what luck.
so I got my new speakers. fairly awesome, I might add. as I suspected, a precurser to the VR2. Same size just about. lots of power.
My intention was to pick up a Pathos Classic one integrated amp. But...none were for sale at a price I liked.
blan B: Manley Stingray. More like a second A plan. Great amp. was very psyched..as there were 4 of them for sale on Agon. So on the day I decide to buy one....I look and find they are all sold.
d'oh.
so, being incredibly impatient, I start looking for other alternatives.
Came down to an Oddyssey "cyclops", which was a stratos w/a passive gain stage. Excellent amp. this one is custom...one of a kind. only one input.."purist approach". Cheap price..but it will require the addition of a DAC as I have no good front end and all my music on on the PC. Luckily, the agreed upon price for this, should I take it...leaves around $600+ for a new DAC.
or
Bel Canto 300iU. New from them this year. GOBs of power. 300wpc at 8ohms. Way more than I need at the moment, but you know how my needs change.
and I do expect to have some power hungry speakers.
remote..nice
USB input for up to 16/48. now THAT takes the cake. built in DAC. though, limited to 16bit...is pretty much OK. I can burn my 24bit material as needed.
Of course, much more money. Like 2x as much.
what to do!
i'm leaning towards the BC for its newness and USB input...which is not perfect, but probably very nice sounding and every bit as good as a DAC2, or even their new DAC3 as this is from the same line, i'm sure it shares a lot of the same tech.
OTOH, the Oddyssey will not sound bad. has more than enough juice and a rabid fan base. no dac, but i'll have plenty of dough to find one. that will end my "1/2 DAC" problem w/the BC (no 24bit input), and leave me w/two separates for less money.
I hate these kinds of choices
Topic: elusive amplification is driving me MAD! (Read 2413 times)