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Looking for bright-sounding, clinical-sounding power amp for my B&W.

Akustic said:
Thanks for this note .. I've never heard them but it sounds worth giving one a try ..
Krell has always been out of my league, but they've always made a sweet noise when I've heard them.
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All the Acurus gear got solid reviews too. Worth finding.

I used to own the entry level Acurus L10 preamp. Extremely well designed and built. Nothing cheap about it, and it sounded fantastic. It felt like it just got out of the way of the music, and let it flow to your speakers. Transparent, I guess. I wish I had never sold it.

Good luck.
 
Akustic said:
Agreed .. they're accurate, and open .. they can just get shrill quick with the wrong amp... And I prefer high resolution amps so I'm a bit particular. They're highly detailed and fine in my L7's amplified with tubes (on top.. bi-amped with SS on the bottom end)..
I just went for tubes, cause I didn't want to sort thru endless SS amps until I could find an agreeable combo ..
They'll never be as sweet as Magnepans, but they're more dynamic (like most JBL's) . The L7's can definitely move air .. I swear they can swing curtains sometimes..
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Fortunately though, they're relatively easy to drive. Sensivity isn't that high, but their impedance curve is amp-friendly.
 
Pio1980 said:
It's been mentioned, the series two 545 if one hundred wpc are sufficient.
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Ah, you're right. Mea culpa.


Pio1980 said:
I might also recommend trying the newer Class 'D' switch mode amps.
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I too, am interested in class D, especially multichannel home theater amp. Any suggestions?


Superampman said:
How about an OTL? Very fast, linear, and detailed. IOW, transparent as it gets.
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Kinda hard to find on ebay though. :D
 
I would add the Bryston as well. Second, a touch brighter with the right speakers, would be PS Audio. Third, if you wanted screech, would be Crown. I do own and use Bryston and PS Audio integrated amps. Sorry for the fans......I've never heard a Crown amp I could listen to for more than a few minutes.
 
Speaking of class D, what would you guys think about IRS2092 +IRFB4227 class D power amplifier? There are monoblocks version on ebay, so I could buy three of them for LCR.

Yes, it's no Krell, and yes, it's Chinese-made, but it claims to go 900 watts at 4 ohm and 1000 watts at 2 ohm. B&W DM302, on the other hand, has pretty difficult impedance curve. So even if the amp only goes half its claims, which is 450 watts at 2 ohm, then I guess it's good enough to drive the DM302s.
 
Kreshna said:
Speaking of class D, what would you guys think about IRS2092 +IRFB4227 class D power amplifier? There are monoblocks version on ebay, so I could buy three of them for LCR.

Yes, it's no Krell, and yes, it's Chinese-made, but it claims to go 900 watts at 4 ohm and 1000 watts at 2 ohm. B&W DM302, on the other hand, has pretty difficult impedance curve. So even if the amp only goes half its claims, which is 450 watts at 2 ohm, then I guess it's good enough to drive the DM302s.
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I'm happily listening to Chi-fi .. and I'm old enough to remember when everything Japanese was "of course, inferior" .. not !!
( And I would love to participate in a challenge that pitted new Chinese tube amps against console pulls )
 
Akustic said:
I'm happily listening to Chi-fi .. and I'm old enough to remember when everything Japanese was "of course, inferior" .. not !!
( And I would love to participate in a challenge that pitted new Chinese tube amps against console pulls )
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Asked for opinions in Dollars & Sense, turned out IRS2092 is not that powerful, so the Ebay listing is probably a scam. :(


richamor said:
I would add the Bryston as well. Second, a touch brighter with the right speakers, would be PS Audio. Third, if you wanted screech, would be Crown. I do own and use Bryston and PS Audio integrated amps. Sorry for the fans......I've never heard a Crown amp I could listen to for more than a few minutes.
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Well what I want is actually organic sound and airy midrange, which B&W DM302s can only produce when driven by transparent sounding amp like Yamaha RX-V663. It's funny, I never understand why warm-sounding amps like Sansui A-40 and Rotel RB-985 make the B&W DM302s sound shouty, while the bright and transparent Yamaha RX-V663 makes them sound so sweet and organic.

How do I know the RX-V663 is bright? How do I know the RB-985 is warm? Well, take a listen to this song, for example. At the minute 1:10, there is a sound of high-frequency shaker or tambourine (right after Antonio Banderas' line "But she won't always answer the phone," and before Madonna's line "Oh but it's sad when a love affair dies).
  1. With Sansui AU-7900 and Yamaha RX-V663, the said sound is pretty loud and easily noticeable. Yes, Sansui AU-7900 is rather bright. The difference is the AU-7900 is airy-bright and non-fatiguing, while Yamaha RX-V663 is analytical-bright and can be fatiguing in the long run.
  2. With Sansui A-40 and Rotel RB-985, I have to squint to notice the sound. And it also conforms what people said about Rotel amps, that they're on the warm side of the neutral.

Just out of curiosity, why do warm-sounding amps make the B&W DM302s sound shouty? And why do bright-sounding amps make them sound so sweet? Does it have anything to do with the speaker's impedance curve?

Mtz1rBc.jpg
 
You may have already websearched the DM302 for reviews and associated gear. Without being able to audition everything yourself, this is about all anyone can do.
 
Akustic said:
I'm happily listening to Chi-fi .. and I'm old enough to remember when everything Japanese was "of course, inferior" .. not !!
( And I would love to participate in a challenge that pitted new Chinese tube amps against console pulls )
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I'm with you on that. All 4 of my systems utilize Chinese amps (darTZeel NHB108B copy, JLH 1969 repro, Quad 405 copy, Oldchen KT88-K3) 3 use Chinese DAC's (Weilang Audio, Elfidelity PCI-E card, S.M.S.L M8), and 2 use Chinese speakers (Aurum Cantus F620 & Oatlon W2-1000F). Two of the the systems are amongst the best I've ever heard and the 3rd is the best computer sound system I've ever heard. My fourth is restricted by the old B&W DM16 speakers though isn't too shabby.

I've managed to not buy a new component for a month now so I'm pretty happy with myself.... Will see if I can extend that to a year. I believe I'm done with system upgrades. I've been mostly buying CD's and funnily enough computer accessories recently.
 
Just out of curiosity, why do warm-sounding amps make the B&W DM302s sound shouty? And why do bright-sounding amps make them sound so sweet? Does it have anything to do with the speaker's impedance curve?

Mtz1rBc.jpg
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You might be over-generalizing..
Maybe it's not all warm or bright sounding amps, just those two amps ...impedance makes sense since it's the amp's load.
In my experience, if you can't tune what's obnoxious out by tweaking the cables, and set-up, then it's time for an experiment with new pieces ..
Personally, I just hope that I can find a piece that doesn't cost a mint !!
 
Yeah B&Ws are too bright for me. Don't know why you'd want a bright amp for them. I'd second the Bryston. I used an Acurus with NHTs---too bright. But that amp was perfect with Mirage bipolars or Ohm Walshes.
 
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