Ayre Monoblocks vs. Linn Klimax Solo 500s

Ayre -- no debate as far as I'm concerned.

They are both good in their own regards, it just depends on what you're looking for. The one thing I hate about the Linn's is the fact that they are using Class D digital switching power supplys. If you start rocking out for an hour or so at a pretty good volume level you will notice the fans in the amps start humming. They are loud and annoying. Otherwise very good. Now the new MX-R's I haven't had a whole lot of time to listen to. However, they took me by surprise. I too personally own Sophia's but I didn't care for the LInn Klimax's in my system. I opted to get the Classe' Delta Cam400's. Those amps drive the Sophia's considerable better than the Linn's and with much more authority I might add.

Hi Matt, I didn't know the Linn's have dedicated fans for the switching power supply. I've always thought this kind of power supply is not generating much heat. The Classé's you've mentioned are far less powerful than the Linn's, but you think they have more authority. Could this be due to the fact that the Classé's have more dynamic limitation than the Linn + the fact that the Linn is much "faster" sounding? It is somewhat contradictory, but psycho-acoustically a less dynamic (and slower) amp can sound more "authoritative" than the less dynamically restricted and faster amp.

Chris

While it is somewhat outside of the scope of this thread, that's a good aural observation Dazzdax. Many people mistake apparent volume for SPL. In many cases, the apparent volume is actually a byproduct of distortion and the listening levels are not nearly as loud as they think. Systems that have extremely wide dynamic range without compression ( BOTH amps AND speakers ) can play VERY loudly without sounding strained. On such systems, one can very easily be listening at levels WAY beyond what they think to be "normal" with very little to no ear fatigue involved. Sean
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Thanks Sean. Sometimes a smaller amp with less Watt's and one that is more dynamically restricted can show more PRaT than a low distortion muscle amp. Also psycho-acoustical phenomenon.
So in certain way PRaT is a byproduct of distortion and dynamic constriction.

Chris