Bel Canto EVO 200.2

the tripath unit itself is low cost yes, but it is only a "stock" version. bel canto has modified it (read: voiced) to their own specs. also the difference in sound between the audiosource and the evo are night and day. the audiosource is no slouch for its price range but in no way competes with the evo regardless of similar parts. as most know, parts are only a part of the package, its the package as a whole that comes with the price. and you will see that the evos price isn't that far off the mark for a retail company (overhead, R&D, advertising, etc.) btw, the tripath chip itself runs about $100 so if you believe that audiosource could sell something for $3-400 you better check what else is running underneath the hood or else they are making zero profit or running at a loss and that is what put them under

will this thing run electrostatics (MLSL3 to be specific)?

the first time I auditioned the EVo it sounded good. the second time the dealer had gotten the matching Bel Canto Pre-1 preamp, great cables, and put a DAC on the player. My god what clarity and sound! Dead quiet background. I ultimately bought one, but got a First Sound Presence tube pre-amp to breath a touch of life into mid-range without adding tube haze noise (to my ears it was a tad lean on acoustic material without a touch of tube, now its stellar). I'm saving up for a DAC and silver cables. The EVo is powering a pair of Talon Audio Khite monitors which I run with the ROC powered sub. What an great match up.

I have had the EVO in my system several times for several days at a time. It is a good amp but has a dryness in the midrange and can get congested in complex passages. I ended up getting a Marsh amp and prefer it over the EVO.

sws, i agree with your statement that the midrange may be a bit dry, but the reason for that is its inherent low noise floor that we are not accustomed to, it gives the illusion of a dryness in the midband. although the evo may be system specific i have a very lush midrange and do not experience the dryness that you speak of. the funny thing is that many people compare the sound of evo to tube amps in which tubes=lush midrange. as for the congestion part, well that i'm going to have to disagree with completely, in fact the congestion argument in general i think is flawed. most amps, unless they are clipping, will not have any problem with complex passages. the main problem that hinders "complexity" in systems is the recording. you have to figure that not every instrument has its own microphone and therefore some instruments may smear with others in the area especially in loud passages where many varying instruments are competing for the same airspace at the same time. not saying that the marsh isn't better in your system or in all systems, i was just replying to your comments with my personal experience with the evo.