2. amps-preamps
  3. 1269982508

Best Match for Dynaudio Contour S3.4?

Amp Budget $2400. Peachtree Nova Preamp/DAC, Ocos II speaker cables, and a short list of amps as follows; Odyssey Stratos Mono Extremes, Spectron Musician III MkII Se, Plinius P8 (modified), Mark Levinson 331.

I loved the sound of the Plinius 9200 paired with the Dyns, but I was not using the preamp section so I sold it. Might be regretting this... But now I am seeing if I can do the same or better for under $2400.

Who has some experience with any of these combinations that could opine here about their preferences and why. I listen to a lot of soft rock and blues mostly (Steely Dan, John Mayer, Buddy Guy, SRV, etc) as well as female vocalists (from Patricia Barber to Joss Stone and Sarah Vaughan). Well recorded jazz is cool, but classical is not my thing.

Thanks!
fredorama
missioncoonery
1,205 posts
 
You shouldnt have to pay more than $2500 for a dead mint one with low hours..I wouldnt spend more than say 2200 and Ive seen them as low as 1800.I would buy from private owner and not a store.Make sure you get the serial number and call Pass in CA and see what service its had and how old it is(remaining warranty),Pass has super great service,as long as the amp is less than 3 years old it is covered under warranty reguardless of how many owners its had or who you bought it from
fredorama OP
50 posts
 
Excellent. I will keep an eye out, MC. Speaking of Pass, there is a Threshold T-400 for sale. Thoughts on this? Reviews are excellent
missioncoonery
1,205 posts
 
IMO,Too old and not on par with the new X series pass amps
fredorama OP
50 posts
 
MC, I know your feeling on mods (haha)... but... this amp was just upgraded by John Soderberg, who is a known guy (worked at Threshold for like 15 years and now does upgrades to Threshold amps). So it got a full overhaul - the full "go nuts" treatment - for $1200 less than two years ago. And it will cost me $500 less than an X150.5 - if I can even find one! And it is Class A (not A/B)

But it weighs 100 lbs and needs its own stand (which the seller will throw in at no cost). And I can pick it up semi-locally. And the guy said he'd take it back in a month if I didn't love it... So I am considering it for all of these reasons.

But I feel like I should just shut up already and make a decision. It's just that I am VERY bummed out that the ARC 100.2 did not do the trick for me. That really pisses me off because I thought I was done finally. So I don't want to go through another round of this...
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