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