PS Audio BHK 300 mono VS Modwright KWA 150SE mono VS D'agostino Classic stereo

Surely PS Audio is a very serious company, i've read good things about the BHK 300.
How about the BAT VK-655SE anyone ?

The good thing about the D'agostino Classic is that it doubles down all the way to 2 ohms, it's not the case of the other brands.

Thanks unsound, do you think the D'agostino classic amp could drive a pair of CS 7.2's just fine ?

No the 5i's are even more difficult load to drive, i'd prefer the more easier and recent 7.2s.
The problem is that 7.2s are extremely difficult to find now days on the used market but this is no hurry for me as my main speaker is the CS 3.7 anyway.

Well i did audition the Gryphon Antileon Evo but at 35K€ for a stereo amp that's very steep!
I'd prefer staying within the 25k€ range for monos or 16k€ for stereo amp.
I don't want to go the Krell route as i don't find them refined for Thiel speakers.
The Aesthetix Atlas (already auditioned) are in my short list until i demo the Ypsilon Aelius ll in 2 weeks.

Yes my Ypsilon distributor is a very cool guys, he's driving down with the gear to make 2 home demos, one for a guy who wants to try out the Aelius on his Magnepan 20.7 and me on my Thiels CS 3.7
If at the end i decide to go the Ypsilon route i will purchase the full system : Aelius ll + PST-100 MKll.

Well yes since the Ypsilon Aelius ll is in first position in my short list, the distributor has arranged me a home demo on my system with a Nagra Jazz preamp since he still didn't receive his PST-100 MKll linestage yet.
I assume Ypsilon gear being way above Aesthetix gear.
I already auditioned the Hegel H30 which gave very goog results on the CS 3.7
knghifi how did you like the D'agostino classic amp ? does it have a very refined sound presentation ?

Dan's Momentum S250 stereo is outstanding but here in Europe for $12K less i can purchase the Ypsilon Aelius ll monos.
Concerning the Modwright 150 SE i could easily buy 2 of them within my budget.

Peter Breuninger has successfuly driven his YG Sonja and MBL 101 MKll with the first version of the Aelius monos.
The Aelius work in class A up to 60 watts wich is probably enough to drive the CS 3.7
The Aelius ll have had a substential revision with bigger tranformers.
Just to tell you guys, here in France many CS 3.7 owners have used the Sugden IA-4 integrated amp with big success and beautiful sound, only 33 watts in class A.

tom_hankins how did you drive your CS 7.2s ?
I might want to add a pair of 7.2s to my Thiel collection at some point but driving them properly is another thing.

If i was going to go the pure wattage route i would pick the D'agostino classic amp which doubles down all the way to 2 ohms and be done with any load problems.
But since this is not my vision of things i prefer to go quality watts and a lot of refinement.
I know most older Thiels are known to work best with big older Krells and so on but this is not my cup of thea.
The CS 3.7 are not as hard to drive as the 2.4s for exemple and i'm not even talking about the CS 6 and 7.2s.
I'll let you guys know my impressions with the Aelius ll.
I don't know anyone who has tried Ypsilon with Thiel speakers yet so that's going to be interesting.
All i can say for the moment is the best i've heard to date with the CS 3.7 are the Aesthetix Atlas mono Signature + Calypso Eclipse linestage.

emailists i forgot to ask you what preamp are you using with the BHK 300's ?
Is it the BHK Signature preamp ? if so how good is it ?
Thanks.
tomcy6 thanks i did read the Stereophile reviews of the Ypsilon monos and preamp.

Thanks emailists, yes i found the BHK 300's to be very reasonably priced for such nice hybrid monos.
I am also a hybrid believer as i like very much Aesthetix design.
I have to see if i can find a dealer to audition the BHK 300's.
Anyway happy new year to all of you audiophile guys.

A member of the audiocircle forum Phil A is driving his CS 3.7s with a Modwright KWA 150SE and is very happy with the results.
He was using Bryston 14BSST before and found the Modwright much more musical.

mitch2 thanks very much, you gave me some very good technical information here.
The problem is that i'm not going to be able to home audition all of the brands i'm considering, the list is very long :

D'agostino.
Ypsilon.
Aesthetix.
Karan Acoustics.
PS Audio.
BAT.
Modwright.

For the moment i will have the Ypsilon home demo in 2 weeks time.
The distributor is nice enough to organise a home demo for me and another client.

There is one other brand that i forgot in my list : Audionet

Any Audionet Max users around ?
These monoblocks are seriously beefy and could probably drive CS 3.7 and 7.2s with ease and finesse.
Audionet are known to make top notch products, might have the opportunity to audition these in Munich this year.

dlcockrum i'm surprised you're able to drive the most difficult Thiel ever with only 100 watts even if it's doubling.
I'm sure the D'agostino classic would be a perfect match for my CS 3.7 with let's say a VAC or VTL preamp.
But who knows perhaps the Ypsilon Aelius will have enough current and sound beautiful on the 3.7s.

I spoke with a Stockholm Ypsilon dealer and he told me the Aelius sound extremely transparent.
I just hope there is a bit of warmth too for the Thiels.
My distributor will be dropping the Aelius ll and plug them to my system in the morning and we will do the auditions in the afternoon.

No problem Charles.
Let's keep this thread alive and informative.

Tom did you trade in your CS 7.2s for the YG Annats ?
What amp would you recomment to a CS 3.7 - CS 7.2 owner ?
Audionet Max very good ?
Thanks,

Brice

scar972 i've been looking for you to have your opinion on the D'agostino Classic stereo as you're probably the only owner on this forum.
Can it compete with some much bigger boys quality wise ?
What kind of preamp should i consider with this kind of amp if i don't go the hybrid's route ?
I've been looking at the Dartzeel NBH-18NS with phono stage on the SS side or the VAC Signature MKlla with phono stage on the tube side.
Source wise there should be no problem as i'm heading towards the Totaldac d1-Twelve + server (4 box version).

Yes Charles VAC makes some of the finest tube linestage out there.
The only brand that i can think of that could surpass the VACs is Robert Koda but out of reach for most of us.

Well i will have the Nagra Jazz for the home audition of the Ypsilon Aelius ll.

Thanks tom, i will investigate on the Audionet Max and it's matching preamp.

audiolabyrinth is the Tara Labs specialist.

By the way i have decided that i will purchase a pair of Thiel CS 7.2 as soon as i find a pair for sale.
Therefore i have to take this into consideration for my amp selection.
Need an amp that will drive both 3.7s and 7.2s with ease and refinement.
The D'agostino classic amp would be a good starting point for some years until i can upgrade to the Momentum monoblocks.
If by any chance the Ypsilons can handle both of these speakers i would rather go the Ypsilon route.

scar972 very good description of the D'agostino Classic amp thanks very much, it will serve everyone considering this amp.
So with this amp it is wise to consider a good tube preamp like VAC or VTL.

Good observations mitch2, let us know when you can make an audition.
I wonder how the D'agostino classic would do against the Karan KAS 600.

dlcockrum do you think i could drive CS 7.2s with a Classé audio Ten ?
I'm looking for a very affordable solution to drive CS 7.2 momentarily.
I saw a Classé audio Ten for $600.

Thanks Dave for your advice, i will check if i can find a Fifteen or even a DR-25 who knows.
I have another question, do you think i could use my CAP-151 as a preamp with one of these stereo amps or should i sale it and buy a real preamp ?
I know that the CAP-151 can be used as a preamp only but how good is it's preamp section ?

Or should i not buy anything and try to drive the CS 7.2s with the CAP-151 ?

How about the Musical Fidelity A5 integrated ? i've seen one for $1K.

Dave thanks for trying to help me out, i looked on Hifi shark but didn't find any Fifteen or Twenty five for sale.
I will look back from time to time and who know one might pop out 1 day.

Jafant yes since i'm going to the Munich high end this year, i will go check the Audionet Max and it's preamp.

Thanks Dave but being a US unit it's 110V and i need a 220V one for Europe.
Or does it have a switch to change voltage ?

scar972 thanks for your advice, i will obiously start to find the right amp do drive my Thiels properly and then move up the chain.
That's why i'm starting to do these home auditions of amps first.
After the Ypsilon i will try to arrange an audition of the D'agostino classic.

Well guys my home Ypsilon demo date has been pushed to end of february.
But the good thing is that the distributor might have the PST-100 MKll preamp by that time so he should be able to come with the full Ypsilon system.
Keep you guys posted.

Guys i thing i have found my dream monoblocks but i have no idea how to finance them except winning the lotery :

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2016/05/22/high-end-2016-ypsilon-and-the-hyperion/

Hi guys since i find VAC preamps too expensive compared to other very well know brands, i was thinking of the Nagra Classic preamp to go with the d'Agostino Classic amp.
The Nagra is $17K here in Europe compared to the $25K VAC.
What do you guys think ?

jafant don't worry i'm going to the Munich show this year therefore i will meet the Nagra team and audition the gear.

lalitk thanks for your input, yes i do know the Modwright 150SE beeing very good especialy in bridged mode, they could drive most speakers out there.
How would you rate the 36.5DM preamp with the separate power supply ?

lalitk if ever i choose Modwright to build my system i would definitely buy 2 150SE bridged and the LS36.5 with separate power supply.
In terms of sources  i should pick either Totaldac six or twelve depending on budget or one other option in the $10K range which is outstanding is the Audiomat Maestro 3 Reference with streaming option.

Keithr, this combo would surely be awsome with my Thiel CS 3.7s.
I plan on to audition this gear at the Munich show this year.

Guys last saturday i was luckuy enough to attend a CH Precision demo at the only dealer's there is in France.
I was surprises that only 3 people showed up for the demo including me.
It was a full CH system driving a pair of Wilson Sabrinas.
I can tell you guys in over 22 years in the hobby i have never audition to such outstanding solid state gear and i'm not even sure the best tubes out there can surpass that.
Unheard dynamic top to bottom, lightning speed, very high definition without any harshness, smoothness and liquidity.
The bass is absolutely phenomenal, crisp and clean.
The synergy of a full CH system is unmatched at any price.
The system consisted of C1+X1+L1+X1+oneM1.
C1 was had the streaming board.
Total price of this system without speakers and cables around €132K.
This brand is in a completely other league than the gear i have mentioned in this thread.
If you have never heard a full CH system i would recomment that you do even if you will never afford to purchase such gear.
CH is totally upgradable for future technologies.
You will never face obsolescence with CH Precision.
Now all i have to do is find a way to rob a bank lol.

Hey Charles what have you been up to lately ?
Well i would have to try CH gear with my Thiels and see how that goes.
Will there be a sonic match ? it's difficult to say.
Meanwhile i will try Ypsilon on my speakers in 10 days.

Do you think Ypsilon might be too transparent for the already very transparent CS 3.7s ?

Yes that's what i meant too much brightness.
I guess the only way to know is to try out.
One thing that is sure is that the Aelius monos will lack bass slam compared to a CH amp.
The midrange should be a little sweater and magical with the Ypsilons.

Hey guys I'm enjoying Florida weather at the moment, I did my Ypsilon home demo on Feb 25 and it went flawlessly.
The distributor came the night before to plug all the gear in my system and we started the auditions the next day in the afternoon.
My Hegel HD12 DAC ended up being a serious bottleneck with the Ypsilon pre and monoblocks.
Luckily the distributor brought a Playback Designs CD player and an Helixir Audio DAC.
With the PD CD player we really started enjoying the huge potential of an Ypsilon system driving Thiel cs 3.7s.
I can tell you guys that I never heard my speakers sing in the past like that day!!
The midrange was the most magical I've heard to date, I felt like crying at some point.
The bass was very solid with huge articulation, there was a lot of air between instruments.
The soundstage is something I have never experienced in the past on Thiel speakers, holographic and extremely stable.
When we switched for the Helixir DAC it got even better, higher resolution and more relaxed.
If you are looking for an awesome DAC under 10K take a look at the Helixir Audio DAC retail for 7.5k.
To sum it up Ypsilon is phenomenal gear most probably competing with brands like CH Précision for half of the budget.
The Aelius ll monoblocks with only 200w into 8 ohms had a very good grip on my speakers.

Hi Charles how are you doing ?
Yes you were right Ypsilon is beautiful sounding gear.
I don't think the d'Agostino classique amp can reach this level of quality, only the Momentum can at another price tag.

soloist1 thanks for your suggestion but i will most likely be going the Ypsilon route for the amp-preamp part of my system.
I'm still working on the digital part, will attend the Munich show next month and audition CH Precison, Totaldac, Aries Cerat and others.
Cheers!

Brice