WHO MAKES THE BEST AMP?

[deacongreg]

smiles, I would say, since you can demo the Mcintosh amps, do so. You will not be sorry you did.

[deacongreg]

smiles, received your message. You are very welcome. Enjoy the shopping experience. Remember, it is supposed to be fun!!

[dwbattle]

I own a Pass Labs X-250 amp. I choose the Pass Labs amp partly because I had not yet decided on which speakers I wanted and Pass Labs amps had a reputation for being able to drive any type of speaker. I eventually got a pair of Dynaudio Contour S5.4 speakers. They seem to be a good match for the Pass Labs amp.

[1coastbluz]

I favor mcintosh 275 and 2102 both have a pair of nht 2.9. The advantage of tubes is when you add a new component you can switch a few tubes not amp or pre, also they sound better especially with analog sources.

[JerryDelColliano]

Have you guys ever listened to Bel Canto?

They sound killer, look killer and aren't too crazy expensive. A real engineering driven company. A real sleeper on the high end.

[deacongreg]

Yes Jerry, I have. I had the pleasure, as you know, to attend the HE2007 show at the Grand Hyatt Hotel here in New york. One of the most satisfying demos (people were nice, new theie equipment) was at Bel Canto. Where they demoed their powerful, yet small ( ala Carver Magnetic Field Amp) amplifiers with Joseph Audio speakers. Very clean, open, and dynamic sound. Smooth, with no edge or harshness. Now, the Joseph Audio speakers surely helped I`m sure. But what really impressed me was their size. Even if you using to mono amps, these Bel Cantos can be placed just about anywhere, shelf, bookcase, excellent WAF factor here.
Also they showed a Bel Canto amp, connected directly to a computer, with a pair of bookshelf Joseph Audio speakers that sounded great. Perfect for a small den, office, or bedroom system where size and dimensions are an issue. Or, just gives you more room for flexibility and placement. To bad they do not make the PL1 universal player anymore!!