Plinius or Mark Levinson for Grand Pianos?

I have heard the ARC often in that they are built and pushed heavly in Minnesota. I do not like them! I own two Plinius SA-102's and ownd the 100's before that. You will be very happy with the upgrade. If you find you need (want) more power you might find a second one later at a good price. Rather than bridged mono blocks I bi-amp in stereo. One amp drives the bass and the other the mid-upper. I started with just one amp and was very happy, but when a friend brought by a second to try...

If you have a chance to audition an Edge M8 do so. It is 175 wpc x 2 and is a wonderful sounding amp. Smooth, detailed amd dynamic. They do come up used on Audiogon for $2500 - $3000 and are worth a look. I personally have an M8 and love it driving Energy Veritas 2.8's.

I am very happy with my Sa102 on my SF Cremonas , no need for more power, no need for 2 sa102, unless Cremona needs less power than Grandpianos, I don't think so.

What is your preamp ?
This is something you must check out first.

I am an ARC fan and I have owned the D-130. When compared to the ARC 100.2, the D-130 sounded lifeless. Either the 100.2 is really really good, or the D-130 is really lackluster. Just my two cents.....

magnepanmike

Well Kops I don't have a preamp at the moment and currently running the amp straight into my XA7ES CD player. Will get a preamp once I get the Plinius SA100MkIII. Yet to sort out that one. My room is pretty huge so I need the power but will soon place my system in a smaller room to eradicate the problem.

At least now I know I'm not the only one who felt that the ARC D130 sounded lifeless. That's good. Now I can expect some improvements in my upgrade. I've nothing against ARC and I do know the 100.2 is a great amp, but I wanted to try something different and furthermore the aesthetics of the Plinius is very appealing to me.