thinking of switching from conrad johnson......


trying to decide between pass x250.8 or plinius sb 30, was looking at the cj premier 350 or the McCormack dna 500, but these amps are getting a little long in the tooth.  any suggestion and your experience with these two amps would help.  and what pre amp would work best with them.  since not many preamp companies are left.  and any feedback from whilecamaross is very much welcomed......thanks in advance.
kennesawjet

Showing 1 response by dsper

Hi,

I run a McCormack DNA 500 which was the only amp that did not weigh more than 100 pounds and could handle my Thiel CS5 speakers dipping  to 2 ohms in the bass. Also run it with 8 ohm 88 dbl speakers and no problems there either. 

Having said that, i am thinking about a small Pass Labs amp for the 8 ohm speakers just to see how it might sound....Maybe an XA30...

Not sure what you mean by long in the tooth if it sounds good and still is repairable if it comes to that.

Using the DNA 500 with Primaluna Dialogue Premium  and Conrad Johnson 17LS2 preamps. Different flavors, but the CJ sometimes makes me think it has a problem with the low DNA 500 input impedance of 10K ohms.

My local dealer allowed me to in-house audition various 300 wpc amps from Pass. Krell, Mark Levinson, and Classe and i honestly liked the McCormack just fine. Classe was too soft and Krell  and ML seemed too shouty to me. The Pass was nice, a bit better silence around the notes, but the weight, ugh!

Thanks for listening,

Dsper