I've been hearing many great things about the TAD CR-1 speakers. Are there CR-1 owners out there who could advice on or recommend a power amplifier that will get the most out of these beauties?
are the cr1 an easy load?
the sensitivity suggests not, but the impedance curve looks quite stable?
I've heard TAD speakers many times but none better than with all TAD electronics driving them.
I had no problem with TADs and amps. Burmester 911mk3 or Vitus Sm-011 sounds great with TADs. Jeff Rowland 725 was nice too, but Burmester and Vitus better.
Maybe M600 is great option. I didn't test it with my TADs, but i had M2500. Burmester and Vitus amps are much better than M2500 or any Bryston amps. M2500 is good, heavy and powerfull amp. It depends what are you looking for. M2500 is like Mercedes C, Vitus is like S-Classe 500, more colours of sound, more saturate, better deep 3D space.
Total The best configuration i ever heard with TADs is Burmester 077 preamp(ver.with external PS) and Vitus SM-011 monoblocks, Purist Audio Design 25th Anniversary Luminist XLR cables, Gryphon Kalliope DAC.
Goes to show that you need to listen to these combinations and form your own opinion.
I personally did not like the 911mk3 / cr1 combo. The 911mk3 is an aggressive sounding amp and it made the already forward sounding CR1's sound nervous. Another member here, Joeind, will tell you the same thing.
IMO the CR1's are very finicky to drive, they need power and finesse, traits which are hard to find in a single amp. I loved the sound of the TAD M600's and M2500, and I bet Vitus and things like Pass Labs would work well on them.
Good luck and just make sure you listen to the amp before committing to a purchase. There is more chance of getting it wrong than right with these speakers.
My original setup consisted of a Bryston BDA-1 DAC, a BP-26 preamp and a 4Bsst power amp. I recently upgraded my BDA-1 to a TAD D1000 which has a variable output so I disposed of my BP-26 preamp and the improvement was immense. I don’t really need an analogue pre-amp in my setup so the question is, do I need an integrated amplifier such as the Vitus SIA-025 or am i better off by upgrading to a power amplifier such as the SS 102?I know most Vitus amps, Reference is Ok but SIA-025 is better. SS-102 i over SIA-025. For me the best are SM-011 monoblocks. Of course Masterpiece are great but it is a little other kind of sound and very high price.