Gamut D200 vs Plinius SA102 class a vs. ab


The upgrade bug is chompin' on me!

I have the Plinius P8 and had the SA201 (missin' it!). The Dynaudio Confidence C1's I now have are more efficient than my of Contour 2.8's and it has my mind a-wanderin' and wonderin'.

The SA10x series amps have enough power for me now....has any compared these amps in class ab vs. the P8? I can't use the class a option very often because of heat issues.....

How about vs. the Gamut D200? I know it has the same amount of power as the P8, but it has always held my curiosity and I like what I read about it.

Thanks for your insights.

The rest of my system has been updated here on agon.
budburma
I have heard both the Gamut and the Plinius - I think into B&W 802 but can't say for sure (May have been 800's, just can't remember) and the Plinius sounded brighter, edgier. I actually thought it was harsh on CD with the Gamut being much smoother. The Gamut sounded great (it was my first time hearing a Gamut amp). Sources was a Brinkman TT and a Gamut CD player - that I remember cause it was the first time I had heard those as well and both impressed the heck out of me. Preamp was also a Gamut so that, I'm sure, was a factor.

Rembering back, the Brinkman/Gamut combo was pretty spectacular.
Hello,
Gamut is fantastic amplifier. One weakness is shy bass in some speakers. From that point of view Plinius SA-102 is better.

Neil Gader from The Absolute Sound (January 2008, Issue 178, p.104) compared much better Plinius 301 with Spectron Musician amp and found that both sounds about the same. Now, Spectron introduced Mk2, a few weeks ago, which is way better then Mk1 so if you like the sound of Plinius SA102 or Gamut you must investigate Spectron - tube amp with balls of class A solid state !

I, personally, prefer Spectron to even Plinius-Reference - but I am not a TAS reviewer

All The Best
Rafael
Hi Bud,
Excuse me for butting into your thread, but would you mind telling us a little about the differences you noted between the P8 and the SA-201? Big difference in cost.

Thanks.
Tom