driving the heck out of a power hungry pair of Carver Amazing Platinum speakers. As one would expect, the Ambrosia preamp is a great match for the Ampzillas and, in my humble opinion, is actually the star of the show when it comes to this pairing.

 

Have no idea about the bridging issue. I do know that a single SST Son of Ampzilla II effortlessly drives my old trusty Von Schweikert V4s to sonic bliss.😁

I find it quite strange to read such detailed comments about certain amplifiers when the amplifiers mentioned by name do not exist.

All "Son of Ampzilla" amplifiers under the SST and/or "Ampzilla 2000" badge are stereo amplifiers with absolutely no, repeat no potential for bridging into a mono amp.  How do I know?  Because James Bongiorno told me that each channel is already bridged and on this particular circuit two bridged channels cannot be bridged again into mono.  Maybe the designer of the amps was wrong but that seems like a bad bet to me.    

So for reader's edification, every reference suggesting the existence of a "mono" Son of Ampzilla (from SST and/or Ampzilla 2000, 2 names for the same company) are simply wrong.  

Not to put too fine a point on this, but this post does not refer to any "Son of Ampzilla" under the GAS banner nor the latest/current SST/Ampzilla 2000 "Son of Ampzilla II."  What I typed may or may not also apply to those last 2 amps; I have no personal knowledge whether those 2 stereo amps can or cannot be bridged.

On a separate subject: Ed Morawski (sp?) in his review typed that dealer John Casler told him (IIRC) that "2000" in "Ampzilla 2000" refers to the transformer VA spec for the mono and stereo amps, not the year the mono versions were released. as I suspected was the case (IIRC the stereo version arrived 2001-2002.)  Further, Ed typed that Casler added that latter versions had 2400VA transformers.  I have no personal knowledge on either of these items. 

Even the current Son of Ampzilla II has 2000VA and 100k mF PS filter capacitance, two specs that IMO have never appeared in any amplifier in a similar price category, significantly more than a current $11k Levinson 5302 stereo amp.   

I have just ordered a SoA2 and Ambrosia 2000 preamp.  How do you like your setup.  Any regrets.  How do they sound?  Are you running a sub? 

Noticed I never followed up. The buzzing ended up being from a Roku I had plugged into the same electrical circuit. Seems to be a common issue with Rokus. They really need to be grounded and just aren't. Just found an Ambrosia 2000 PreAmp to go along with the SoA2. Excited to finally upgrade from the SP3

Hi! I've been using my SOA2 (220 VAC version) for almost a year without issues.

Dead silent from both unbalanced and balanced inputs. 

I use as source a Lindemann Musicbook 10 DAC/Pre, and speakers are Dynaudio Confidence C1 Platinum. 

Sebastian 

Reach out to EJ at W4S/SST and see if he has any suggestions.  I would try a cheater plug on the amp and preamp and see if that does anything.  

I ended up getting the Son of Ampzilla II from Underwood, but there is a faint buzzing. It is on both channels regardless of what preamp or input source. :-(

*biwire

I just see a biamp option on the back of the new 2000 v2.

@jackd thanks for the heads up. I reached out to him and it looks like I could get better bang for my buck trade wise on a pair of Ampzilla 2000s than for the SOA2. The holidays are making it tougher to find the extra $$$ 😅.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5480969de4b0f0d437dda5d4/5697d38fbfe873ec75c280d7/5697d38fbfe873ec75c280d6/1425429391702/amp2000-back.jpg

GAS offered a transformer for bridging the original Ampzilla and the Son. 600wpc and 240wpc, respectively. Into 8 ohms, of course! 

@counterreset : No, Ampzilla 2000 and the Son Mono's are different circuits - like the originals!

@roberjerman aren't the 2000s the Monoblocks?

Contact Walter at Underwood HiFi as he was offering a great price on the Son of Ampzilla Mk II.  He has been in the business over 40 years and I am sure he has encountered many pairs of Dunlavy's over the years.  

@kw6 : That I can't say! Either of these new versions made by SST are sonically competitive with today's expensive amps (no need to mention names here!). 

Get the SST Ampzilla 2000. Use the money saved to upgrade your signal source. I own (and prefer the SP6) over the older SP3. New mc cartridge, DAC ... BTW, your SC-IVs with the beige grills look really nice! Don't go back to the black!

The original Ampzilla (1976) was considered the BEST sounding SS amp at the time! That is when I first encountered it! Harry Pearson (TAS) even thought so! He called it "surgically romantic"! James Bongiorno claimed that the improvements to the original design made a " better" sounding amp - the 2000. I never owned the Ampzilla. Only the original Sons. Now have two in my collection. Presently using a Son with my DCM Time Windows. Great sound - no urge to change (plenty of other amps in my collection). I’d bet the new versions sound great, too! The Ampzilla 2000 has plenty of power - no need for a pair of mono Sons!

Rober is it true SOA II is not as warm sounding as the original Ampzilla 2000?

These are both excellent amps! The last masterworks of James Bongiorno! I own several of his designs from SAE, GAS and Sumo. The Ampzilla 2000 from Spread Spectrum Technology will be an excellent match for your SC-IVa’s! Plenty of power - no need for the Son monos. I’d put the Ampzilla 2000 up against any of today’s expensive ($10K  -$20K +) amps!