Almost a year ago (June 7) I listed the better amplifiers I have owned, and I said;
I have not yet zeroed in on the amp that makes me want to stop looking.
That has changed. Earlier this year, I received SMc Audio DNA-1 Ultra G20 Monoblocks. These are completely rebuilt DNA-1 amplifiers with significant improvements such as large Plitron Low Noise transformers, and a bunch of other stuff Steve now does to these amps, including their new Gravity Base.
IMO, the word "best" is subjective and should not be considered in an absolute sense because you would have to consider partnering equipment, speakers, room acoustics, and musical/listening preferences. My top 3 amps (all monoblocks) would all probably be considered really good by many but, in general, the two Class A amps (Lamm M1.2 Reference and Clayton M300) could be considered better for some music that may include jazz, blues, and pop vocals (IMO) but maybe less impactful for rock and roll or heavy rock. The SMc amps, IMO, would do just fine with all of those listed genres, and particularly excel at providing a dense tonality and impact across the entire frequency range. In fairness, they are much more powerful (i.e., 600/1200 wpc into 8/4 ohms) than the Lamm or Clayton amps and my Aerial speakers like lots of power. In any event, the SMc amplifiers are very, very good and have "made me stop looking."
