Sumo Polaris 310 Current

Hey Aaron

One person who would know is Mike Bettinger. He really knows SUMO and GAS amps really really well. He rebuilt my Sumo Nine and some older audio enthusiasts were impressed with how it sounded in a older B&W and Dalquist set-up.

Mike has a website GASAudio.net. He is also very approachable whenever I've contacted him.

Good luck. For me I would think the Sumo Andromeda II would handle the Maggies with ease.

You may want to look into early Audio Research solid state amplifiers like the D-100B and D-120. These amplifiers were designed for Maggies and you can pick one up for a reasonable price.

Harman/Kardon amps like the Signature 2.0 have very high current ratings and can be had for $300-500...

-RW-

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. As always, very helpful!

As to the HK Sig, wouldnt they have a similar sound to the Citation 5.1/7.1? I ask because I already have those amps. You're right that they have plenty of current, but the Citations can be a tad bright for driving the top end, so I am trying a few different amps. So far I have picked up an Acurus A250, a low end Rotel, a B&K 4430, a Parasound 1500, and an NAD 2600. I've also got an Adcom 5400 and a Hafler DH220, but these need some TLC.

I expect the Acurus to be bright as well, but powerful. The Rotel is really for my other zones as it isn't very powerful, but I am hoping I can use it to also get a feel for the Rotel sound without buying another amp. The B&K I am hoping will be warm, but will I Ike it? The parasound, I have no idea. And the NAD I fear will lack power except for short bursts; I m unsure about it's sound either. I need to have the Adcom and Hafler repaired, but when I do I think both will be underpowered as well, but I look forward to hearing them.

So that leaves some other potential contenders: I want to get a Sumo, a Classe (the CA-200 is highest on my list), and maybe one other like Musial Fidelity (?). There are many I have ruled out, such as Bryston. Anything over $500/channel is out. I will need 2-4 channels and I cannot afford $1-2k at the moment. As it is the money ie put into the amps is temporary as the losers will mostly be sold to recoup the money and put back into the household budget--so permanently locking that money into something like the Bryston, which could pass $1k/ channel is just not going to happen. There are a few on the cusp I will consider, like McCormack.

In re: to Audio Research, I am completely unfamiliar with them. Do they have a 'sound?'. This could be another good contender.

Jedinite--thanks for the feedback. That sounds like they could give me the info I am lookin' for. I'm surprised more amps don't supply this information . Otoh, I suppose if that spec isn't very good it would make sense why it would be omitted.

I concur with Jedinite 24. James Bongiorno's designs are top notch. Mike has rebuilt my G.A.S. Grandson and G.A.S. 500 and they are superb; will go toe to toe with anything, even to today's standards. Bottomless bass, great damping factor huge dynamic headroom, very fast top end, stable to 2ohms. Sumo was James' next venture after G.A.S., very highly regarded, especially the Nine.