[Yomaha]

I'm curious what amps ya'll have used with Song3 BeAT's that seem to mate well.  I know Jim has had great success with the McGary amps.  I realize that its different strokes for different folks with music styles, room sizes, sources, etc., but setting all that aside I just want to know what has worked for you!   

I don't have the speakers yet, but already put down my deposit.  For me, it's an integrated Vinnie Rossi LIO DHT w/ TAK300B's in the preamp stage.  I'm thinking it will need a little more power than what the LIO has, so I'm starting to look around at amps with a cap at $4k.

[Gyosa]

I have supercharged song towers ...

Have a Parasound A21 and PS Audio S300 I swap .
Both are plenty ...

Bk

[TomS]

I'm curious what amps ya'll have used with Song3 BeAT's that seem to mate well.  I know Jim has had great success with the McGary amps.  I realize that its different strokes for different folks with music styles, room sizes, sources, etc., but setting all that aside I just want to know what has worked for you!   

I don't have the speakers yet, but already put down my deposit.  For me, it's an integrated Vinnie Rossi LIO DHT w/ TAK300B's in the preamp stage.  I'm thinking it will need a little more power than what the LIO has, so I'm starting to look around at amps with a cap at $4k.

I would not underestimate the LIO's power amp section. I used it quite successfully with a pair of TAD Evolution 1's in a very large room. At most sane listening levels it did the job just fine. Give it a chance first and see what you think.

[rmdtexas]

I have used the PS Audio S300 for the last 18 months with my BeATs.  I'm upgrading to the M700s this week. The upgrade is for sound quality
 not due to lack of power.

[Yomaha]

I will most likely be riding with the LIO's power section at first.  It's currently driving Songtower RT's.  And yes it does great for sane levels, which is where I'm at 90% of the time.  I'm just curious about more power/something different. 

I've had a PS Audio BHK 250 and thought it was a stellar amp, and I have a lot of respect for the PS Audio gear.  I have their DSD dac and really enjoy the heck out of it. 

I have long been curious about the FirstWatt SIT-3, but worried about the power.  Also thought the PassLabs XA25 Class A amp looks interesting.  I noticed when Stereophile review the X25 and put it on the bench it put out 80w.

"However, as you can see in figs. 4 and 5, the amplifier exceeded its specified power output at the clipping point, which we define as when the THD+noise equals 1%. At that THD+N percentage the XA25 delivered 80Wpc into 8 ohms (19dBW) and 130Wpc into 4 ohms (18.1dBW)."

That made me wonder if the XA25 would be a suitable mate power-wise.  The LIO is rated at 25w and when reviewed only got to 17w before hitting the noise threshold.  I'm really not a big measurements guy, just trying to understand ahead of time if an amp makes sense to flirt with.     

[DWG]

Do you have a budget in mind?  I've heard the McGary tube amp and Audio by Van Alstine solid state amps with various Salks and really liked both.

[DWG]

Oops. Missed the remark about the $4k cap.   Lots of good choices at that price point.  I've only heard the more expensive McGary and it was like $8K IIRC.  Not sure about the cheaper one.  Once again I think AVA is a good choice.

[rmdtexas]

I asked Jim Salk about the McGary SA-1 and the BeATs and he said it should be ok. 

[WGH]

The AVA Vision SET 400 will work beautifully, I use one to drive my Salk HT2-TL speakers and am always thrilled.

Keep an eye out for Larry's review of the new AVA DVA 225 Mono Block amp here on AC.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=172487.0

"The goal is to at least equal the same sound as our much higher power mono amps and still retain the sonic advantage of true differential performance.  We managed to accomplish this in a compact sized and lower cost package too. 225W/ch and nearly double that into 4 ohms."

"The new DVA M225 mono amps are 225 watts each and will cost about $1699 each."

Larry has reviewed other AVA amps including the current Vision SET 400 and usually compares them to his much more expensive Pass X250.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=158752.0

The Audio by Van Alstine DVA SET 600 Mono Block Amplifier was reviewed in Audiophilia
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2018/10/13/audio-by-van-alstine-dva-set-600-mono-block-amplifier?rq=DVA%20600

Also the The Audio by Van Alstine Vision SET 400 Amplifier
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2018/9/13/the-van-alstine-vision-set-400-stereo-amplifier?rq=SET%20400

[Yomaha]

I’ve owned AVA gear in the recent past and always enjoyed it. Always a very high value to musicality ratio no doubt and excellent build quality. I’m curious as well about the new DVA mono review. My only drawback there is more boxes / more wires. I had gone integrated bc I wanted to get away from that. Now I find myself looking another amp.     

I guess I could have found high sensitivity speakers, but I’ve had such a great experience with the Salk brand and I heard the Song3’s several years ago at THE show in SoCal and was mightily impressed.

[Rocket]

Hi,

You might want to have a look at a Spread Spectrum Technologies Son of Ampzilla MkII's.  Underwood hifi regularly have specials at greatly reduced prices. I have the ampzilla mono blocks and they are amazing.

Cheers Rod

[Yomaha]

Update: I have a Pass Labs XA25 arriving today. I was told five full days of break-in for the amp before it really hits its stride.  Should be interesting to hear how it changes.

[SMA]

I went a different route with my song 3’s. I replaced a rogue Audio Sphinx 2 with an Anthem STR Integrated amplifier. I have a good sized room but it has some weird features (corner fireplace behind the left speaker, uneven front walls) that require me to pull the speakers well into the room (70 inches) for good imaging. The STR, using ARC for 100 ha and below, really smoothes out the bass. I may change my room in the future but I doubt I will change amps for a while.

[HT cOz]

Check out some of the Purifi designs.

[intamin22]

Update: I have a Pass Labs XA25 arriving today. I was told five full days of break-in for the amp before it really hits its stride.  Should be interesting to hear how it changes.

I’m curious what could change, there’s nothing mechanical about an amp, just a signal? Pass are known for quite a but of distortion, but people seem to like it. I had an x250 years ago. Beefy amp, but didn’t do much for me. Interestingly when it arrived I was picking up short wave radio signals through it. A few calls into support got it resolved, but I ultimately decided not to keep it.

Personally I’d look at any of the purify implementations. Loads of power, very affordable, and measure better than most anything.

[Yomaha]

I really don't know what changes technically speaking inside the amp.  Would be interesting for someone who does know to explain n a little bit about the burn-in process.  Most every review I read involves some sort of burn-in period.  For this amp, there was definitely a change.  The bass tightened up, became less bloated, and overall, a veil was lifted.  The image came more into focus, the sound from top to bottom became more coherent.  It is like a nice 15+ year bourbon or rum where you have a lot of complexity, a lot going on, but it still retains smoothness and detail. You can pick out the individual flavors or enjoy them together as a whole.