Best multi channel amp and processor good for 2 channel listening.

Hi mzk,

I am thankful for your imput and this is exactly why I started this topic.  I am older and not technical at all but really love and appreciate good sound, so please bare with me.  

Originally, I was considering going with a good sounding quality amp maybe the Bryston 9B3 and the Anthem AVM 60, but would still need to add a 2 channel for music.  I’ve read the SP4 is good for 2 channel and considering Bryston’s future upgrades, this was considered.  Any suggestions on a good two channel amp for my Verity’s? I will also look into the Arcam you suggested. 

Any news on Classe? I spoke to one of their only dealer I found in my state and they are being kept in the dark, plus all orders were stopped for now.

To answer your question I am looking in having set up a 7.1 system. 

Thanks again,

Marilyn

Sorry, just realized I misspelled input....

used Oppo 95,105,205 + used  Bryston 9B-ST. use Oppo build in volume control and directly link to Bryston.

Just thinking maybe should have gone with the 205 instead of the 203..

The Bryston Cubed "B3" series is a very fast amp.  Don't get me wrong, It is very high resolution and an excellent performer, but it will sound bright and lean on the bass/midbass if you pair it with a very fast preamp/processor, such as the Anthem.  The Bryston SP3 processor has their fully discrete Class A analog stages and it is very warm and full - I have tested this processor.  It was just too warm/full/slow for my system, but it may work great with the ultra-fast 9B3 amp.  The SP4 processor is just overkill and I don't think you are looking for a 16 channel Dolby Atmos solution.   The new SP4 processor is basically the Storm Audio processor with a "Bryston" faceplate and software.  I don't know if they even have the "Bryston" discrete Class A analog stages developed for this yet.  I think I read that Bryston would upgrade them for free if you bough the processor now.  Timing could be in the next 6 months or so.  Oh, another thing, the new SP4 internal DAC will do everything at 48khz, so the hi-res audio such as 24/96 or 24/192 will automatically be down-converted to 24/48.    This is not a problem with the previous SP3 processor (which is still available as a current product).  The digital architecture between SP3 and SP4 are completely different.

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Other processors that would mate well with the 9B3 amp are Marantz AV8805.  This is a very excellent processor.  It has a very large power supply and it also has a lot of bass/midbass power and slam/excitement.  It is voiced warm, so the high frequencies are slightly rolled off, but it would be an excellent pairing with the 9B3 amp, especially since you are looking for a "warm' type signature.  Another possibility is a McIntosh processor (such as MX122 or MX160).  The SP3 does not have the "rolled off highs" that the Marantz does, but it is a slower responding sound then the Maratnz, so it might still be a good mate with 9B3 amp.  Be aware that the Marantz and/or McIntosh processors will likely also be limited to 48Khz on the internal DAC/DSP, even though you are sending higher sampling rates to the device.

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Just for comparison, the Krell S1000 and S-1500 combination is NOT a warm sounding system.  The Krell devices are very high resolution and fast responding.  They will come across somewhat bright/thin sounding at time, especially since the power supply in their processors are undersized (in my testing and opinion).