What Muiltichannel amp for Dali 800 MKII


I have a quick question for all you guys, What miltichannel amp would you guys recommend me to drive Dali Helicon 800 mk2? I currently have a pass lab X350 that I was thinking to sell in favor of a multichannel amp, but I'm affraid to loose the power the X350 has on the dalis? I was thinking of getting a 3 channel amp to match the rest of the speakers, but I don't want to cut corners with the rest of the system. any amp recommendation? Please help The rest of the system is dali C200 center and surround ect,
armandito
The multi channel amps I would recommend would be the Sim Titan and the Plinius Oden. However, with that in mind, I think the Pass amp you own would be a better choice for stellar two channel versus the Multi channel amps. Sim is coming out with a multi channel 18K amp.

Here is the link.
http://www.simaudio.com/xmoonmc8.htm

Good Luck!
Mozvz is right, consider keeping the 350 to drive the 800s for 2 channel and add a multichannel amp or avr with a bypass for ht.

I have a similar setup, Dali 800s (mk1) for fronts, 200 center and 400s as rears, servo 15 sub.
Currently using a denon 5803 AVR receiver (7x170watt) and added a conrad johnson Met1 6 channel tube preamp,,, huge improvement! In fact liked it so much have a cj Met150 hybrid 5 channel amp on order from Spearit Sound to replace the denon with dedicated amp. Wanted the Odeon but its now 12k$ and the cj multi channel stuff costs much less and sounds really great. You can get the cj met1 and 150 pre and amp both for 8k$ here on agon brand new with 3yr warranty, lass than half price of list because they are discontinuing their multi channel line.
Im no expert, but it is clear to me, when flipping back and forth from 2 channel to multi, that the 800s cleary need more power to drive them than the 200 or 400s. I will know in about a week if the 150 can handle the 800s. But in about 5 years, when Ive paid for this stuff, I will add a X350.5 or a cj 350 for the fronts. So I would keep your X350 and build from there.
Dalis are great aren't they :)
Dalis are Great,You are absolutely right. I also have that I forgot to metion is a an onkyo SR805 receiver. How can I use the onkyo right now with the pass? I would like to drive the 800 with the X350 and the rest of the speaker with the onkyo to be able to decode all the new dolby HD and dts master audio?
By the way, I used to have the Simaudio titan 7, I loved it, but I was looking for someting a bit smaller in size. If I can find one I would buy in a hearbeat.
Should be able to use Onkyo's pre-outs to the 350 if it has them, which it should. If you added the cj met1 6channel tube pre-amp to that combo it would tie the avr and 350 together for synergy and way better sound. Onyko will sound unveiled and more dynamics with the tube nectar. you already have Dalis all around for matching drivers.,,, just my opinion
I wouldn't downgrade Pass X350 to a multi channel amp. While I was setting up my multi channel audio system I went through several highly rated single box five channel amps from Theta, Proceed and EAD. While they were pretty good in performance, they all lacked the ultimate refinement and resolution that you find in high end two channel amps. I am now convinced that multi channel set up should be organically grown from solid two channel set up, rather than built using dedicated multi channel gear, in order to sound best. I would get the best two channel amp for fronts, then add three channel amp for center and surrounds. Pass X3 would be a good complement for your X350.
Jylee
Thank you for your comments, It's unbealiable the bass punch of my X350, the reserve of power is incredible.One question, do you think that the X3 has simikar power and dynamic and that is not a short cut for the center channel and surround,specially the for the center channel,since most of the information goes thru it? also, what pre/pro can decode dolby digital HD and dts master HD?
Ultimately it's about the trade off and priorities. Five identical amps all around will make it easier to tonally balance all the channels. 2+3 may be trickier to set up, but it will be superior in two channel music play back.

You should note that even with five identical amps, unless your speakers are also identical you won't automatically get tonally balanced set up. You'll notice the imbalance immediately when you play white noise on each channels if your center speaker is not identical to LR fronts. You'll most likely need to adjust the gain for each channels. If you have room EQ on your processor it would help with the imbalance.

Having said that, X3 and X350 will have more similarity than difference. I have never felt that I needed more power when I was drivng B&W 804 Nautilus speakers with X3. YMMV.