What to upgrade next?

[Nuprin]

After demoing a Mark Levinson 508 Integrated and Cary SLP-98 and Cary SLP-05, all with HT Bypass, I was not impressed in the minor improvements (for the cost) to the 2 channel portion of my system those three preamps made over the Cary 11a. Enter the Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE with the Stage II upgrades and wow, did that preamp make a difference. The noise floor seemed to disappear with a deeper sound stage, a little better bass control and overall greater transparency and detail. Imaging seemed to put the voices a bit further back than what I was used to or less forward compared to the other three mentioned above.

While the Azure 851N is not a top of the line Streamer/Dac, I am leaning first towards an upgrade in a 2 channel amplifier to take over duties from the Cinema 5 for music duties. Have been considering some Class D amps from Wyred, such as their SX-1000R mono blocks or Merril Taranis, both 575w and 400w into 8 ohms respectively. The Micro Ones are 87db efficient but I'm also running a 2400w powered sub along with it.

Would I need that power from Class D or would I be better off with something with more Class A qualities? It's more that what I was budgeting but there is a used MSB S201 for sale around $5k and I believe that is 100 watts of Class A out of the 200 watt rating. Is the MSB in another class from amps in the $4k-$5k range considering it retailed for three or four times more when new? Would appreciate any input!

 

[ketcham]

I believe this forum is an excellent resource for insight and most everyone has a top three or five amps to recommend. That said to help the conversation, what qualities do you feel is lacking in your system to warrant the change? What qualities do you have now and in an ideal world keep? Finally what volume to you typically listen most and the genre of music you favor?

 

[Nuprin]

I have been really appreciating the black background of what the STP-SE has done for transparency in my system. A ”haze” has been lifted and each instrument/voice has a better sense of their own space. Accuracy, naturalness and full range reproduction with very well controlled bass without harshness and fatigue would be the goal. Imagining and soundstage of course but sometimes it’s hard to know what the original recording intended. As true to the source as possible.

For critical listening my music range is fairly wide but I tend to listen to more vocal artists in rock, pop, indie and jazz along with acoustic jazz, blues, string instrument, percussion and sprinkling of world music, classical and electronic. Volume is loud when no one is home to intimate when everyone’s gone to bed in the house.

Some examples of what I’ve been listening to lately for evaluation:
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Midnight Sugar and Misty
Patricia Barber, Companion
Muddy Waters, Folk Singer
Yoko Kano and The Seatbelts, Cowboy Bebop Sound Track
Melody Gardot, Live in Paris
Marcus King, El Dorodo
Natalie Merchant, Tigerlily
Nirvana, MTV Unplugged
Sade, Various Albums
Kodo, The Hunted Sound Track
Chantal Chamberland, This is Our Time
Miles Davis, Coltrane, Art Blakely, Hancock
Yo-yo Ma, Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
Rossini, Barber of Seville
Dire Straights, Pink Flyod, Simon & Garfunkel, Queen