Looking for ideas - new mono blocks for stereo music
But yes, Classe would have been taking a risk but less so now that they belong to Sound United. https://hometheaterreview.com/what-really-happened-with-classe-audio/ It would be nice if production even moved from China to Japan. |
I say your current amps ’could’ totally surprise you with a few tweaks. (I use a Bryston 4B-SST² amp witn my Magnepan 20.7)First get a Furutech or Oyaide top of the line duplex the Brystons power cords are plugged into. then get a pair of AQ Hurricane powercords. If your amps are not set to high gain. flip the switch to high. Using XLR or not. High gain is the ticket. Then the IC to the Brystons. How good are yours? I would suggest something around $900m/pair or better. (I use a $3,200 7meter long pair of Kimber KA1116 XLR to my Bryston.)After you try some of this, you will know you don’t NEED better amps, you already have them. I was going to upgrade my amp when I bought the Magnepan 20.7s.. My dealer said you don’t need a better amp. And turned me on the the Marantz SA-10 SACD/DAC I bought instead of new amp. My dealer was right. Bryston is always given a short stick on sound it does not deserve in the ’squared’ models.Work on a few upgrade to them in the power and be surprised.And if you STILL want new amps. look at PS Audio top of the line monoblocks too. I also am in an apartment. Have to watch my bass... The Magenpans help with that. The Maggie bass just does not hit the wall the same as a cone speaker. |
By a good margin, the most transparent and open sounding amp I’ve had in my system was the Liberty B2B-100 made by Peter Noerbeck of PBN (my amp is a McCormack DNA 0.5 Rev. A). Liberty is his direct-to-consumer brand that benefits greatly from trickle down technology from his lauded Olympia amps yet are at a much more accesible price. This amp threw the most holographic and airy soundstage I’ve ever heard, which was likely aided by what seemed like a complete absence of background noise -- everything just appeared to be floating freely in completely clear, thin air. One of the really nice features of this amp is that it can be run in low- or high-bias mode. It sounds great in low bias but even better and more fluid in high bias, and although it runs a little hotter in that mode it’s still not hot like a pure Class-A amp. I left it in low bias when not listening and flipped the switch for critical listening so the amp was always warmed up and ready to play. Peter told me the amp sounds significantly better in mono-block form, which is saying something because this amp in stereo was quite special, and even in mono configuration the amps would only cost $6k for the pair. I’d bet Peter would grant you some form of a trial period if you asked, and given what you’re looking for I’d be shocked if you ended up sending them back. His amps are a well-kept secret in this hobby, unfortunately. Best of luck in whatever you end up getting. |
@elizabeth those are some good suggestions - thank you. Especially the high gain idea is something I didn't even think of. And also the easiest to test :) The duplex the Brystons are hooked up to is the Furutech FP-15A-N1 (R) while the power cords are GutWire G Clef 2. The ICs are Nordost Blue Heaven XLR. So yes, there is some potential for upgrades but I don't really want to spend more on cables (also keeping in mind the state of the Canadian dollar) than what the amps are worth at this stage. |
Consider if you do go for better cabling. You are talking about buying a $20,000 pair of amps.. If you did got big on cables, Think of it as being ready for that amp upgrade down the road. If you have your amps set to low gain, get ready for a shock when you set them to high. It REALLY sound better ... Sure you lose a little volume knob. but WHO CARES!! PS:how long are your preamp to amp cables? |
