Rich; organic true balanced amp w good detail $6k
I owned a VAC Phi 110/110 which was outstanding with Von Schweikert VR Gen III HSE loudspeakers. Also look into the Bella Extreme 100 monoblocks. I haven't heard them, but again they have received some nice comments from owners and at least one reviewer. |
Haven't we established that the Belles and Lamm amps are balanced, or are you discussing fully differentially balanced versus non-differentially balanced? Also, it has not been established whether Belles or Lamm monoblocks are differentially balanced or not. I'm under the assumption that we are talking fully differential amplifiers, as the OP's first requirement was "fully balanced architecture", which I took as fully differential, not just balanced inputs. AFAIK, Belles and Lamm are not fully differential. The Belles MB-01 does run in Class A bias, which is what Sutts was looking for in SS, but in the Belles literature it only says that the MB-01 accepts fully balanced inputs, this does not mean that the amp itself is fully balanced. Again, I know that fully balanced does not necessarily mean it will sound better, however, I do understand that if you are running a fully balanced system, it doesn't matter if you break the chain. A fully balanced source and amp won't run fully balanced with a single-ended preamp. Similarly, a fully balanced source and preamp will not deliver a fully balanced signal through a single ended amp. There are many designs out there that have balanced inputs and outputs that are not fully differential designs. I guess it just comes down to is it a requirement for Sutts, or just a plus. For me, balanced is a requirement, for now. Just as if I go single ended in the future, buying a fully differential design would not be cost effective. Since it does cost more to do a fully differential design well, it would add no benefit if the other components are single ended. Just my $0.02. Cheers, John |
Sutts has not mentioned (unless I overlooked it) if his source is fully differentially balanced, so the point may be moot. I use a fully balanced source (turntable) and an unbalanced source (CD player), which pass their signals through a fully balanced preamp. Both sources sound excellent, or not so excellent, depending on the recording. I do know that those who have heard the Belles amps in their single ended stereo versions and in their balanced monoblock versions universally report that they are more resolving and produce a larger image when run as balanced monoblocks. This would seem to be in keeping with a lower noise floor inherent with balanced operation. I wonder if the discussion about balanced versus fully differentially balanced is more rhetorical than practical? For the purposes of this discussion as it relates to Belles and Lamm, I suppose it'd be valuable to determine which definition of balanced applies to their amplifiers. ...and whether it truly matters to Sutts. |
Sutts, if you have the opportunity to audition some Ayre amps, listen to whatever the dealer has on hand. I think you will find they are ALL excellent. The $$$ MX-R monoblocks are incredible but out of most people's price range. The stereo amps V5xe and V1xe are great performers as well. Hopefully you can audition them with your preamp or best of all at home in your system. I have never heard a speaker that didn't sound great with Ayre--but I have only heard what my dealer sells, Thiel, Vienna Acoustics, Linn, and Maggie. |
I suppose it would be up to Sutts. As for me, I could very easily live with the Lamms, they are fabulous amps indeed. I could not say this about Belles though. I had a friend lend me his Belles 350A for a few weeks, a couple of years ago. Very clean and articulate, but rather thin and edgy sounding to me. My friend agreed and sold the amp about a month after I returned it to him. Maybe the newer Belles gear is better, and worth another listen. I wouldn't buy one, but would certainly audition one again if possible. It's funny how we all listen to the same gear, but have different impressions. As Sarah (Sc53) mentions that Ayre has a gorgeous tube-like sound to her. I've heard Ayre equipment on several occasions (not the MR-X's though). I do agree with her assessment that they have lots of power on the low end, and would even add that they are dynamic, extended and transparent. However, never once when listening to Ayre gear did I ever think 'tube-like' sound....at all. It's all about system synergy and personal tastes I suppose.....in which case, you're on your own Sutts....sorry. Cheers, John |
