Mastersound Amps. Anything similar you'd recommend

Thanks again for all the help.

Bblilikoi, I think the PMC's are 6 Ohms/87db which doesn't seem too be too far away from you Sonus Faber Concertino Home monitors (88dB/6ohm)you've had. Were you ok with that setup and the amp you had. As you pointed out that you were switching to different speakers with higher sensitivity I wonder how big the difference in sound is.

For now I'll see what I can sell the easiest and that might just be my speakers and then take it from there. As there's a store over in Detroit that sells PMC and has tube amps it might pay to take a trip there and see what these guys have around I could listen to.

Well, made a mistake and just found out that the amp is the Due Venti rather then the 300 model. Still liked tyhe sound a lot and that also explains why the price is around 3000 rather then twice as much. Guess the problem with the amp not exactly matching the speakers might still apply.

The Due Venti is a very nice amp too! I was looking for one when Gjrad turned me on to the VAIC 300BSE. The Due Venti is 20W/channel. Here's a review:

http://6moons.com/audioreviews/mastersound2/duo.html

The issue with SET amps and conventional speakers is that they can only drive them to moderate levels. I could not get the VAIC 300bSE to power the SF Concertinos to more than "entertaining" volume, which was what I mainly did in that room anyway. So, they were fine for that.

But, to fill the room and to get the best out of the amp, I needed a more sensitive speaker. And I wanted one as good on operatic voices as the SF Concertinos were. The Sonist Concerto 3 is that, plus it's fabulous with large-scale orchestral music too.

I highly endorse the Due Venti. For speakers to match it with, you might look into the Sonist Concerto 2--a large monitor rated 95dB/8 ohms. Very affordable and I found it great for blues, rock, jazz, and operatic and jazz voices. Just not the last word in depth and slam for orchestral music. A review:

http://www.ultraaudio.com/equipment/sonist_concerto_2.htm

Krauti--

A question. What is it you don't prefer about the Electrocompaniet AW220 amps? Or, putting it another way--I thought that Electrocompaniet had a reputation of being fairly "soft" and somewhat dark and "tubelike" as far as SS amps were concerned. Why are you selling the AW220s?

As a tube-amp lover, I've admired Electrocompaniet, MBL, and Clayton in terms of their approaches to SS sound.

The main problem is that I find the sound of my current setup to be a bit too bright for my ears. A friend of mine described it as quite detailed and liked it a lot, but he's not into tube amps and finds them too warm sounding.

The main problem might be the speakers and that's why I originally wanted to sell my speakers and by the PMC OB1+'s.

A little later I heard the Due venti and just loved the sound. Just so different to solid state equipment. But then again, I should try different speakers first to give the amps I have a better chance and that's why I'm back to deciding what to sell first.

As there are some Electrocompaniet's here on Agon that haven't sold for a while I might have a better shot at selling the B&W 703's first and get the PMC's and take it from there.

One reason why I did like the integrated is that it needs less space and sounded very good to me.

I could of course get Classe amps, which I auditioned the B&W's with as I really like them with these amps, but the tube sound is different and for my ears just nicer.