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What to put between a Calypso a Mini Utopias?

I have been trying to develop a "short list" of amplifiers to evaluate. My preamp is an Aesthetix Calypso and my speakers are JM Labs Mini Utopias.

There are many glowing reviews about mating an YBA Passion the Mini Utopia, but I'm not looking for an integrated amp solution at this time. I am committed Calypso.

The Mini Utopias are 91.5 dB efficient and JM Labs recommends an amp no higher than 150W. They are only capable of low frequency down to 39Hz. I use a sub to help shore up the bottom end.

Stereophile said “the Calypso will need to be used with a power amplifier offering an input impedance of at least 30k ohms if the bass is not to sound lean.”

In terms of cost, I suppose I would like to come in under $5K, but I wouldn’t hesitate to increase the budget if the sound quality warranted it.

Any experiences or ideas would be greatly appreciated. BTW, solid states, tubes, doesn’t matter to me either way. It's all about the music. Fussing with equipment doesn't bother me if the end justifies the means.

Thanks
buckr
buckr OP
9 posts
 
Great input on the solid state options.

YBA, Plinius and the Rowland have made it to my solid state short list for sure.

BTW, my sources are an MMF7 turntable (with a Living Voice Carbon Fiber record mat)going through an EAR 834P phone pre for the analog path. The digital path starts with basic cd transport that gets processed by a Monarchy DIP Upsampler then through a Benchmark Media DAC1 then into the Calypso. I listen to everything 'guitar' across every genre imaginable. Speed and accuracy is very important to me, but I am also looking for a full rich sound as well.

I am really starting to believe that having the Calypso as a tube front end and a high quality solid state amp on the back end may be just the ticket I’m looking for.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Buckr, I also own the Calypso and can not say much more beyond what has been mentioned by others. The Calypso is very easy to match and I don't think you'll run into very many amps with input impedances that are below 30Kohms.

For the record my Calypso is controlling a pair of Rogue M-150's tubed mono's and a Classe CA301 SS which handles the LF chores. The Calypso responds very well to tube rolling, especially the 6922's. I've also owned the MMF-7 and the 834P. Once you get this amp thing sorted out, you want to think about replacing that 834P with a Rhea. ;)
buckr OP
9 posts
 
My updated short list:

Solid State: Plinius 102, Rowland 112, Edge G4/G6. (dropped YBA from the list because information and dealers are too sparse for my comfort level).

Tube: Rogue M-150 monos, Conrad Johnson Premier 140 (a bit over the budget, but might be worth it).

Dan_ed, thanks for giving me something else to save up for ;-). The Calypso is an amazing piece of equipment so I can only imagine the Rhea to be cut of the same cloth.

The Calypso just seems to keep getting better and better over the four+ months that I have owned it. It has really begun to blossom. Actually, it is this blossoming that has driven my extreme desire to upgrade the amp. My current amp (an Harmon Kardon Signature 2.0 mult-channel amp that double duties as an HT amp) just seems to be strangling the signal path coming out of the Calypso and throlling down what the Utopia's are capable of reproducing. I am expecting a big improvement here.
rlew
19 posts
 
buckr:
if you go to the
http://www.audioplusservices.com
the importer for YBA,
go the dealer tab on lower right hand corner,
you enter your zip code and it should give you a list of nearest yba dealers...
or you can email them, they are very responsive to my emails/questions, unlike other companys, and offers the best customer service support i have come across, i also wish to chime in that BAT also has excellent cusstomer service support.
buckr OP
9 posts
 
Rlew. Thanks for pointing me the YBA dealer locator. It came up with three YBA dealers between 216 and 255 miles away from me. Not exactly short jaunt, but I understand that travel is just part of the quest ;-). I'll likely wait to see where my next business trip takes me and hopefully find a dealer there.

As a follow-up on the short list, apparently CJ discontinued production of the Premier 140. Off the list it comes.
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