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Who is the KING of MONOS?

WHO IS THE KING OF MONOS???

Mcintosh 501:
Big. Heavy. Reliable. Built like a tank. Smooth and pleasing. This chuck of metal will flow liquid sound at you all day and not even get warm. It is Fun to listen to and fun to look at. Arguably the best looking amp of them all. Some accuse it of being too laid back. Others would consider selling an appendage to obtain a pair.

Krell Evolution 600e.
Pretty. Maybe not Mac pretty but still pretty. Unlike lesser Krells it is smooth and articulate. Possibly possesses the best bass of any amplifier anywhere. Expensive. If it can be the King it should be expensive.

Cary SA 500.1
Probably has one of the best reviews ever written. Cary is said to be a perfect middle ground between Krell and Levinson. Not too laid back. Not too harsh or dry. Just perfectly nestled in the middle. Not big or heavy. A little plain to look at. Middle of group price tag. A few complaints floating around about reliability. A few complaints that Cary is cheaply made. Is it worthy of a King’s Crown? 10 Audio thinks so………

Levinson N 53.
It is pleasing to the eye. It has lots of clout. It has cost no object claims. It costs a lot of big American Dollars. It has a non typical switching power supply. Levinson is sometimes accused of being too warm. Is this the case the N53? The company has encountered a lot of turmoil in the recent past. Can it overcome the negatives and beat the rest? Will the new D technology be its demise?

Classe CA-M600.
Aesthetically pleasing but doesn’t match anything else. Another smooth operator. This amp has also been accused of being too laid back and polite. Sometimes polite is a good thing. Can it be the polite King of Monos?

Pass Labs XA600.5
Can anything negative be said for this beast. Another block of beauty that has a glowing meter. A little magic and a little hocus pocus maybe. I can see the others getting a little nervous with the Pass in the mix. If only the company would answer the phone and tell me who the dealers are. I hope the product is better than their customer communications.

Wyred4Sound SX-1000
Can it even fit in with names like this? According to the reviews and the manufacturer it can. Its Class D. Its Light. It looks good. According to a lot of people it does things Class A / AB cant. It is by far the cheapest or cost effective of the group. Can this economical wonder compete or beat any of these brutes? Will it wimper and run away with its tail between its legs? We shall see.

Let us discuss who the King should be. Let us discuss who it shouldn’t be. Who cares about price. This is a Royal group. Who is the best of the best? No one wants to hear “They all sound the same.” Don’t waste our time. These boxes have magic inside. Who has the most? Which one should we all be dreaming of when go sleepy at night?. Who is the King Of Monos?
128x128paimei
jafox
1,449 posts
 
Paimei: Synergy is often a term used when someone applies a bandaid in a system to compensate for a flaw elsewhere. The importance of the amp/speaker interface is not so much about synergy but rather, compatibility.

And again, contrary to the comments of one amp to suit all speakers, it's just plain silly. For Sound Lab electrostatics, I don't want any other amp than the ones I own. If I was to change to high-efficiency horn speakers or a biamped system, I would surely choose an entirely different amp. But compared to so many of the "high powered" tube amps out there with their crappy little output transformers, I will stay with the "lower powered" CAT.
paimei's avatar
paimei OP
52 posts
 
I agree with your thought pattern. In a way you also agree with mine.

You prefer your amp because others have crappy little output transformers. This makes them inferior in your opinion to what you have chosen. You have a preference. I respect this. Your experience could direct someone away from these lesser products. Surely you agree that we can compare and contrast even it it is based on opinion?

I think there are a couple amps in the list that would sound good with a broad range of speakers. The Mcintosh is a gentleman. I have heard the Mcintsoh reign in many a harsh speaker. It will likely sound good on a wide spectrum of speakers. It is a polite and forgiving amplifier with good manners. It is built well, has a strong reliability record, and resale value is very high. In many respects it is a King.

Comparisions are a great way to draw and learn from others' experience.

cajunpepe
255 posts
 
I really like my MC 501's. I have driven an array of loudspeakers ranging from $1500 to $23,000 and these amps have risen to the task without running out of gas. Great amps for $11k.

Pepe
jafox
1,449 posts
 
No, I prefer my amp because it can handle speakers beyond the simple benign impedance. If an amp is "rated" at much higher power output, but then falls apart when trying to drive the speaker that the much lower rated amp can handle, then Houston, we have a problem. And such a higher rated amp has no business ever to be rated as your status of King.

As for amps with wimpy output transformers, I have no doubt that some low-power SET amps on high efficient speakers would easily result in higher performance than my CAT amps. I notice that there is not a single SET amp in your list. And yet, these are often the most expensive and most highly coveted/respected amps in the audiophile world.

Comparisions are a great way to draw and learn from others' experience.
I could not agree more with this.

I would be interested as to what qualifies as a "harsh" speaker. A few "odd" speaker loads out there that are often discussed here include the MBL 101 series (low sensitivity), Apogee Scintilla (1-ohm load), Sound Lab (higher impedance in the bass). The CAT amps can be configured to handle the Scintilla load. And it is one of the few amps that drives the MBL speaker with aplomb. I don't think there is a single amp in your list that can match it with these three speaker systems. Oh, you might want to add the MBL 9000 amp to your list. 8-)
paimei's avatar
paimei OP
52 posts
 
I respect tubes. A lot. I respect your information. I dont have the experience with tubes that I have with SS. SS versus tubes is a whole other debate.

The MBL looks good. One of the few I have not heard. I will make it a point.

Harsh speaker. Well, I like smooth speakers. That being considered, I have run into some paradigm, klipsch, and Monitor audios that were a little raw to me. Im sure they would have all been better with better/proper electronics running them. Im not saying any of these are Bad speakers. I feel they need very careful matching or suffering may result. For instance, I once heard a Klipschorn on a tube amp. A low powered tube amp. Hated Klipsch till that day. It was impressive.

Thank you Cajunpepe for the comments on the Mac. Im Looking for the King of smooth to run my speakers. I have heard from many people, whether they like mac or not, say that Mcintosh owns smooth.
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