I have an Octave V70SE w/black box on my C1's and love the set up. Previously I had a Krell 400xi with Contour S3.4s and then upgraded to C1's. The Krell was a great value and it was good sound but the Octave is much better, as its price dictates.
New Amp for Dynaudio Contour S 1.4 Speakers
I currently have an Ayre AX-7e driving a pair of Contour S 1.4's. Musical tastes are mostly acoustic (Punch Bros, Waybacks, Union Station, Ry Cooder) but I also listen to rock (Clapton, Knopfler, John Hiatt). All sources are digital (CD/SACD or HI-REZ 24/96) no analog. I will be temporarly using my Benchmark DAC 1 USB as my preamp and want to buy a power amp. At some point down the road I also plan to replace the Contours with Dyn C1's.
The amps I'm looking at and at some point in the last few months of research have convinced myself that I should buy are the Bryston 3BSST2, Ayre V-5xe, Channel Islands D200MKII, and the Modwright KWA 100 SE. I am also intrigued by Rogue's new hybrid tube/class D Hydra.
I would like a little more bass extension and grip than my AX-7e has, but most important to me is transparancy and reproducing the natural timbre of acoustic instruments. It would help if it also rocked when asked. I am 350 miles from the nearest audio dealer and it would take a week (that I don't have) to travel around and listen to these amps. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
The amps I'm looking at and at some point in the last few months of research have convinced myself that I should buy are the Bryston 3BSST2, Ayre V-5xe, Channel Islands D200MKII, and the Modwright KWA 100 SE. I am also intrigued by Rogue's new hybrid tube/class D Hydra.
I would like a little more bass extension and grip than my AX-7e has, but most important to me is transparancy and reproducing the natural timbre of acoustic instruments. It would help if it also rocked when asked. I am 350 miles from the nearest audio dealer and it would take a week (that I don't have) to travel around and listen to these amps. Any input would be greatly appreciated.