You don't have to go anywhere near that over the top to hear what the Alsyvox bring to the table.
I drive mine with a pair of Ayre MX-R Twenties and they sound absolutely spectacular, and I suspect so would a Moon 860A v2 based upon how it did with my Vivid Giya G1 Spirits.
Certainly improvements in amplification would be heard, but any good amplification would work, from McIntosh to Mark Levinson to many others.
There's no need to spend six figures unless the difference you hear is worth it to you.
Yes agreed 110%, without a doubt!
The first time I heard these were at my trusted dealer mates place in Spore. He had the Botichelli at the time (not the X version). Auditioned with Aries Cerat integrated and then with CJ's ART300's, using his Momentum preamp (superb!) hence no tube preamp. That same amplification also drove the mighty Maggie's 30.7's and he also had Dan D's Relentless monoblocks at the time. Those really gripped the 30.7's to full potential, absolutely nothing lacking.
Now most of that gear has been passed on to other dealerships, I haven't heard his newest Alsyvox set-up as yet but I'm thinking it would be tops! He's now got the Botichelli-X version, driven with CJ's ART108A's (160w Class A tube monoblocks), partnered with CJ's ART88 top of the line preamp. He's moved off the Maggie's 30.7's, the ART300's and the Relentless amps, to make way for the VAC Statements and Dartzeel monoblocks. So these are his primary amplifiers now. I can only imagine what that must be like.
Then I heard the Alsyvox here after my Spore travels, which was their first in line up, the Tintorento. Driven by an amp (brand type withheld) that cost 60grand $AUD...it wasn't that great. It was more a hifi sound, with less defined bass and a concave sort of midrange. That setup alone was quite a pretty penny, so I couldn't justify the spend based on my own system (ML CLX's and exclusively CJ amplification), which is on a totally different dimension.
It was only when I auditioned the Alsyvox Botichelli system with higher performance amplifiers, such as Dartzeel and Aries Cerat that I realised exactly how awesome these full range ribbons really are. They're truly awe-inspiring and when you use Premier standard gear to drive them, they will deliver exactly that!
Quote similar to my CLX's, if driven with mediocre gear, you'll get mediocre sound, if driven with top-end gear, they just shift onto a whole new dimension, it's not even funny!
Not sure where exactly you're located... but for us humble folks down unda, anything that costs for ex 20grand in $USD will equate to nearly double that in $AUD. This is mainly due to import duties, customs tax and currency conversion. I've said this before many times. So when you're looking at Alsyvox's entry-level panel, which is the Tintorento, it actually costs around 125grand in Aus, that's an awful lot of spend. The Botichelli-X is around 250grand, perhaps with a nice dinner and a bottle of wine, you may get a discount of $100, nothing less!
So the prices you guys pay for in the US is just no comparison for us folks in Aus. Like I've said before, these are considered luxury items, and are mostly accessible by the big boys with big toys! The ML Neoliths are around 80grand in the US. In Aus, these are 160grand, and only ONE pair was ever sold and that was the demo pair!
Both the Aries Cerat Integrated and Dartzeel stereo amp, plus the Vitus Audio SS-103 (which I really really like) cost within the same price range, around 60 to 68grand. So if I would ever consider getting the Alsyvox, I would partner them with any of these, and nothing less. I still believe they deserve SOTA gear.
CJ's ART108A's and their top of the line preamp, the ART88, goes for exactly 110grand for both systems That's only just for a damn preamp and a pair of monoblocks! I nearly closed this deal with my bank manager until the good wife slapped some sense into me! She made me realise that I've already got a full CJ all tube design preamps and monoblocks driving the CLX's, which were my dream speakers. I've modded my monoblocks to 60w Class A and they grip and control the CLX's gloriously! So what more do I need...? Both my bank manager and the wifey asked... then I realised heck! They're absolutely right, and that's all she wrote!
The only newest panel type highend system that was just introduced and is slightly less (just slightly...) than Alsyvox but not yet introduced to Aus, are the Clarisys Audio panels. These have been priced in Euros, and their smallest system is the Minuet, goes for around 35grand Euros. That conveted to $AUD is about 60grand (without neodymium magnets) add the Neodymium's plus 25% and that base price goes upto 75grand... so yeah, like I said big toys for the big boys.
At this stage I have absolutely no intention of changing what I have built around the CLX based system, it took me 15yrs from scratch, since migrating to Aus in 2004. Every CJ tube amp has been specially modded to suit a certain purpose, so it's a very unique system that I can never recover the money spent on all those Class A bias operation mods.
If I were to engage in the Alsyvox or Clarisys line of ribbon panels then this would have to be a complete overhaul, based on an entirely different approach, from the ground up. Everything would change. So it's definitely something I need to consider in the long term with serious thought. Which reminds me, in the long term, I'm planning on downsizing, thinking of just settling in for one of Graz's Apogee refurbs with a nice Pass Labs amp, that's my retirement ticket!
Until then, enjoy those Alsyvox ribbons, they're superb panels. Truly remarkable and absolutely beautiful build quality.
Woof! RJ