Power Amp..opinions please

sweet review mamboni. what's cool is wyred is right up hwy 101 from me, neighboring town of paso robles.

Milpai i didn't answer your question in full. sensitivity can be an issue if your amp/speaker combo needs the juice. with lower sensitivity speakers and the passive pre you could find the volume doesn't go high enough. impedance, however, is also an issue, the higher input on the amp side the better, which was my concern with the nuforce at 47k ohm. Nicholas at Promitheus assured me through email that his product would work well with my Nuforce.

Hi Milpai, I was not suggesting a new Bel Canto Ref 1000 Mk.2 at $6K. . . rather, there are a couple of Mk.1s on Audiogon for approximately $2K. Given the times, you might be able to negotiate the final price down a few $$s. The original Mk.1 has most of the sonic characteristics of the Mk.2. . . and some people prefer Mk.1 over Mk.2.. Guido

Mamboni,
I am glad that the Wyred 4Sound delivers the sound that you want. What other Class AB did you use earlier before you settled with Wyred? In my system I have never heard a stand alone power amp. So I can only "imagine" the "ultraclean, dead quiet phase distortion, zero audible distortion" when compared to my NAD. One thing that got me looking for a separate power amp was I need to set the volume control on TVC to position 12 (from 1-24 available) for a decent sound in my 12X14 listening room. Though I love the sound I think a more powerful amp can eleveate the sound to a higher level - I believe.

Tholt,
My Quads have sensitivity of 88dB and a nominal impedance of 6Ohms. So this seems to be a speaker with low sensitivity and I would need more power than what I currently have for better dynamics at lower volumes. I almost decided to buy the Marantz SM-11S1 on Audiogon that is available. But found that it's low sensitivity (2V) would not match my TVC and the input impedance was alo on lower side (22kOhms). I see the spec on Wyred site that the SX-1000 has an even lower sensitivity (> 2.5V) but the input impedance is high at >64kOhms. So I am looking for other amps as well - like the Parasound A21. The sensitivity of this amp is 1V and it has a high input impedance. Besides, it has a high power ratings and that would mean very good dynamics at lower volume. I also want to check on other SS amps with higher sensitivity and input impedance. I will have to rely on the published specs and experience of users on the forum.

Thanks,

I've owned several Rotel amps, B&K and Classe amps of mid 1990s mintage, and SUMO Polaris and Andromeda II. Of these, I thought the Andromeda II (240W into 8 ohms; 400W into 4 ohms; 80 Amps peak)best, having a warmish sound for SS and a sweet top though the bottom end was a bit soft and ill-defined. The Wyred4Sound amp sounds very similar to the Sumo, but the bottom end is now completely fleshed out and solid and defined. I hear subsonic info that was barely discernable before. The top end is sweet like the Sumo but is more pure and detailed. I am driving Ohm Walsh 5 (Mk III) which have a moderate 87 SPL and like a lot of current. The Wyred4Sound ST-1000 is the first amp to truly push the Walshs to their full measure of output, and then some!

Mamboni,
Thanks for your inputs. I like the warm sound of the NADs and I am looking for amps which will retain that character. To give you an example - when I was auditioning integrated amps 4 years back, I found the NAD to be warm while the Rotels were cold (not in a offensive way) and too forward for my taste. The Rotels had an "in the face" presentation while the NADs had a laid back presentation.
I was initially drawn to the power ratings of the Wyred4sound SX-1000, as the Quads like some more power than what they get now. But looks like it's input sensitivity is a bit high - greater than 2.5V which might prove to be a mismatch for my (passive preamp) TVC. What preamp do you have in your system?