Amplifier recommendations for Salon 2’s . . .

Wookii

Member
Jan 7, 2015
50
13
8
Hi guys,

I’m after some amplifier recommendations for my Revel Salon 2’s. I originally had these paired with my Levinson 326S pre-amp and a Levinson 532H power amp. However a couple of years ago I moved to a Levinson 585 integrated to reduce the box count.

Whilst the 585 is excellent, that change was probabaly a mistake as I’ve missed the separates ever since, so I’ve recently decided to go back to separates after acquiring a Lampi B7 balanced DAC.

I still have the 326S preamp, so I plan to use that in the medium term, but I need a decent quality power amp to anchor the whole system to.

I could just get another 532H as there is certainly a synergy there, but I fancy trying something different (and a bit more over-engineered!)

My days of buying brand new are long over (having been stung too many times on resale pricing), so I’m looking for used amps in the region of £5-8k ($7k-$11k).

Currently my shortlist, kind of in order of assumed preference from having read about them (though I’ve heard none of them in the flesh) are:

1) Burmester 911 Mk3
2) Luxman M-900U
3) DarTZeel NHB-108 B
4) Aesthetix Atlas Signature monos

I don’t really want tubes or pure Class A due to having young kids (both in terms of time/hassle [of tubes] and heat issues/burning little fingers) - hence why the current short list is class A/B only.

I love the Salons, and they work perfectly in my relatively small room, but they can have a tendency to sound a little ‘polite’ so I want an amp that gives them a bit of energy. I’m also a sound stage fetishist, so I want an amp that contributes as much as possible to a large, wide and deeply layered soundstage.

I know the ‘recommend an amp’ question is an old one, and might be a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question resulting in 50 different options, but having been reading this forum for a couple of weeks I’m hoping some of the knowledgable audiophiles on here might be able to offer some guidance.

I could also do with some advice on maximum amp age to buy at. For example, would there be a drop off in an amps performance, if it’s 10 years old for example?

Anyway, let me know your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.
 

bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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Of those, I haven't heard aesthetix. I think the Luxman is much superior to burmester unless you are purely into amplified.

Don't think Dartzeel is the best for tough to drive speakers like your Salon.

Also, if you like clean sound, try the analog domain integrated and put 242 into your Lampi. It will be one of the best systems around because the 242 gain and impedance matches very well with the analog domain
 

twitch

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Jun 17, 2010
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I drive my Revel's (Studio 2's) with PASS (X260.8 mono blocks), happy as a pig in poop !
 

andromedaaudio

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Jan 23, 2011
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Afaik the 532 h has a small powersupply.
Why not try a 432 , i think still one of the nicest power Amps around and they go for cheap
 

Wookii

Member
Jan 7, 2015
50
13
8
Thanks for the replies guys.

@bonzo75: yeah I did wonder if the Dart amp might not be up to it, though I have read a fair few cases of people running pretty large speakers off them. That said the Salons aren’t that hard to drive in impedance terms, and I don’t listen at high volumes.

What do you mean by “purely into amplified” in regards to the Burmester? I thought they were pretty well regarded for SQ?

@twitch: I had considered a Pass 250.8, but they seem quite hard to come by on this side of the pond. It’s still a potential option if I could locate one at the right price.

@andromedaaudio: Thanks for the suggestion. I think the 532H delivers plenty of current to drive the Salons, but the 432 might be worth looking at. I was kind of thinking of moving away from ML towards something new, and I’m also concerned over getting an amp of that age, as per the age query in my OP?
 

Rocco I.

Well-Known Member
Apr 26, 2012
253
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935
Italy
The Burmester 911 Mk3 is a refined and musical power amp and for my experience much superior in all regards, mianly in the overall sound quality performance to those amps in your short list and one of the absolute best ever. It is an amp well known in the audio world for his reference musical performance and to the great audio reviewers that consider the 911's a perfect amp. I would like to suggest you to listen it preferable in your system and with your ears and do not trust the fake web guru impressions that has looked some gears in some hifi demo show only; that's wrong informations only.
Trust to your ears and judge ;)
 
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heihei

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Jul 24, 2017
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Burmester a bit dull, Dart described by my wife as having shards of glass thrown at her. There were a few pairs of Audionet monoblocs floating around the UK market a while back - heard them and thought very good at that price-point.
 
Last edited:

tdimler

Member
Jul 4, 2016
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5
8
TX
While I think the Dartzeel, Burmester, and Luxman would all be superlative amps, I don't think they are up to driving Salon2's. You're going to need north of 200 watts into 8 ohms, and more is better.

Some amps that are well know great performers with Salon2's:

Pass 250.8, 350.8, monos etc.
Hegel H30
D'Agostino S200 or S250
The older Levinson 532 or new Levinson 536 monos. (that 532 is an impressive piece in person)
Krell 402e might be a great choice.
Jeff Rowland 625 or 625 S2 (my personal amp on my Salon2's)
ARC Ref 250 SE monos

Regarding age, I'd agree with you that 10 years old might be as far back in the archives as I wanted to go.

Good Luck
 

Wookii

Member
Jan 7, 2015
50
13
8
While I think the Dartzeel, Burmester, and Luxman would all be superlative amps, I don't think they are up to driving Salon2's. You're going to need north of 200 watts into 8 ohms, and more is better.

Some amps that are well know great performers with Salon2's:

Pass 250.8, 350.8, monos etc.
Hegel H30
D'Agostino S200 or S250
The older Levinson 532 or new Levinson 536 monos. (that 532 is an impressive piece in person)
Krell 402e might be a great choice.
Jeff Rowland 625 or 625 S2 (my personal amp on my Salon2's)
ARC Ref 250 SE monos

Regarding age, I'd agree with you that 10 years old might be as far back in the archives as I wanted to go.

Good Luck

Thanks for the suggestions. I have wondered if the Dart might not be able to power the Salon's sufficiently as mentioned above, but I have no specific concerns over the Burmester or Luxman, both are, as I understand it, high output designs, despite their lower RMS ratings. As I say I don't listen particularly loud anyway.

The Pass 250.8 is definitely on the list, the 350.8 is out of budget though.

The Hegel is not really on my radar, I don't know much about them so I'll check them out.

The D'Agostinos are out of budget sadly.

I have heard the Levinson 532 driving Salons, and I'll be honest I wasn't overly impressed. The 532H, though a cheaper and lower powered model, was notably superior when I listened side by side.

I'll look at the Krell, though I think they lost their mojo a bit when Dan left - they are known to be a bit analytical I think, not that thats a bad thing per se, I'm a fan of detail, but I'm also aiming for as natural sounding as possible.

I did used to own some older Jeff Rowlands (Model 6 if memory serves), and I didn't really get on well with them, maybe it was their age, but although they were very smooth, they were also very veilded so it kind of put me off the brand. Did you go though any other options before you settled on the 625?

On the Arc, I don't really want to have to bother with output tubes. I don't mind a single tube to two (as in hybrids such as the Aesthetix), but not a full tube amp at this point in time.
 

twitch

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Jun 17, 2010
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Thanks for the replies guys

@twitch: I had considered a Pass 250.8, but they seem quite hard to come by on this side of the pond. It’s still a potential option if I could locate one at the right price.

I'm not using the 250.8 'stereo' rather a pair X260.8 mono blocks. FWIW, in the X series (Class A/B) the 260.8 have the highest level of initial Class A bias (34 watts) with the exception of the might 650.
 

Wookii

Member
Jan 7, 2015
50
13
8
I'm not using the 250.8 'stereo' rather a pair X260.8 mono blocks. FWIW, in the X series (Class A/B) the 260.8 have the highest level of initial Class A bias (34 watts) with the exception of the might 650.

As do I (with Pass). XA-100.5 / XP-30

Wouldn't change a thing!

Thanks guys - so is the 250.8 comparable to what you guys are using or not. How do the Pass amps compare in terms of soundstage size to other amps you've tried? I've read in some places that the Pass amps don't quite have the bass control of other options, have you found this or not?

Also, how are they at low listening levels?
 

Empirical Audio

Industry Expert
Oct 12, 2017
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I would highly recommend Wells Audio if that power level is high enough. The beautiful sound of tubes without the tubes. No balanced though. If you need more power, consider auditioning Merrill Audio. If you have the scratch, then the no-brainer in SS is D'agostino monoblocks.

I would sell the SS preamp and get a good tube preamp. The kids will not get burned on this one. you can roll the tubes and get the most lifelike presentation. Nothing like a tube preamp, except maybe a transformer passive linestage.

I have been auditioning amps and speakers at shows for 20 years and these are my picks.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
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www.pugetsoundstudios.com
Thanks guys - so is the 250.8 comparable to what you guys are using or not. How do the Pass amps compare in terms of soundstage size to other amps you've tried? I've read in some places that the Pass amps don't quite have the bass control of other options, have you found this or not?

Also, how are they at low listening levels?

The tonality doesn't change listening at low levels vs. full tilt boogie! They are definitely not lacking in the bass region, that's for sure. I've tried other amps, even Class D, and solely prefer the Pass.
 

twitch

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2010
594
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The tonality doesn't change listening at low levels vs. full tilt boogie! They are definitely not lacking in the bass region, that's for sure. I've tried other amps, even Class D, and solely prefer the Pass.

I concur with Bruce although I will admit I have a soft spot for Plinius as well.
 

tkcha

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2018
30
2
113
Hi guys,

I’m after some amplifier recommendations for my Revel Salon 2’s. I originally had these paired with my Levinson 326S pre-amp and a Levinson 532H power amp. However a couple of years ago I moved to a Levinson 585 integrated to reduce the box count.

Whilst the 585 is excellent, that change was probabaly a mistake as I’ve missed the separates ever since, so I’ve recently decided to go back to separates after acquiring a Lampi B7 balanced DAC.

I still have the 326S preamp, so I plan to use that in the medium term, but I need a decent quality power amp to anchor the whole system to.

I could just get another 532H as there is certainly a synergy there, but I fancy trying something different (and a bit more over-engineered!)

My days of buying brand new are long over (having been stung too many times on resale pricing), so I’m looking for used amps in the region of £5-8k ($7k-$11k).

Currently my shortlist, kind of in order of assumed preference from having read about them (though I’ve heard none of them in the flesh) are:

1) Burmester 911 Mk3
2) Luxman M-900U
3) DarTZeel NHB-108 B
4) Aesthetix Atlas Signature monos

I don’t really want tubes or pure Class A due to having young kids (both in terms of time/hassle [of tubes] and heat issues/burning little fingers) - hence why the current short list is class A/B only.

I love the Salons, and they work perfectly in my relatively small room, but they can have a tendency to sound a little ‘polite’ so I want an amp that gives them a bit of energy. I’m also a sound stage fetishist, so I want an amp that contributes as much as possible to a large, wide and deeply layered soundstage.

I know the ‘recommend an amp’ question is an old one, and might be a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question resulting in 50 different options, but having been reading this forum for a couple of weeks I’m hoping some of the knowledgable audiophiles on here might be able to offer some guidance.

I could also do with some advice on maximum amp age to buy at. For example, would there be a drop off in an amps performance, if it’s 10 years old for example?

Anyway, let me know your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

Hi wookii

I never own a Salon 2 but some how I know them very well and I like them very much too,
Lets say Burmester 911 Mk3,Luxman M-900U,DarTZeel NHB-108 B all 3 of these amps are great but your speaker needs more power and greater damping factor all these amps have finese but not enough power and dampings you need , Salon 2 is not easy to drive speaker, actually one of hardest one, for that , you need at least good 200 watts not cheat watts minimum and more are better. So I think Hegel H30, Sim audio Moon 870A or older generation amp from Sim audio, Bryston 7b,28b sst2 or sst3 or go chaeper old Mark Levinson 436 mono amps you can get for under 6K or go little higher Luxman M-900U mono blocks are something else and good with Pass Labs 350.8 you can find under 10k but If for me look for Hegel H30 and Bryston 28B sst2 or 7B sst3 will be my choice. Good luck for your amp hunting!!!
 

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