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Ayre V5X, Sim Moon W5 vs. BC-28.

I have pretty much made my mind to buy a BC-28 next time one comes up on the 'Gon. This based on archives and reviews and I know I can always resell if I am not satisfied. You know, buy and try in your own system. The problem is, this amp has not shown up in some time now on the used market here and in the mean time I have been considering these other fine SS amps.
So, if you have experience with the Sim or the Ayre (or the BC 28 for that matter) will you please share it with me?
Especially if you can compare them to the BC.
My music tastes run mostly to female vocalists in blues jazz and pop/rock veins. I also like to rock to Allman brothers and such at times.
My system is: GMA Europas, Theta Jade and Birdland odeon AG run straight into power section of Nad C370 with Audio Magic cableing.
Thanks, Scott
abbeydog
6 responses Add your response
loudandclear
79 posts
 
You may want to consider the BC26 as well if you are stuck on Blue Circle. I had the BC28 and it was a good amp. It gave the best of tubes and SS (but the worst of both as well). The BC28 definitely was a step above the NAD370 I had a year and a half ago. You may also want to try out the Threshold S5000/e that a soundstage.com reviewer preferred over the Sim W-5.

I now have an H20 Audio S250 and am enjoying it very much with both my Focus Audios and GMA Europas as well as a buddys' B&W Sig805's.
abbeydog OP
70 posts
 
Loudandclear,
Thanks for the response. I am puzzled about your statement that the BC has the worst of both SS and tubes. What would that be?
Thanks, Scott.
loudandclear
79 posts
 
I might have used a bit too strong of words or been generalizing a bit.
The weakness in the BC28 was in the bass (a bit too round versus more controlled), & a slight lack of transperancy. I did not have my Europa's at that point so I could not tell you how the BC28 would work with them. Also, it was fun experimenting with various tubes, but ultimately got frustrating as I was never able to get *everything* just where I wanted. The best tube ended up being the Siemens 6922 Gold Pin from the early 70's. Some of the other tubes were super holographic, but were not real enough.

On another note, the V5 and W5 may have too much gusto for the Europa's. You need to be careful there, as several people have blown there tweeters with too much power. The V3 or W3 may be better candidates.

Good Luck
abbeydog OP
70 posts
 
Loudand-
Thanks for the recap. Good info on tube rolling there. Also I blew two tweeters here with the C370,both in the right speaker. This with 120 watts Nad. I thought it was too little power (clipping) that blows tweeters. First I've heard of too much power being the culprit there. I switched cables and digital front end and no problems since.
Thanks, Scott.
russellrcncom
305 posts
 
I know nothing of theBlue Circle unit. However both the Ayre and the Sim were on my short list (along with the Pass X350, Rowland Model 10, and Plinius SA 250Iv). I ended up with the Ayre (which replaced an older Threshold unit). The Ayre definitely seems to have a lower noise floor than the threshold.

However if I had to do it over again there is one mfr I would add to the list: BEL.
durbin
9 posts
 
Distortion of any kind (clipping, bad source/recording) will cause a voice coil to move in an uneven pattern, which builds up heat, and causes damage. Too much power can also force the coil to move past it's intended range which builds up heat as well. But my guess is the amp wasn't entirely at fault. Moving to a digital source was a good way to cut down distortion, but ultimatly I think the GMA's first order crossover offers very little protection to the coils. Just be careful playing poor quality recordings and keep an eye on the volume and you should be fine regardless of the amp.
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