2. amps-preamps
  3. 1284606968

mid-fi to hi-fi evolution...power questions

current:
vandy 2ce sigs in a treated room. love 'em. might add a sub.
acurus rl-11 preamp. totally under-rated. after a ken ealey massage, a giant killer at just $1k.
cal cl-10
magnum ft-101a
music hall mmf-5 & acurus p10
power has been acurus A250, then Bryston 3B-ST, currently PS Audio 200C

despite the barely mid-fi rep, i liked the acurus power amp with the vandys quite a lot actually. they are fairly inefficient (~85dB/1w/1m), 6ohm, and in a big room...they liked the big power and tamed the harsh reputation a bit.

the 3B was installed with perhaps too high expectations, and was underwhelming. underpowered? i did see the clip indicators a bit too regularly. the 4B would have been a better choice i think.

the current (25 year old!) 200C is also excellent...the best of the bunch. has the low end grunt & control of the acurus, with more refined mid/upper registers...but it's a bit long in the tooth and i worry about its longevity.

but the real truth is, i just have an itch to try something different (power, and possibly pre). budget ~$2k, maybe a touch more. i'm thinking actual (not rated) power at 8ohms of ~200wpc. that's the background...

tightwad (er, 'smart shopper') in me says 'definitely buying used'. auditioning all the varieties of used gear is impossible of course. cosmetics are not so important, but reliability is.

i have a local deal on a conrad johnson pair that is quite intriguing...very clean 17LS pre & MF2500 SS power at ~$3k. is that fair? a steal? it's a bigger fish than i though i was looking to fry, but if it's a give-away, i might bite. beyond that, it's the usual suspects...

given my fondness for the mondial (acurus) sound (really did seem to match well with the vandys), i'm thinking aragon. 8008BB @ ~$1k?

up from there, maybe a krell KSA-150? the age and the heat give me pause however. $1.5k? should i skip the KSA and move on to the FBP? that prototype FBP-200 has my eye...

the rational side of me says '4B-ST is an almost unanimously regarded amp', but given my disappointment with the 3, i'm inclined to look elsewhere, especially at $1.5k. mistake?

what else have i bookmarked? BAT VT-220? belles 150A? threshold s/500? halo a21? so many choices!

what would you add? thx...
dookie1

Showing 1 response by chazzbo

chazzbo
1,007 posts
 
The Krell will send your electric bill up but have greatest bass "grip" if with slightly metallic mids.yeah 4 B ST would be choice.But like Threshold age is consideration so buy checked out.If you don't push them to stupid levels B&O class D is now real value watts per dollar.Check out Wyred.Good overall sound (though some find them "cool") with a slightly soft bass.But they run cool and are a value.To me sources are good and if you like pre that's great because they don't add as much IMHO as have potential to acrew things up.Amp will make difference.Rrog is right about asking them about how much is to much much but since you ran that 3B into clip I don't think you'll run into problems and your more likely to damage a speaker with too little power clipped than too much.I BTW I have owned Bryston 4 BST (great amp rated 225 but benches at 275),sold Krell for 6 years (I have to fix my 300S and flip unless I get a speaker like Vandy Quattro.Those would love my Krell which if I dipped to ohm puts out 2,400 or is 600 at 4 ohm.But I am mid range guy and that's their weakness "etched" and I prefer less clinical sound) and PS 100 Delta which I liked but had a shot of stray DC (most likely) blow my sens horns.Should have kept the tube amp on those.BTW I think that CJ combo might be your ticket.Can you buy and return?It would be a different world.
Chazz

Chazz
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