Sonic Frontiers Power 2

Hi, I have not heard the Power 2, but I have read that many people do not find it musically involving. Very accurate though. I guess it depends on your taste. See the web site www.audioreview.com. Sonic Frontiers itself has quite a few reviews on it's web site. I own a set of Sonic Frontiers SFM-160 160 watt monoblocks, and I like them quite a bit. In reviews they are characterized as warm and tubey sounding compared to the Power series. I think they have wonderful mids and very good bass control. I run them with a passive preamp and Audio Physic Virgos, and I don't hear any hum at all. Those reports might be due to cables. I know when I first got them they hummed a little. When I replaced my cheap non-termininated copper speaker cables with high quality ones (with terminators!), the hum went away. I have listened to an Audio Research VT100 Mk2, and I think it is the best amplifier I have heard. Just beautiful euphonic sound. I couldn't justify the cost however. They go for about 3200-3500 used, and 5000 new. Another thing I didn't like was it's lack of biasing meters. The SF line all have built in bias meters. It takes about 2 minutes to bias both amps. The build quality of both AR and SF is excellent. You might want to take a listen to the VTL amplifiers. They are a little more lean sounding, but very good sounding. Take care, John.

Hi Audioq, I have used the McCormack DNA-1DX, DNA.5, and now DNA-2DX; first with SF SFL-1 pre-amp and now the SF Line 2. I think that McCormack amps with Sonic Frontiers pre-amps are a very synergistic combination. And I recently purchased a SF Line 1 (for a 2nd system) that sounds just as good. The McCormack amps are sweet and have excellent bass control while the SF tube pre-amps add smoothness and take the edge out of CDs. My suggestion: consider having Steve McCormack upgrade your DNA.5. He has three up-grade packages and can be reached at www.smcaudio.com, (or is it just www.smc.com)? The SF Line 1 and 2 sound remarkably alike, with the Line 1 being a little bit brighter (in a good way), and the Line 2 a little more "relaxed and laid back", on balance, I prefer the Line 2 for it's ease and more relaxed music character. I've never been impressed with the ability of tube amps to control bass, but I guess it depends on the kind of music you listen to, and your preferences. If you really must have a new amp, the McCormack DNA-2DX is fantastic, and can drive anything-- I claearly preferred it to Levinson 331. Happy hunting.

Oops! Message appears to have taken on a date of its own.