Your top 10 favorite amps (inspired by LL21's post)

[LL21]

Hi Stavros,

Thank you...i am speaking with your key distributors/dealers now to discuss the Ianus which I would be interested in auditioning...even the Mk 1 to get a better understand of the AC magic which I hear such great things about from several very, very experienced and discerning audiophiles.

I look forward to it. From the standpoint of driving not just the Wilson X1/Grand Slamms...but longer term if i were to go for the mighty Rockport Arrakis in a room 5.5m x 12.5m x 3.3m...would you think Ianus is the primary focus among the AC family of amps? I listen to all kinds of symphonic, deep house, blues, rap, jazz, acapella...but also use the system for action movie soundtracks, etc.

 

[Thieliste]

My favorite amps :

Aries Cerat Concero 65
CH Precision M1
Ypsilon Hyperion

 

[sefischer1]

Being a long time Martin Logan user, I've found that most of the amps that work well for me have been Class A MOSFET designs with low output impedance and lots of current capability.
My favorites to date:
Marantz MA-24 30 WPC mono (beautiful and unique product design)
Mark Levinson ML 27.5 100 WPC stereo (not class A, classic heavy metal)
Accuphase A50 50 WPC stereo (great for passive bi-amp due to level adjust knobs)
Classe MA-600 (not class A) (smooth sounding but annoying fan ramp down upon power-up)
BAT VK150se 150 WPC mono (not class A) (everyone needs a fling every now and then, excellent tube amp, great for a sauna)
Pass Labs XA-60 60 WPC mono
Luxman MA-800 80 WPC stereo
Pass Labs XA-100.8 100 WPC mono

 

[bonzo75]

Hi how did the Luxman compare to the other amps with the Logans? The 800a is low powered so might need to be bridged. The m900u might be a better choice

 

[sefischer1]

My listening space is a long living/dining room area with a large open hall space. Because the MLs are so directional, it really doesn't typically take more than 10-20 watts of hefty power to drive them (lots of current capability though). The accuphase A50 (biamped) were great, as well as all the amps listed. The 80W of the Luxman was more than adequate. I originally purchased 2 of them and found that, like most, they didn't sound as good bridged so I immediately sold one of them. The Luxman has a very similar quality to the other Class A MOSFET amps. Ultimately, I parted with them, as good as they were, for the Pass amps. 80W vs 150W represents only 3dB of volume difference, all things being equal. I used to have 4 of the Marantz MA-24 units (30W) which I used to actively bi-amp a pair of Martin Logan ReQuests in a large room. Volume wasn't a problem.

 

[bonzo75]

Yes I agree bridged doesn't sound as good.

Do you listen to a lot of orchestral?

 

[Elliot G.]

Audio Research Ref 75-76 in all configuations my indoctrination into High End Sound
Audio Research REF 150 one of the greats of all time
Audio Research GS-150
Mark Levinson ML-2
ML 33H not the 33
Jadis JA-200
Krell EVO 900's
Mac 2301's only amp of theirs IMHO worth talking about
DAG S250
and my current and favorite amp CH Precision M1

 

[sefischer1]

Yes I agree bridged doesn't sound as good.

Do you listen to a lot of orchestral?

A lot of 50/60s Jazz, Symphonic, Chamber, Alternative Rock/Pop, Blues. No Techno, hip-hop, electronic, truck-driver-country-western.

 

[bonzo75]

The 800 was not stable in lower impedances as shown in John Atkinson's report. So Luxman called them back on crates and rectified that, but it just happened to some samples, not all. The 900 was stable down to 1 ohm.

 

[Thieliste]

The 800 was not stable in lower impedances as shown in John Atkinson's report. So Luxman called them back on crates and rectified that, but it just happened to some samples, not all. The 900 was stable down to 1 ohm.

I'll be auditioning the Lux 900 paired with Nagra classic preamp nov 16th at Acoustic Gallery just before the Paris Hifi show.

 

[bonzo75]

I'll be auditioning the Lux 900 paired with Nagra classic preamp nov 16th at Acoustic Gallery just before the Paris Hifi show.

If this is the same guy who has the YG Hailey, it is an excellent system he puts together. You can compare it with the viola symphony to check what the lux does. The lux will seem boring until you compare it, then you will notice the stability and the flow.

 

[sefischer1]

The 800 was not stable in lower impedances as shown in John Atkinson's report. So Luxman called them back on crates and rectified that, but it just happened to some samples, not all. The 900 was stable down to 1 ohm.

I had no problems driving the CLX panels with the Luxman 800a. Perhaps the pair I had lacked the problem?

 

[Thieliste]

If this is the same guy who has the YG Hailey, it is an excellent system he puts together. You can compare it with the viola symphony to check what the lux does. The lux will seem boring until you compare it, then you will notice the stability and the flow.

Yes still Thierry Chretien, i agree he is a good dealer.

 

[Cellindo]

Hi guys,

For me most preferred amps/pre combination (I believe it’s difficult to dissociate the two at these extreme levels of audio quality) are;

Solid State (the category I know the most):
* No ranking order *
- CH Precision L1 with M1 monoblocks
- Gryphon Pandora with Mephisto
- JMF Audio PRS 1.5 with HQS 9001 mono’s
- Constellation Virgo 3 with Centaur 2 mono’s
- Ypsilon PST 100 Mk2 with Aelius 2 mono’s
- Viola Bravo 2, a not standart two chassis concept
- I also generally like D’Agostino amps Momentum.


For tube-based amplifiers:
- Engstrom Monica preamp with The Lars mono’s
- Kondo pre + mono’s in the specific context of Living Voice Vox Olympian / Vox Palladian system (btw this is my absolute best reference, and by a wide margin !!!)
- Absolare pre + amp driving any model of Rockport speakers (ie. Demos in Munich every year)
- Thomas Mayer 10Y preamp with 2A3 very low power monoblocks for Avantgarde speakers / a specific use-case but quite magic.