[Endo2112]

Tom739

Was op amp rolling quite a bit a couple years ago and would highly recommend the Weiss, except for the price!!, as well as the John Hardy's which tend to bump the bass a little bit, the Weiss are more neutral/clean.

Don

[NoahH]

Just to continue the saga...

I finally got a chance to a/b the AVA amps in my Wilson Sabrina system that has everything more dialed in than my GR system.

I am sending the AVA amps back.

I was comparing them to my AX-5/Twenty from Ayre but using the DAC for volume control on both. The AVA is 5% (maybe) more detailed than the Ayre but not a fraction of the warmth, realism or the body.

I had been turned onto the AVA option by all the reviews and by the curiosity of whether the regulated power supply would be impactful. The lack of body in these renews my conviction that power supply is a huge portion of the battle.

I tried a Hypex class D amp a month ago that was WAY more detailed than the Ayre but lacked the body still and I believed there that power supply was much of it too.

I am now back in the market for the solution for the NX-treme amps.

I am going to either get some used Odyssey Kismets next (see power supply obsession) or find a Purifi amp that is using a big linear power supply, of which I have not found anything yet.

[mkrawcz]

Try a BHK 250.

[subsonic1050]

I'd actually disagree on the BHK 250 based on what Noah is saying. As I mentioned awhile back, I was considering purchasing a BHK pre and BHK 250 amp - well I did just that and it's been in the system for about 3 weeks now. My listening impressions are as follows:

The soundstage was broadly similar to the PrimaLuna Evo 300 that has been my main setup for awhile now. Imaging was also similar, with a potentially slight improvement on the BHK setup. Detail and clarity were where the biggest difference stood out - the BHK setup is considerably more detailed and clarity is on another level.

HOWEVER.... all of that came at the cost of the warmth, sweetness, musicality, and just *enjoyment* that the PrimaLuna provides. I had 2 buddies over a few weekends ago and we did numerous testing including amp testing and cable testing. All 3 of us agreed that we much preferred the PrimaLuna, despite the fact that the BHK was objectively (more detailed) better. The PrimaLuna draws you in and makes you want to play "just one more song" and the BHK setup doesn't. I have tried a few different tubes in both the Pre and the amp - some different NOS options from both Telefunken and Amperex which are regarded as some of the better offerings in these units.

In addition, the Primaluna has a dead silent noise floor and the BHK setup does not. There is a noticeable buzz/hiss that is definitely distracting during music that has a lot of space in it.

Based on Noah's preferences, I actually would recommend trying out a PrimaLuna setup. I keep trying to improve upon it and I just keep coming back to it. I'm actually considering trying an Evo 400 just to see if the extra power nets me anything.

One thing about the Primaluna is I wish the remote had a power/standby button!

[mkrawcz]

This is why it’s important to demo stuff. Everyone’s ears are different.

[subsonic1050]

Absolutely! I've said it once and I'll say it again - mkrawcz - you know your stuff. No doubt the BHK 250 is a great amp, you can tell it is when you see it and more importantly when you hear it. That said, it sounds like Noah's listening impressions are similar to mine with some of these other amps. If he likes the warmth, musicality, body, etc I don't know that he'd be happy with the BHK. I'm thinking about trying a few more tubes in it just to be sure, but I'll probably be selling mine soon.

[NoahH]

I have never heard Primaluna and have always intended to.

Subsonic - you feel like it is able to handle the Xtremes? An MC275 with twice the power seemed to not be able to handle them for me. Now that said, I wonder if their autoformer that is a little different than normal transformers (afaik) has more issues with complex impedence curves.

[subsonic1050]

Yes, I do feel like it is able to handle the NX-Treme's. As with a lot of tube gear, the stated wattage is very deceiving. I even used the PrimaLuna briefly with some Magnepan 1.7i's and it was able to power them reasonably well. On the NX-Treme's it is authoritative. I basically never take the volume past the halfway point, which is quite loud on the NX-Treme's. No sign of the amp ever being strained, clipping, etc.

Still, I have wondered if the extra power from the Evo 400 might take it up a slight notch in the bass regions.

Overall, if you have a chance to try the PrimaLuna I definitely would. They are superbly built, and have the most intoxicating sound of any of the amps I have tried so far (PrimaLuna Evo 300, Doge 10, BHK 250, Benchmark AHB2, Neurochrome Modulus 86 v3, Lyngdorf TDAI-2170).

[SoCalWJS]

Anybody tried Odyssey with these?