Nagra VPA or ARC VTM200

i have similarly efficient speakers that i drive with a pair of nagra vpa's. i've owned numerous amps but none as magical as these. i can't imagine replacing them but i've not had the big arc in my system. the vpa's, of course, will mate perfectly with your pl-p. be forwarned, tho; the msrp on the nagra's has just risen to $23k.

Cornfedboy, thank you for taking some of your time to respond and sharing your valuable experience. In your opionion is 50 watts enough with the VPA? That is the key issue holding me back.

yes. 50 watts are plenty. the vpa's have tons of current. mine have never come close to "hitting the pins" on the output meters, let alone clipping, even when the speakers (ae-3 sig. II's) are driven at spl's near the point of pain. and the sound remains coherent, even replicating a live performance, a room or two away.

i had a pair of arc classic 150 monos for quite a few years before getting a pair of vpa. 50 watts is not an issue as they seem to have as much as the classic 150 monos, they are vastly superior in every way mine are driving apogee stages with ease, replacing jm lab mezzos. What has just made a worthwile improvement was using a shunyata hydra 2 with audience powerchord. the vpa are special and may be the last you buy.

Hi Jjwa. I'm another happy VPA user and suspect they would work very well with your speakers. When I had doubts about their ability to drive the Wilson Sophias, I emailed Wilson. Jerron Marchant hooked up their house VPA's and got back to me with a positive report. Contact Verity about this as they often show with Nagra and likely have direct experience with this pairing. By the way, the DCC2 drives the VPA's wonderfully.

Thanks Kleech. BTW what a gorgeous system you have!

Hello,

I too had a pair of ARC Classic 150s for a short period. I have since learned that the 150w of the CL150s is not at all the same as the 150w on my CAT JL-3 Signature amps. Whereas the CL150s peaked out easily with the Magnepan 3.5s, the JL-3s drove these speakers with ease. And after seeing the transformers in the ARC amps vs. those in the CAT amps, I can see why! I would be surprised if the output transformers in the VTM200 are much different than those in the VT200 or VT100 for that matter.

So don't be too concerned with a power rating, especially with high efficiency speakers like the ones you own. I suspect from reading Cornfedboy's comments on the Nagra, with their current capability, these would be worth your investigation since you already own the PL-L.

John

JAFOX what helpful info. Thanks so much for insight.