[Huskerbryce]

I recently received a pair of the 750’s.   I was out of town for work so just got them hooked up.   I have had a chance to have several of my audio minded buddies over along with my wife, her wine group friends and my teenage boys all into the man cave for a series of impressions. 

I will start with the system.  I have a home theater room.  It is treated with bass traps, sound absorption panels at first reflection points, diffusers at rear walls and behind front speakers on the front wall. 

Equipment is as follows.  I have a pair of home built statement 2 speakers from holtz/campbell on speakerdesignworks.  I have a wiim pro music streamer.  I run tidal hifi.  It feeds into a Emotiva XMC-2 pre/pro.  I have 5 Dacs from the schitt, cambridge, zen dac blah blah…but use the AKM dac in the emotiva because it offers me ability to bass manage without going from analog to digital and back.  I find that internal dac is quite sufficient and musical.  I have 4 sealed rythmik servo 15” subs in the 4 corners.  Flanking my mains are a pair of GR research open baffle servo dual 12” subs.  For all music I only use the open baffle servos.  For movies and concert videos i turn on all the sealed subs too.

I had the opportunity to audition bryston 7b3 and mc intosh mc 611 amps but chose to spend 6-8k less.  I just disconnected 2 BK reference 2220 amps.  Was running them as a horizontal bi amp.  Hooked up the AVA DVM M750’s.  My first impression was based on a skeptic attitude that it would be that much better.  Man was I proved wrong.  After several minutes, not hours, I noticed that familiar songs were on a different level of energy.  Im not some audiophile guru going to talk about rhythm and pace etc.  I was shocked by how much energy the recordings that I was intimately familiar with had with the 750 amps.  What I had was good until it wasn't.  These new Amps are brand new by 3 hours or less of demo and everyone who has listened is raving about how “pure, clean, powerful, midrange strong, warm, dynamic they are”.  I need more time with them to talk more or answer questions from the forum but its coming for sure as I become more experienced, listened and educated on these Amps.  So far color me very impressed.  More coming as I listen more and have time to really dive in.  So far id say amazing first impression.

[aln]

Got any pictures of your room?  Sounds great!

[Huskerbryce]

Im currently messing with the rearrangement of my subs.  On top of adding the new 750 amps ive also just recently added another GR research open baffle sub.  Moved a couple sealed rythmik subs around to make room and actually took one sub out and combined and built a dual opposed box.  The GR subs sound amazing as musical subs.  I prefer the sealed subs for movies and live music discs.  LOVE these open baffle subs.  Total game changer for my music listening.  But thats another story.  Im about to do another write up on my experience with the DVA M750’s

[Huskerbryce]

The whole room is in flux to make way for the open baffle subs.  Have not yet settled on a configuration.  Room is at a premium. 

[Huskerbryce]

I have had a chance to listen to the DVA M750’s more.   Was never a fan of alleged break in time.  Thought its always kinda bs.  If it doesnt sound good right out of the box then it never will.  That said, I will say that I feel the amplifiers did sound better after about 4 hours of use. They actually had a smell when they arrived. I’m not sure how to describe the smell. I would describe it as new electrical smell. It wasn't bad, just like new car smell.  The smell has subsided. They operate a little above Luke warm to the touch. Compared to other equipment I have I would call them cool operators.  The sound im experiencing is really really good. 
My former amps, BK2220 pair was good.  These are way better.  Beyond what I thought was possible from a $5500 pair.  In my quest to find and afford a new amplifier pair I auditioned a ton of mid expensive amplifiers.  I did the Bryston 7b3, mac MC611, and had a chance to hear a moon audio amp along with a PS audio and recently a luxman. 
Amps are so hard because most of the time its a different room, different speaker, or takes several minutes to swap equipment.   Makes direct instant AB comparison hard.  Memory can be a bitch and biased. 

So onto my impressions so far.  To start I dont listen to only perfectly engineered stuff.  There is so little of it and what little of it there is, I mostly dont like.  I try to find well recorded main stream fun and enjoyable stuff.  I audition with both hifi and lowfi stuff.  So on with the songs….

Boston.  More than a feeling:  my dad has a mac tube amp on a turn table and i am intimately familiar.  Sorry dad but my 750 monos destroy your old tube amp.  The warmth is still there, and the power is off the chain.  Musically it is not even close.  The sustain is crazy good and the mid range is tube like so to speak.  Energy to die for.
P!nk:  time after time from all i know so far live setlist
Crazy good imaging.   Id say my center speaker was on unless i knew it wasnt.  The frets, the plucking of the strings and justin derrico’s fingers hammer on and off the strings is just alive.  Again id say full of energy.
Dire straights.  Both money for nothing and walk of life offered solid dynamics and transition from quiet to loud.  I turned it up to beyond “normal levels” for this and there was no distress or hesitation.  Only kick ass.  Bass was tight, controlled and midrange was awesome. 
Kenny Rogers: gambler.  Quiet but absolutely transparent.  There were no speakers or amplifiers in the way.  Very impressed with depth of the stage.  This song did not impress me with the mac intosh mc611.  My remembrance of the bryston 7b3 was less than great.  Not bad but didnt move me.  Im biased cause I own these 750’s now but damn…cannot find a single fault were they come up short sonically. 
Guns N roses: patience.  Atmosphere is good.  Recording not the best but axels whistle is very airy and believable.  The 750’s have a way to add energy to subtle things that ive not heard before. Ive heard 30,000 pair amps not do this as well. 
Alanis Morissette:  acoustic set of all i really want:  harsh voice doesnt hurt my ears at all.  All the instruments sound firm, real, and integrated.  Sound stage is awesome.  The silence part at 3:18 is reproduced so well with the high speed percussion followed by dead silence.  You get a dynamic percussion roll followed by absolute silence.  Which bings me to silence.
The amps are dead silent even at scary gain levels on the preamp without anything playing.  No hiss at all of any kind at any level.
Sara Bareilles: king of anything (strings version)from the ep.  Sound stage amazing and deep.  You can really hear the large string bass.  The grand piano is lifelike and I feel like im in mew york in a small venue hearing it.  Again energy is off the chart.  I keep wanting to turn it up to beyond normal levels and just jam.
Wanted dabble in some elctronica
Michael jackson: billie jean.  Tight crisp bass.  Non fatiguing highs and fake symbol sounds.  Thumb snaps are very evident and come to life.  Many amps make these snaps of the fingers subtle or almost non existent. Not these amps.  They snap when they snap and are subtle when they are subtle.  Ive never heard the crisp clap sound so clear.
Fleetwood mac: never going back again.  Really really good.  Every fret, every pluck and every finger hammer on or off of the string was heard.  Not a note was past by and the song was full of an energy not heard in my room before.
Eric clapton:  rollin and tumblin.  Fun.  Impactful.  Midrange was very warm and inviting.  No distress in the low end.  Just music. 
Rebecca pidgeon: spanish harlem.  This one is not my typical jam.  But it offers image, depth and airy vocals with a very distinct sound stage.  The 750’s exceeded my expectation here.
Sister hazel:  live accoustic of “shame” off the before the amplifiers album.  Crazy good midrange power.  Average recording turned really good. 
Moving onto bluray disc stuff to see how they perform in a concert setting.

Metallica live with san fran orchestra.   Beyond normal listening levels and no strain only absolute kick ass.  Take your pick of songs.  Doesnt matter.  Every song sounded amazing.
U2 360 from the rose bowl.  Again just awesome.  No problems with making bass sound lifelike here
P!nk funhouse tour.  Any song is great really, but the acoustic of trouble is off the chart good. 

So far without sounding condescending to more expensive amps or companies equipment I feel that I have likely reached the point of diminishing returns on my amplifiers.  If I spent $30,000 I am highly, highly doubtful I would be any happier or hear anything more.  So far these amps are more than I expected

[morganc]

Great write up.  Your descriptions are very similar to what I’m hearing in my system.   I’d love to compare the 750s to the DVA 225s I Have.  I’m also running two dual Servo GR Research with a pair of Spatial X-3s and I’m on the same page as you; Not sure my system can get much better and with the Spatials at 97 dB sensitivity not sure I’d hear much difference with the 750’s but perhaps one day I’ll demo a pair. 

[Huskerbryce]

Great write up.  Your descriptions are very similar to what I’m hearing in my system.   I’d love to compare the 750s to the DVA 225s I Have.  I’m also running two dual Servo GR Research with a pair of Spatial X-3s and I’m on the same page as you; Not sure my system can get much better and with the Spatials at 97 dB sensitivity not sure I’d hear much difference with the 750’s but perhaps one day I’ll demo a pair.

I live in the greater Cincinnati area.  Im happy to host anyone who wants to hear it.  I am really thinking of grabbing a m225 for my center speaker because I do so much multi channel listening.  I am currently still using the BK reference 2220 in a bi amp config for my center and a 5 channel BK reference 7250 for all surrounds. 

The rythmik sealed 15” subs combined with the GR research open baffle subs is just awesome.  I run the open baffles for music.  I find I like that best alone with 2 channel music.
When its live or movie stuff, then have a separate preset to kick in the servo sealed subs.  Low end is more boomy or exasperated in my opinion but sounds like a live concert or a movie theater at that point. 

[Huskerbryce]

I wanted to come back and offer a few more impressions having spent more time with the 750’s and giving them more time to “burn in” so to speak.  Last weekend I spent considerable time doing some critical listening at home.  Immediately following that experience, I had the opportunity to hear some magico m3’s on a platform of electronics in the million dollar range.  Amps were the Octave Jubilee se mono blocks and had a $100,000 dac attached.  I don’t recall which dac.  My point is that I was not wowed, shocked, blown away or in awe of what I was hearing.  Upon getting home I went to my setup and turned on the 750’s.  To my delight, it doesn't matter what I play I am excited, wowed, shocked and blown away what I am hearing.  The demo of the magicos paired with the octave jubilees was great.  What I am hearing at home is just as good or maybe* better.  One song demo involved brothers in arms from Dire Straights. Thunder seemed to come from clouds above.  Well, it did at home on the 750’s also.  Hearing memory is short term for sure but all the nuances I heard at the million dollar demo were easily repeatable at home.  In summary, I am shocked how much clarity, energy, punch, attack and overall soundstage/imaging the 750 can reproduce.  Money well spent.  I think I need to order another one for my center speaker.  Im thoroughly convinced that the Van Alstines will compete with anything at any price.

[surgeonbyday]

Thanks for the review. I was considering these amps myself. Ive been between the Rotel Michi S5 and the MC462. I decided maybe I should spend less. Came across these amps and curious to hear them. Im in the Dayton area and if you're still offering a listen, I would love to take you up on that. I've been in and out of the new Hanson location and they have a wonderful new showroom if you ever make it up to the Dayton.