Opinions wanted on high power amps to drive Sonus Faber Extremas

Never asked this before so I am intersted to hear others views. Got a pair of Sonus Faber Extremas early this year - and I love them. At the time general advice was get a big amp to drive them (previously had an audio synthesis which was great but underpowered for this job), so splashed out on a Krell FBP 300 - ie 300 watts. Someone told me Extremas were designed with this amp in mind. Thing is. . . . I've become curious about what other alternatives may be out there to drive these speakers which are notoriously in favour of power. The Krell sounds very good but a bit kind of cold/ hard. Wondered about valves but would need to be able to handle the Extremas.

Any views on this anyone or am I being too fussy? Maybe I am. . . ?:JPS:

 

ASR Emitter huge current, superb amplifier, ask Stickman on Wigwam he is delighted with his.

 

Thanks Coops but out of my price range I think and not looking for an integrated - sounds like an interesting amp though!

 

Stickman on Wigwam bought his from German Ebay, think he paid £950 including delivery, they really are a 'reference' product. In a completely different league from my Pass labs Nagra combination.

 

I had BelCanto bridged, 360 watts, driving my EAII, they are not Extremas, but they are equally difficult load, passive radiator and all, it sounded very well, balanced, it was heaven after one 4B Bryston...

Tubes, I have heard Acoustic Reasearch big guns with Stradivarius, fantastic...

 

I'd be inclined to try an MF A308 integrated.

 

If dealing with ASR Emiter, you should be really aware of what you are doing because there are several versions that doesn't sound even remotely similar, ranging from 2000E to 11000E (new). Lots of newbies get confused easily and I don't think you can get a real state of the art Emiter for £950 on Ebay unless the Internet in whole Germany is somehow down when such an auction ends.

I don't think you need anything better than a big Pass Labs X-series unit for Extremas. With anything from X250.5 onwards - the bigger the better - you will have Krell's controll just with more sophistication and musicality that you obviously lack.

Personally I would be curious to hear Extremas with ZH270.

Due to my religious beliefs I would never touch a MF product but it is a known fact that big MF amps are voiced with Sonus Faber top range models (although not Extremas).

 

An Accuphase would do the job well. Quality is just as important as quantity in terms of power...

 

Lyngdorf SDA2175. Cheap as chips, sounds awesome, powerful.

 

true about power but IMHO a very 'mathematic' amp otherwise. on every occasion i've heard it, i couldn't get rid of the feeling that it has a very predictable soundstage, almost like having 3 different presets with only 3 possible positions for the instruments - 1 front, 1 mid and 1 back. maybe i was tripping but maybe not.

 

Old Krell class A. Ideally a KSA model, which can be had for £1-1.5k. Brilliant synergy with Sonus Fabers. And I'm pretty sure it's what was most often recommended at the time.

 

I found the Lyngdorf stuff musically dead.

 

Yes - have heard that pov too. Have also been advised to get a FPB600 - that's 600 watt version of what I have already. Thought this was rather over the top advice - however any views?

 

I can certainly appreciate that people may prefer a different sound to the Lyngdorf. I would say it is neutral - to a fault you may say! - incredibly detailed, but completely free of any hash, aggression or hardness, which seems to be important to the OP, hence the recommendation. Certainly worth a listen.

I bought my SDA for 775 quid at the time I think, which was a steal. 375W into 4ohm for that money was off the head!

 

Thanks for the tip Antony - for a number of reasons I'm going to give one of these a go - appreciate not to everyone's taste but neither are the Krells. Anyhow, have been offered one to try out so will let you know how I get on - nothing to loose. Meanwhile any ideas do keep them coming!

 

I just noticed that Pass were mentioned, great amps. How about a Sirius/Gamut D200? I think I saw one go for 1k on eBay a while ago.

 

i am curious about this too although i can bet that lyngdorfs will compromise rather spectacular holographic soundstage and space retreival that extremas do brilliantly.

 

H Gordan - as you know greatly value your opinion - but it's a free trial so nothing to loose. The reviews of the lyngdorf point towards a sound I kind of like and they are supposed to be pretty detailed too - however I like space and soundstage so shall tread warily! Of course with all of this its a question of balance - so many variable it can do your head in.

Oh by the way Gordan just got another preamp on its way to try. . . . . . . sorry. . . . . time for medication.

 

Not certain what the impedance of the SF is - but I have found Simaudio Moon <Evolution Series> To sound rather good and not overly expensive when comapred to some.

 

hahahahaaaaaa hope you didn't get a bug from me. you know i have currently 3 preamps with me and i am contemplating a new one