The McIntosh will give you a slightly mellow sound, the Ampzilla is a powerful and excellent sounding amp and the designer was one of the Audio greats. The First Watt are low powered Class A amps. Never have heard the First Watt, I would go with the Ampzilla, and this is coming from a Mac guy.
First Watt vs McIntosh vs Ampzilla
I'm searching for a power amplifier to pair with a McIntosh c712 preamp and Zu Omen Def speakers.
I want it to be melodic and clear (not mellow and round) and with a good soundstage, capable of filling my big living room (12m x 6m) with powerful party levels sound - not necessarily ear splitting levels.
Nearby I can purchase a First Watt M2, a McIntosh MC7150 or an Ampzilla 2000 (stereo) for a good price.
I cant audition them at home with my system, so besides my personal opinion on the sound at the different shops, what do you have to say regarding these three models? Any of them is better than the others? Better sound? Better reliability?
Any opinions?
I want it to be melodic and clear (not mellow and round) and with a good soundstage, capable of filling my big living room (12m x 6m) with powerful party levels sound - not necessarily ear splitting levels.
Nearby I can purchase a First Watt M2, a McIntosh MC7150 or an Ampzilla 2000 (stereo) for a good price.
I cant audition them at home with my system, so besides my personal opinion on the sound at the different shops, what do you have to say regarding these three models? Any of them is better than the others? Better sound? Better reliability?
Any opinions?
16 responses Add your response
| Post removed |
The M2 has been my only amp for the past 3 years, and paired with my Spendor 1/2s and AI Modulus 3B (or Quicksilver Pre), it is an astonishingly good sounding component. It does everything well, imo, and will reflect accurately what is upstream, whether it be the source or pre, etc. It creates 28W and will rock your Zus, guaranteed. The one caveat is that Nelson Pass specifies its noise w/o signal at 500uv, whereas the other First Watt amps are slightly quieter. The music mine makes, though, outweighs this minor fact, though...it is a keeper. |
I think your Zu Omen Def speaker can easily go with tubes. My tube amp Cayin CS-100A KT88 has about 70watts p/c and is very dynamic and clear with a little bit warmth. With your efficient speakers you will be able to make party. It is not necessary to have 200 or more watts. The quality is more important than the power. |
@migueca At this point I would have to assume that after 5 months that you have chosen one of these amps. My Taste would lean toward the SST Son of Ampzilla 2000 |
Thank you all for the inputs. I had to put this issue on standby for a while and when I got back to it, I followed a different path. Bought a pair of monoblocks from Temple Audio and I'm very happy with the result. Everything I was looking for, I found it in these little boxes. They output 100W in class D and the sound - signal coming from the McIntosh C712 preamp and going to the Zu Omen Def - is fantastic! Clear, powerful, amazing soundstage at a very affordable price. |