Any opinions on Audiomat Amps?

Being a previous owner, I would stay away from anything Audiomat and Equation for the following reasons:

1. The amps are good, but overly pricey - you can do better for much less money.

2. Weak bass.

3. Two weeks from Mutine to answer e-mails, no help whatsoever if you buy your amp used, even if you offer to pay for service.

4. A very confidential and almost non-existent dealer network (most have left or are thinking to leave) , yet the distributor frequently admits to being ''overloaded'' with demand...his reason for not having the time to respond quickly....sure.

5. Try to find anything written on the Equation 25 speaker aside from that lone review....nothing, nada, zip. It's like this is a ghost speaker. If its that good, surely, something else can be found other than the self-congratulatory comments on Mutine's own website.

6. Low resale value. A Sim Audio I-5 sounds much worse, but will sell in a week. An Audiomat?....took me 3 months to sell mine at a ridiculous discount.

In case you need more reasons e-mail me !

I'd agree the Audiomat Arpege has issues with the bass and a treble that tends to roll off, but this thing MAKES MUSIC, which is more than I can say for the majority of solid-state and digital amps I've auditioned in the last few years... The midrange is truly superb and almost makes up for its shortcomings.

Haven't heard the Prelude, but the top dog Opera is in another class altogether: fully class A topology, high-grade parts throughout, superb build quality, with high-quality O/P trannies that represent a large proportion of its admittedly elevated cost. It's BY FAR the best amp I've heard in my system and supremely musical yet accurate.

I've compared it to the likes of:

Pathos new Classic One
Bel Canto eVo2i
DK Designs VS1-1
Cayin 265Ai
Vecteur I-4
Bent TVC / Bryston 3B-SST
Bent TVC / Audio Research 100.2
Bent TVC / Threshold S-5000e
Bent TVC / ICE H20 digital
PSA PCA-2 / HCA-2
Audiomat Arpege Reference

The Audiomat gear alone made MUSIC in my system.

I posted a thread asking "what power cord for the prelude"
The only reponse I got was from the individual that reveiwed the Arpege for soundstage a while back...In his words:

I reviewed the Arpege for SoundStage! and later sold the Audiomat line in my part-time shop. The Prelude is my favorite amp of the lot. As far as power cords go, I really liked the Custom Power Cord Company Top Gun HCFi. I thought there was excellent synergy between the Audiomat and the HCFi. I haven't heard the Elrod with them though

I have not had any problem with week bass on the Prelude
The Arpege is another story

F1a, MOST quality tube amps make better music than MOST solid state or digital amps, so this is no real special credit to the Arpege. Audiomats are fine amps. I just think you can do better for the price, and MUCH better in the peace of mind department as far as service from the importer or dealer (remember,most Audiomat dealers don't keep the line for too long).

You mention that the Prelude and Opera beats the Pathos, well, I hope so at over twice the price ! I think this says more about the Pathos than it says about the Audiomat...Consider the low resale value for such high-priced equipment and the Audiomat just isn't a good deal. However, if you are sure to keep the gear for the long haul,(right) resale value is not an issue.

I had the Arpege for three years. Worked great always. NOS Mullards on the input tubes brought out killer mid range. Lows and highs were OK. Sold the amp for what I paid for it in a week. Only sold it to upgrade to VAC and Audio Research seperates. I am a satisfied customer.