Class A or AB amp for JBL S4700 speakers


Which should I go for and why? Brands I'm looking at are Accuphase, Pass Labs, and maybe McIntosh.
dave_72
I have trouble believing that dealers won't let you take home high end equipment to audition in your system. If it is in the shop it is demonstration equipment anyway. They take your credit card information and only charge to it if you don't return it. Many dealers do this. The ones that don't should be avoided. One cannot make an educated evaluation without it being in their own home system. Especially at the very high prices this stuff cost. Worst case scenario, listening to it in the store, buying it on that alone, taking it home, and it sounds not very good. you are then stuck. Would you buy a car sight unseen and without a test drive? I can understand this if the dealer is several hundreds of miles away. But, maybe a quick conversation with the manufacturers can help in obtaining demonstration pieces to audition.

enjoy
Thanks, Peter, that doesn't look too bad.

MinorI: Exactly right on everything you wrote. But, more often than not the units you want to try aren't even in their stores! A lot of this stuff, the really good and expensive stuff, is special order these days.
Dave_72 --

Though it may not look like much on paper(watt-wise), the Class A poweramp Belles SA-30 is something to sonically behold, and a relative bargain:

http://www.powermodules.com/sa-30.html

Its sound to my ears is "characterized" as extremely coherent, dynamic, resolved, free-flowing(liquid), organic, and with a very natural tone. Don't mind the very conservative 30 watt specs - it sounds anything but, if watts are anything to go by. The S-4700's are fairly efficient, and the way I remember their sound I believe the SA-30 will bring them to life in sparkling fashion.