[SteveInMinn]

Hello Frank, Mary, Dan, and everyone.

I recently purchased a pair of M225s pre-owned by someone in Texas who bought them new, and I'm very happy with my purchase. I live probably a dozen miles from Frank and Mary, so in some ways the amps have come home.

The M225s replace a pair of Schiit Vidars I ran in mono. If you're familiar with the Vidars, you know that an XLR connection is required to run them in mono, so the M225s slid into their place in about three minutes.  I'm extremely happy with the sound. The details across the spectrum easily surpass the Schiit gear. I listen to a really broad range of music, including choral music, which can be difficult on amps. The M225s handle my most difficult choral tracks with ease.

I'm running Lumin U2 Mini --> Gustard X18 DDC --> Denafrips Pontus II --> Benchmark HPA4 --> Van Alstine M225 --> Harbeth P3ESR in that setup.

Anyway, just thought I'd say hi and give a shoutout to the team for making some really sweet gear.

[Briansilcox]

Welcome!  That sounds like a great addition.  Do the balanced allow you to place the amps near each speaker, with short speaker cables?

[SteveInMinn]

Thanks!

Yes, the amps are tucked safely behind cabinets that are angled in two corners of the living room. They have plenty of ventilation. I'll take a pic when I can. I'm using Canare/Bluejeans interconnects to run from the pre to the M225s -- one around 1.5 meters, the other 4 meters or so. Bluejeans lets you order cables in different (unpaired) lengths, and I think they sound just fine.

I'm using Kimber 4PR speaker cables, each 2.5 meters, so fairly short. This is one of two setups I have. It's in our shared living room, so "looks matter." The Kimber Kables are the older brown models -- they fit the decor nicely.

I have a single SPL S800 amp in my home-office setup. I might need to fish around for a Van Alstine upgrade!