I really have no idea which is better, but all else equal I’d give the nod to the M66 as the more established brand and Dirac if you might use that. That said, I doubt you’d be unhappy with either performance wise and the A10 is $3k cheaper, which in my world is material.
T+A Class D Amps ( M200 or A200)?
For somewhat idiosyncratic reasons, i am considering (i) moving my NAD M33, which I quite like, out of my main system where it is powering DALI Epicon 6s and dedicating it to powering a new pair of Revel Performa 226Be that are in a somewhat smaller room (15’x25’ with 8.5-9’ ceilings and fewer windows) with better acoustics and (ii) taking the NAD C399 that currently runs the Revels and using it just as a pre-amp/streamer/DAC (which it is pretty well suited to, despite lacking balanced outputs) and for a pair of T+A M200 mono blocks for the Epicons.
My thought is that both sets of speakers will be happier with these changes.
Has anybody here auditioned a T+A class D and not liked it? (I think I can get the M200s on a 30-day trial at just the cost of round trip shipping, which given their slight weight shouldn’t be too bad.)
FWIW, my music is all streamed via Qobuz and TIDAL, jazz, vocals, pop some classic rock; played at rarely higher than moderate volume.
Thanks!
Showing 6 responses by soix
Yeah the Icon is probably a good step below where you’d wanna go. Unless you’re very space constrained I’m not sure why you’re hesitant toward a separate DAC and streamer, and most combo units come with some significant compromise either with performance or the app, or both. Something like the HiFi Rose RS151 DAC/streamer with a good stereo preamp might work — preamps are important so if sound quality is paramount this might be worth considering. If you’re really hell bent on combining everything including the preamp then the new Eversolo A10 looks promising with the significant caveat that their customer support is sub optimal should you ever need it, and especially with streamers it’s not uncommon at some point. But here’s a good review fyi in case you might be interested… |
The M33 is no slouch so from that perspective it’s not too surprising you’re pretty happy overall with what you’re hearing. But there’s a big difference between liking the sound being truly moved and captivated by it, and IME that’s the next level and what can be achieved with higher-end components. It can be easy to be lulled into liking what you hear until you hear what’s possible with something much better, and then you’re not so happy anymore. Just purely as an example, inserting something like this Gryphon Diablo integrated into your system would very likely be transformative on every level. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisbef10-gryphon-diablo-300-solid-state But at this level it becomes highly personal and dependent on individual tastes/system synergy and only you can determine which components deliver the sound improvements you’re looking for. I’m just stating the obvious that there is a much higher level out there and you should do some more research as to which components likely deliver the specific sound characteristics/improvements you’re looking for. I’d also emphasize that everything matters a lot so plan on a better streamer, DAC, preamp/amp, and probably even cables. What’s your budget, and are you looking for new or used? Knowing that and having an idea of what you’re looking for you’ll at least get some good thoughts/ideas here to look into. All that said, I don’t think throwing $$$ at the T+A amp is a good idea at this point as it’d be a crapshoot until you do more research as to what else is out there. I would highly recommend traveling to some dealers/shows if at all possible to go hear for yourself and ideally demo components in your system. Anyway, just my $0.02 FWIW. |
You’ve got nice speakers and sounds like the M33 isn’t really doing it for you. Reading between the lines it sounds like you’re feeling like the sound is a little anemic/thin sounding, lacks some life/emotion and could use more heft, weight, tonal density/color but you don’t want to sacrifice the detail in the treble while avoiding harshness/brightness. Does that sound close to what you’re looking for? |
I didn’t read your post closely enough before I responded — my bad. You do not want to pair the C399 in any way to a good amp as it’s a total mismatch from a performance perspective and will be a huge bottleneck. |
Really depends on what specific improvements you’re looking for and what sound characteristics are most important to you if you could share that critical info. There doesn’t look to be much by way of reputable reviews out there on these amps so a bit of an unknown. For a Class D alternative I’d take a look at the AGD Audion monoblocks or Tempo di GaN stereo amps as they’re more well reviewed and more of a known quantity. They’re also quite a bit cheaper, and they can be easily upgraded by the user when technology improvements are introduced (and they have been), which is very nice — not sure if that’s the case with the T+A amps. AGD offers a 14-day return period less shipping and credit card fees. |