2. amps-preamps
  3. 170131-98013

Recommendation for a highly resolving amp

I have Don Sachs 2 tube preamp driving Pass Labs X350.5 driving Sound Lab M545 ESL speakers. I like the sound very much, but when I went to hear my friend’s Spectral system (driving Quad2912 ESL) I realized my system can benefit from having a higher resolution amp. Spectral amps need all Spectral preamp/cabling, which would be quite expensive. What would you recommend?
128x128chungjh
chungjh's avatar
chungjh OP
265 posts
 
I will certainly consider the room treatment. Mean while, I want to go back to the amp question.

@yyzsantabarbara, are you talking about Simaudio 860 or V2? How do they compare with W8?
hshifi
572 posts
 
Hello,
I am going to suggest Ayre VX-5 or VX-R/ MX-R mono blocks. This starts at $10k and goes to $32k retail. Ayre is all about resolving sound and great detail without sounding harsh. I have tested the VX-5 with several preamps from $1k to $14k. It made them all sound great. 
vdotman's avatar
vdotman
132 posts
 
Listen to the Bel Canto E1x
edilita
15 posts
 
You should have brought your Don Sachs’ preamp to your friend’s house and tried it into his system just for fun.
I have Roy Mottram’s SP 14 preamp with NOS tubes driving a PS Audio S300 amp. Source is a Marantz Model 30 SACD and a Blue Sound Node 2i.
Don Sach’s preamp is a modified SP14, if I may say so.
Great Sound.
jdjohn's avatar
jdjohn
33 posts
 
Another vote for the Benchmark AHB2.  They have a free 30-day trial.  BUT, it only accepts XLR/balanced inputs.  Not sure if your Don Sachs has that modification for outputs, or else you'd need adapters.
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