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Recommend a new power amp, please...

BillTheCat

BillTheCat

Ack!
Looking for recommendations for an amp of 100-200WPC to replace my current setup.

Present system:
Dahlquist DQ10’s (recapped, mirrored)
Mcintosh C28 Preamp
SAE A202 Power amp

Budget is somewhat limited, I was hoping to keep it at $1500 or less if possible for something along the lines of a Bryston (4b), Krell (KST100), Mac (2205), Threshold or other reasonably ’high end’ amp. Perhaps some day in the future I might trade up to a pair of Logan CLS II’s (or other...) in which case the amp would be powering those, but that’s a long way off for now.

I used to have a Mac 2150 before I owned these speakers, and what it did to my friend’s set of Paradigms was amazing. I can only guess that there would be a dramatic improvement over the present SAE amp which is just ’alright’... it drives the speakers well enough but lacks soundstage. Looking for the next step up.

ETA: What would be most helpful for me is if those of you with experience could comment on the characteristics of the amps - i.e., we all know that some equipment can 'brighter' or 'warmer', some have a more expansive or compressed soundstage - that sort of description would be very interesting.

Thanks in advance for your input.
 
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how can an amp lack soundstage? most amps have good stereo separation. it's how wide dispersion of the speakers are and room acoustics play the biggest role due to comb filtering,peaks and nulls.....
 
BillTheCat said:
Looking for recommendations for an amp of 100-200WPC to replace my current setup.

Present system:
Dahlquist DQ10’s (recapped, mirrored)
Mcintosh C28 Preamp
SAE A202 Power amp

Budget is somewhat limited, I was hoping to keep it at $1500 or less
Click to expand...
For $1500, you could have your pick of most any Mondial stereo amp, plus a preamp.
An Aragon 8008 plus a 24K or 18K preamp could be do-able and a significant step up from your current system.

Even an Acurus A250 and an L10 would be nice.

Lower-powered amps should reduce your cost--an 8002, or an A150 for example.

Of course, all these products are on the edge of needing replacement capacitors.
 
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E-Stat said:
One word - "depth".
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wouldn't that be like a cross-talk issue or something? i know depth perception is basically how low the level is compared to the highest of level in sound. something more quiet will sound farther so only answer i can think of if not type of crosstalk dsp type thing is that an amp with a ''blacker/lower'' noise floor will allow the more quietest of details to come through? just a guess here.
 
Rex Aeterna said:
wouldn't that be like a cross-talk issue or something? i know depth perception is basically how low the level is compared to the highest of level in sound. something more quiet will sound farther so only answer i can think of if not type of crosstalk dsp type thing is that an amp with a ''blacker/lower'' noise floor will allow the more quietest of details to come through? just a guess here.
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I'm pretty sure you're describing dynamic range, but no matter. I'd appreciate it if we could focus on MY questions rather than getting sidetracked on theory, so this thread doesn't run fully off the rails. Thanks!
 
but, it had due with your statement cause one reason you want new amp is cause old one has no soundstage....but, anyhoo...i think your preamp is biggest coupret(can't spell and spell check is retarded).....find something with better stereo separation,discrete,no op-amps and a decent alps step attenuator with very little negative feedback/gain if possible and you'll be good....just saying. i can't make amp suggestions really since i had experience with too many and, a lot of them had similarities more than difference to me. had small and noticeable difference here and there depending on amp but, not too much of a drastic night and day difference to me...if need power, just go with crown and call it a day. big power, clean sound but, if going old iron route like the /micro/macro-techs you better have 20a,30a or 50a circuit around for those inefficient beasts... but, them being discrete dual-mono design i doubt anyone be complaining bout stereo separation/soundstage with them. just saying.......
 
Do yourself a favor and contact Dennis at D-Sonic, order a M3-800S for $1475 and try it for the 30 day trial period. I don't expect you to send it back.
 
Dahlquist speakers are dynamically challenged to begin with, so big power isn't going to help. With your C-28 having a rather warm sound as I remember mine, I would look for a MC 7200. It has great current capability being able to drive complex impedances down to 1 ohm and yet has Power Guard to protect your speakers. If you want an amp with autoformers, I would choose either a 2155, 7150 from the old days . MC 202 might be a great choice, but are hard to find. The current MC152 if you have the coin. A Pair of 301's would move you to the ultimate class, but would be deserving of of one of the latest Pre-amps. Remember most Mac amps put out about 30% more power than rated when the Power Guard activates. 7300's, MC300 and MC 352's would be to much amp. I have seen MC 2255.s and 7300 damage DQ-10's with sustained high levels, so be careful. The Crown amp recommended above is a great pure basic Power amp. I had one for over 10 years in a tri-amped system and it was a fantastic woofer amp pushing 2 ohms. Highs above 6 khz could be a little cold and stark, so I kept it as a woofer amp. Using it from 250 to to 7 khz could be a little brittle if the calibration wasn't right on the mark. It doesn't have Power Guard, but a form of IOC, so don't flash the red lamps. But if want just a touch more ease to the sound with a sweetness in the highs the MC7200 is the one to choose. It won't grab woofers like the Crown , but it is more musical. The 202 is warmer yet, and the MC 152 has just fantastic clarity when used with modern pre-amps either tubed, or SS. Its fast like a 7200, but has more depth and a bigger image with speakers I have heard. Is it as good as my favorite MC 1.2 K, (no) but close, until it runs out of power. 10 db can make quite a difference with speakers that can handle the power.
 
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i would NOT fool around with any amp unless it hits like a hammer such as a hafler 500. i used one with dahlquist dq10s and it was superlative in every way. it had a grip on the voice coils or the dq10s and my Fried Model RIIs like you wouldn't believe and it still delivered the sonic niceties. coupled with a good tubed preamp and you just might have a dream system.
 
The Crown Amp I suggested was JUST recapped, including all 4 power supply caps. I was lucky that the vendor I bought them from matched all 4 so well that the power supply measured better than the crown specs by a substantial margin. The tuning up the rest of the circuit also went better than spec. THIS AMP doesn't sound like a typical Crown PSA2 anymore, which is why I suggested it. I'm using it with a single pair of recapped (Falcon Electronics) KEF 104aB's. I find this combo, while not as complex as the Dahlquists sound far better than ever, and I've used some pretty high end and low distortion amps over the years. The damping factor is very high, and the top end is very smooth and detailed. Early in my initial listening tests I actually thought I was listening to a different amp, but it WAS the crown. You can get one for under $500 around and with $2-300 of recapping etc you'll have an amp you can listen to or weld with!
 
Rex Aeterna said:
wouldn't that be like a cross-talk issue or something? i know depth perception is basically how low the level is compared to the highest of level in sound.
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True depth perception for me involves a more realistic portrayal of the ambient cues of the recorded space. That requires a higher level of upper harmonic transparency.

My Crown XLS-1500, for example, doesn't begin to define the space captured in my better recordings. The VTL amps, by contrast, are able to convey a larger, more natural sounding acoustic.
 
E-Stat said:
True depth perception for me involves a more realistic portrayal of the ambient cues of the recorded space. That requires a higher level of upper harmonic transparency.

My Crown XLS-1500, for example, doesn't begin to define the space captured in my better recordings. The VTL amps, by contrast, are able to convey a larger, more natural sounding acoustic.
Click to expand...

This requires more low level resolution which I believe Rex was alluding to. Benefiting from this attribute in an amp covers the entire spectrum, not just the best recordings. In general, there's a lot more information than we realize on a recording. Your premise is one good yardstick in determining the who's who in amp sq.
 
yup. i know of low level of information on how well an amp can pick up stuff in the quietest of moments hench ''low-level''. i believe depth is most likely perceived this way no matter what part of the image or sound stage it is located. that's how i interpret it... i know we can sense a form of upper-end harmonics above 20khz but, think it depends on speakers,source and person in most cases...but can argue most people wont hear it anyways since most people can't hear up to 20khz in the first place and so on and so on. it's very complicated and annoying a lot of times. that's why i always suggest people to listen if possible but, most of all enjoy it. that's what it for. i mean most of majority of people here are just music lovers and enthusiast so, while appreciate good clean grainy-free/glarey free sound we're no mastering engineers with our career on the line so, not really need to be anal bout tiniest of things unless we want to be by choice of course.


i find speakers and your source the most important then followed by preamp and then finally amplifier....but, that's how it always seemed to be with me on my part. i know other people feel different and feel a different approach to the sequence of order for musical enjoyment though and that is perfectly fine. different strokes for different folks. very simple.
 
I'll throw my uneducated recommndation in here and recommend somethings by classdaudio. I've had a number of amps and this one has been my favorite. But I'll say I've not owned anything "high end."
 
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