Amp for Dynaudio C4

Ttowntony,

Yes I know I sound arrogant. It's really not my intention. It's just I run a business in which I always have to be direct and to the point. Needless to say it sometimes effects how I communicate in my personal affairs(just ask my poor wife!).

The Simaudio's that I heard at the Stereophile show made my temptations sound like $500 speakers. If I didn't own them I would think they were the worst speakers in the world. Now having said that I have not heard them with other speakers so I don't have a complete opinion on the line.

As far as Krell and Parasound go. Let's just respectfully agree to disagree. I find them cold and analytical. I don't feel that they produce a musical presentation.

As to your last point yes there is truth in what you're saying. The musicians that I know play classical music and/or jazz and tend to have pretty good ears. Now if we're talking about Slash or the guys from Metallica I agree with you. Now don't even get me started on recording engineers. They're never sober enough to know what an instrument sounds like.

Do you feel that Krell and Parasound accurately produce the sound of instruments and are musical? If so why? I don't, but if you do I respect that; however I would like to know your reasoning.

Nrostov,

In regards to Parasound JC1's, I feel they are very neutral, which we can all agree we all want reproducing only what is intended. I had the JC1 in my personal system consisting of the Confidence C1 monitors and Musical Fidelity A5 CDP. I still feel to this day, it's one of the best monitor setups I've heard at any pricerange. A customer came in hot and heavy to buy it, so I sold it off to him. Hey, gotta eat ya know. :-) Not sure what I'm going to go with next. I'll probably go back to floorstanders for a change of pace.

As for Krell, I'm not a huge fan of Krell. However, the Evo's surprised me in a big way. My Temptation setup mated with the Evo 402 brought tears to my eyes. I have not heard a better sounding Temptation setup to this day. But, I'm no musician, so I could have been imagining this. :-)

What amp are you having success with again? Please let me know your thoughts and what made you make the decision. Thx.

Hi Towntony,

Yeah I hate the Krell sound. However I haven't heard the Evo's so I can't comment. If you don't like Krell either and you thought they sounded great then that counts allot.

That's interesting about the Parasound. I don't like their sound either. I have found them to be very hard and brittle. However, again you had that model in your system so I defer to you.

Personally I have a bias for tube equipment. I had a CJ Premier 350 which wasn't perfect but I preferred to the Krells and Parasound that I owned before. The biggest problem with CJ's gear is that it can be a little dull on the top end. Also, it always sounds like it's a little bit behind the beat if you know what I mean. However I think it paints a beautiful picture and is the most tube sounding solid state amp I have heard. Overall I still recommend that amp if that's your price range. I ran them with my C4's and got great results.

Anyway, I have the VTL MB-450's run in triode mode only. They sound awful in tetrode. Tetrode mode introduces way too much distortion for the minor gain you get in dynamics and bass. Otherwise these amps are amazing. Not only are they neutral but they are exciting. The highs sparkle but are never harsh, the mids have that liquid smooth sound that only tubes give you, and there is unbelievable bass. I had a guy over the other day that thought I was using a sub with my system because they had so much bass. They also have great dynamics and transient response. I would take the risk of putting them up against the Krell or Parasound even though I haven't heard them. That's how much I believe in them.

Now I think there are other tube amps out there that are better. If I could afford them I would by the Wavestream's. However at $30,000+ a pair that's probably not going to happen.

Nrostov..now thats a great post..very infomative and useful..thanks

There is not a market for tube or esoteric gear here in Oklahoma. Quite a shame really, but if there is no market, it doesn't make much sense for us to inventory it. Even if it's just for fun. The VTL amp you have in your system is outstanding...I give you that!!!

Interesting.....When running the VTL in Tetrode Mode at what volume level do you start to hear distortion being introduced?

When buying a speaker the caliber of the C4 or Temptation, I do feel one should not rush into an amplifier purchase. Try as many as you can providing you have a vast dealer network at your disposal. This is why I mentioned several solid state amps as this is what I know best. Certainly, a few tube amps are worthy of consideration as well. Not sure I would venture or recommend digital amp designs with the Dyn's, though.