Amp and Preamp for JM Lab Alto Utopias

I love buying things for a song! Looks and specs are impressive. Will they let you audition it in your system?

Probably not. Difficult to do these kinds of things over here, but if I don't like it, they'd probably let me return it. Although I should say that returning it would be quite an ordeal where I live.

This one might work. I see online that the newer Accustic Arts amps were auditioned with Nova Utopia speakers. This is apparently a very clear and transparent amp. I might take the plunge. This one is incredibly cheap for such a massive beast.

If a home audition is not possible maybe you can bring your speakers to the dealer and listen there to the combination for 1-2 days. If this is not possible either than I am sure you can find a better dealer in Seoul.

While I do not have any experience with Accustic Arts, big and good looking equipments which you can not listen but go for cheap does not sound right to me. German products are often very well engineered and the Accustic Arts products might be indeed very good, but there is still the issue of synergy with your Alto. Since Focal Utopia Be speakers are a bit on the cold side you need to make sure your electronics are not on the cold side too. (You can always get another of the Musical Fidelity limited edition amps which while not as impressive looking as the Accustic Arts is also cheap, probably cheaper, and works very well with the Altos.)

Regards,
Paul

Thanks Paul. I will try to at least listen to the amp once before I make a purchase. It was difficult to do at that time as there was only one gentlemen in the shop and moving a 55 kg amp to the listening room would have been difficult for him. Believe me, I won't be transporting my speakers downtown for an examination. It was difficult enough getting them up the second floor of my new house--a four man job!

I'm totally onboard with the issue of synergy. I more than anyone want this purchase to be the right one--it might well be my last one actually. My wife won't tolerate too much more audiophilia nervosa. ;-)

I visited the electronics market today and managed to see a slightly older ASR Emitter used--five years old. It was 12 million won (roughly about 10,500 USD). This one had some cosmetic issues--a few nicks in the front and some mild scratching on the top, probably from having other amplification resting on top of it a the shop. Nothing was hooked up, but the manager promised me that if I called in advance next time, he would set up the equipment for me to hear. he also happens to have a pair of the older Utopia speakers (first series) for the same price. Incredibly cheap for this city, but it's a buyer's market right now. The high end is not doing very well in this economic climate.

I can see that while having an acrylic chassis might help to lower the noise floor and improve the sound, it is very susceptible to scratching and nicking. The power supply boxes were also slightly rusted around the screws. Not the nicest looking Emitter I've seen but having a chance to hear it with the older Utopias should be a real treat. I'm also wondering if it might be worth my while to trade in the Altos for these older Utopias, considering the incredibly low price at the moment. I was impressed with my last experience listening to the Utopias, but I'm probably too attached to the Beryllium tweeters on the Altos.

While I was working my way around the audio shops, I also saw a MF KW 750 used. yet another good option to consider though I'm sure this one is a bit more pricey. Plenty of old Levinson gear lying around as well. I like the detail of the Levinson amps I've heard.

Bill, I find the prices you have quoted extremely high. More than 10.5 k for a KW 750 power amp must be a joke. (Here in europe one will have a hard time selling it for 3-3.5k euros.) IMO the building quality of the MF products decreased over time, i.e. Nu-Vista was better build than the Tri-Vista which in turn was better build than the KWs. You already know that MF products will not survive too many summers. Thus, definitively not a good idea to buy it as your last amp. Moreover, it will be only a side move as your Alto do not really need the extra power (your current integrated has more than enough power for them).

If I were you I with very seriously consider "local" brands, e.g. Luxman, hi-end Marantz and Accuphase. I should say that I found your dealers comments about Accuphase very strange. Compare to MF, Accuphas is really in a different league (the other two brands I have mentioned above are not far behind Accuphase, i.e. are much better than MF).

Regarding the old Utopia speakers (the models without Be tweeters), I have listen only the top of the line Grande Utopia. It was really a marvelous speaker (much better than the Altos). If this is the model for which you would consider to tread you Altos, and 1) you have the space to accommodate them, and 2) the speakers are in good shape, than by all means do it