Wilson Sasha W/P amplifier pairing


I acquired a pair of Wilson Sasha W/P speakers this year. They’re Series 1 Sasha’s. Now trying to find great mono blocks to power them. My other system has Harbeth Speakers and a Pass Labs amp, I love the combo and can listen for hours without fatigue. I’d really prefer something warm and non fatiguing for the Sasha’s. 
 

Amps I’ve tried so far:

Pass Labs X350 - too bright and forward, etched vocals, not a lot of sparkle but plenty of authority

Pass Labs INT-30A - much better all around than the X350 but still too bright and forward. Not nearly enough power for Sasha. End result is too cold and thin

Bob Latino ST-120 - this is a $1200 kit tube amp I built. 60WPC. This amp was surprisingly kind of magical with Sasha.  Never fatiguing and full bodied. Unfortunately it went up in smoke because I can’t solder.

 

Mono blocks I’m considering:

Audio Research Ref 160M

Lamm 1.2 Reference

Pass Labs XA100.8

 

Preamp is a PrimaLuna EVO 400. Rega RP3 with Exact cart. Denafrips Ares II DAC streaming Roon via MicroRendu. Any advice welcome. 

audio_bidder

Showing 6 responses by audio_bidder

Luxman is certainly a contender. Anyone ever mono blocked a pair of M900U’s?

D’Agostino and Gryphon seem out of reach but I’ll consider. 

@audiotroy Every Zesto room I heard at Axpona was amazing, it not only sounded great, it felt right on an emotional level. Along with the ARC Ref / Vandersteen bookshelf room, I really got tube fever. 

@gpgr4blu excellent summary. You've actually experience all of these amps so I really value and appreciate your opinion. I'm leaning Ref 160M since I know I won't have issues getting them serviced, plus they're gorgeous, auto bias, longer tube life, etc.

I've heard some people have had issues getting Lamm's serviced (they claim they can't get a hold of anyone). Vlad was a genius but since his passing this year I worry about customer support. Their website has been "under construction" for some time. That said, I've heard nothing but good things about the sound.

@adg101 maybe bright isn't the best descriptor. More forward and top heavy. I applied a 1.5dB rolloff above 14kHz via Roon and that helped. I've treated first reflections with GIK panels after consulting with them, that helped tremendously. But remember, I'm coming from Harbeth's, so going from zero fatigue to some fatigue seems like a stark difference.

 

@plaw which Rowland model do you have?
@chayro that’s what I’m afraid of. I’m going to try better amps and see where I end up. In fairness, I haven’t given the Sasha’s the amps they deserve yet. Front end is also pretty entry level. If that doesn’t work I’ll be trialing some Harbeth M40’s. 
@yoyoyaya I’d love to try Pass .8 series but I think I’m ready for tubes. The PrimaLuna EVO 400 is a great preamp. Stereophile and TAS reviewers both asked to keep the review sample as their reference preamp. Take a look at the internals. 

UPDATE:

I brought home a pair of ARC REF160M mono blocks to power the Sasha’s. Wow!!! These amplifiers are a wonderful match. So much more musical than the Pass INT-30A and Pass X350. Tone and timbre are beautiful. They are relatively lightweight (about 60 lbs each) compared to SS designs which is a big plus for me. Not to mention I think they are a contender for best looking amplifier ever. If there’s any downside, they might not have as much low end slam as the best SS amps but are certainly no slouch. I think I slightly prefer triode mode.