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For classical music lovers best amp for large orchestral forces?

I recently upgraded my pre to an arc ref 6se. Currently using pas xa25. It's a very good amp but I'm noticing a fair amount of compression when playing large symphonic works. My speakers are Dalis and they are excellent as is the arc.

For smaller forces, chamber, piano and voices the system works beautifully. But if I'm looking for more transparency and a deeper sound stage for symphonies I find sometimes a boxy cramped sound. Looking to spend around 8k or less either tube or solid state. There have been discussions about the xa25 and what's better but they fill up immediately with tangents of philosophical and technical discussions of how one hears. I'm looking for as many possibilities of actual units that I can read about and possibly hear.

Thanks for your ideas.

roxy1927
jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,926 posts
 

i agree that xa25 is unlikely the root cause of the compression, i too am curious which dali’s the op has and what size of room are they playing in...

the xa25, despite its lowish official power rating, has substantial power and headroom -- that said, nelson and crew have many other, much more powerful amps up the line...

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ditusa's avatar
ditusa
2,446 posts
 

@roxy1927,

I would try horizontal BI- AMPING the speakers with an active crossover. It will improve the sound quality from top to bottom immensely. See the article below:

Mike

 

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,465 posts
 

Congratulations on the ARC Ref 6SE. I have one… I love it.

The answer to your question is easy: Audio Reseach Reference 320m. I have an Reference 160m it is simply stunning and so complementary to the 6SE… and the Ref CD9SE… the stuff just works together so well. My next amp will be the Ref 320m.

 

My analog end has a ARC Ref 3 Phonostage… fantastic phono stage.

johnto
1,127 posts
 

Maybe move up the Pass line to a 250.8 that should have plenty of power to handle the music.

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