Vandersteen Amp?


I've seen pictures on line of the new Vandersteen M7-HPA. It's a hybrid amp putting out 600 watts as I recall but designed to only play above the 100 Hz frequency levels. It's intended to pair with his speakers utilizing a powered sub, especially the Model 7 I would think. Projected price $35,000-$40,000.

The pictures I've seen look like a pure prototype. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with these monoblocks in operational form? It sounds like an interesting concept, eliminating the need for the high pass filter between the pre amp and amp. Still, it's significantly more costly than the Ayre MX-r and the Audio Research Ref 250s both which work very well with the Vandersteen speakers. Will this be worth the price for a manufacturer's first step into the realm of stand alone power amps or for a pair of monoblocks only for use with speakers having a powered woofer?

My guess is that any Vandersteen product is a pretty safe bet.
sonofjim
Richard sure is moving upscale! Read he's working on a Model 9 speaker too. Waaaaay over my budget. I thought I was doing good with Model 5's, some day I'll hear the 7's and see how far behind I really am....
The amp is the 3rd item down on this page:

http://cybwiz.blogspot.com/search?q=vandersteen

Liquid cooled!
My guess is what you end up with for this price is an amp that is a near perfect match for the speaker in question. You could certainly spend that much chasing your tail trying out amps until you found merely a very good match.

I would guess it's too early for impressions on this amp to surface. You would think the Model 7 paired with these monos might be the ultimate embodiment of the Vandersteen sound, until the Model 9 comes out. What could be in line for this, and at what cost? Model 9?
That's the direction the entire market is headed...up, up and away. Richard is simply following the market, like every other high end company trying to stay in business.

Folks just don't want to spend $20K on a system anymore, they want to spend $200K+. The rest of you can shop at Walmart. ;)
If Richard can get some plutocrats to pry open their wallets, that's fine with me. As long as some of that money "trickles" down to improvements in his more affordable speakers.