Which 300b amplifier for Devore O/96


I am looking to upgrade (and simultaneously downsize) from Coincident Frankenstein Mk2 300b SET monoblock amps to one of these stereo amplifiers.

These are the four candidates so far: Nagra 300p, Luxman MQ-300, Wavac EC-300B, Air Tight ATM-300R, Shindo Cortese 300b

My preamp/dac is Bricasti M12 and my speakers are Devore O/96.

I am not looking nor interested in any other 300b amps at this point.

If anyone has compared one or more of these amps (esp on an Orangutan) do chime in.

Where I live I can probably demo the Nagra and the Air Tight but nothing else.

Thoughts?
essrand

Showing 1 response by clandis703

I was in the amp shootout mentioned earlier by jsautter and I also built the Audio Note Kit 300b interstage amps used in the comparison - I wanted them to win! In fact, prior to the shootout, the Devore's sounded terrific with the Audio Note amplifiers and I was quite confident they would win.

I'm not technically savvy like many on the forum, but from just a listeners perspective, with the Devore O96's, the Atma-spheres are magic, even against some very strong competition including the Audio Note's and the Vac. They were detailed yet smooth, and the bass response was amazing but not muddy. 

It's tough sometimes to know how certain combinations will sound. Most of the time you have to guess. I'm sure there are other amps, some worse some better with the Devore's. But I know the Atma-sphere's are a great match and not something a Devore owner would regret.