Personally I believe that Sim Audio's W-5 is the best bang for the buck in the category you are looking at. John Dunlavy recommends Spectron amps. While one doesn’t read much about Spectron they appear to make an interesting product.If I'm not mistaken, the Cantatas are a lot like the Alethas - right? ...It is my understanding that Dunlavy's in general need a decent size room - one that will allow the speakers to be positioned 8-10+ feet apart. I've also heard that they tend to sound best firing across the width of a room (as opposed to the length). After seeing and reading about these speakers I couldn't wait to audition them. I went to the only dealer in my area (very reputable) and was all set to be impressed. ...Only problem was that while the mids and highs were pleasing I never heard the kind of bass I was expecting - esp. for a speaker with a 10" driver and such a large cabinet. This lack of bass may have been due to poor positioning. The speakers were only recently positioned and they were firing the length of the room. Or it might have been the associated components. Whatever the reason, I came away very unimpressed. And I had really wanted to buy those speakers. Later during the same visit the clerk demoed a set of watt/puppy six's and Krell FPB 350's & top pre/CDP. - Yes, a whole different sound and price range, but this emphasized what was missing from the Dunlavy’s. The system the Alethas were connected to had a Classe CDP, a Krell pre, and a Classe power amp. ...I'm not certain of the interconnects, but the wires were transparent (model?). So, I guess I cannot recommend Classe for these speakers. ...Or, maybe they just need gobs of power!? Strange though, being that they are so efficient. Whatever amp you try, make sure its something with serious current, and definitely re-examine your speaker placement.Let me know if you find the right amp. I’d really like to find out that I had a bad demo. Cheers, Mike
Dunlavy Cantatas What Power Amp?
Upgrading from Adcom 555II. I'm using a complete Dunlavy set up for HT but mostly listen to music. For the best music I'm considering a nice 2ch amp and a matching 3ch amp for center and surrounds vs a 5 ch for all. Thoughts on this? The Adcom makes the Cantatas a little harsh and the bass is not very authoritative. Considering McCormack, Bryston, Classe/Krell (maybe too expensive) others?