Amplifier recommendations for Salon 2’s . . .

[bonzo75]

Luxman can be bridged to get 600w into 8 ohms so budget can be rolled.

But if power is important I would go for a symphonic line Kraft, used, either RG7 or the Kraft. Relatively low cost

 

[tdimler]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have wondered if the Dart might not be able to power the Salon's sufficiently as mentioned above, but I have no specific concerns over the Burmester or Luxman, both are, as I understand it, high output designs, despite their lower RMS ratings. As I say I don't listen particularly loud anyway.

The Pass 250.8 is definitely on the list, the 350.8 is out of budget though.

The Hegel is not really on my radar, I don't know much about them so I'll check them out.

The D'Agostinos are out of budget sadly.

I have heard the Levinson 532 driving Salons, and I'll be honest I wasn't overly impressed. The 532H, though a cheaper and lower powered model, was notably superior when I listened side by side.

I'll look at the Krell, though I think they lost their mojo a bit when Dan left - they are known to be a bit analytical I think, not that thats a bad thing per se, I'm a fan of detail, but I'm also aiming for as natural sounding as possible.

I did used to own some older Jeff Rowlands (Model 6 if memory serves), and I didn't really get on well with them, maybe it was their age, but although they were very smooth, they were also very veilded so it kind of put me off the brand. Did you go though any other options before you settled on the 625?

On the Arc, I don't really want to have to bother with output tubes. I don't mind a single tube to two (as in hybrids such as the Aesthetix), but not a full tube amp at this point in time.

I think the a used 350.8 would be well within your budget, and a used DAG S200 not far above.

Do look at the Krell and Hegel. From what I understand, the Krell 402e is not in any way considered bright like some of the older Krell.

Regarding the Rowland 625 and 625 S2.....Jeff's current design is utterly transparent......in NO way veiled. Jeff uses Salon2's in his listening room FWIW.

I only auditioned a DAG S200 around the same time as the Rowland as I was taking a big step up from the previous setup. The 625 is absolutely on par with the DAG Mommentum stereo amp.

 

[p59teitel]

I've used two of the brands already mentioned with my Salon 2s - a Plinius SB-301 Class A/B stereo amp, and for the past several years Symphonic Line Kraft 250 Class A monos.

The Plinius was a really good match with the Salon 2s and can be had for around $5-6K used. I only moved away from that amp because the Symphonic Lines became available not even fully broken in for a ridiculously low price. They are triple the list price of the Plinius, but the stereo version pops up used occasionally. After getting them back in 2012 I haven't even bothered thinking about anything else, they are that good.

Regarding little fingers and heat, the Plinius does run pretty hot despite being Class A/B. The Symphonic Lines are quite a bit cooler, as they employ some kind of sliding bias Class A that keeps the heat down.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Or may be go for a cat jl2 sign , its a race horse dynamic wise and can drive difficult loads to

 

[steve59]

I bought the Hegel h360 for my salon1's because they really matched well, very musical and involving, I've since moved to the salon2's and still like the hegel rated at 250 into8 and 425 into 4 ohms it barely gets warm when I crank the music and i've seen the h3o under $7k used! I would jump on it if I was shopping for an amp... rigjt after the ML 536!

 

[jasbirnandra]

Try the Ypsilon Aelius mk2 very musical

 

[bonzo75]

I've used two of the brands already mentioned with my Salon 2s - a Plinius SB-301 Class A/B stereo amp, and for the past several years Symphonic Line Kraft 250 Class A monos.

The Plinius was a really good match with the Salon 2s and can be had for around $5-6K used. I only moved away from that amp because the Symphonic Lines became available not even fully broken in for a ridiculously low price. They are triple the list price of the Plinius, but the stereo version pops up used occasionally. After getting them back in 2012 I haven't even bothered thinking about anything else, they are that good.

Regarding little fingers and heat, the Plinius does run pretty hot despite being Class A/B. The Symphonic Lines are quite a bit cooler, as they employ some kind of sliding bias Class A that keeps the heat down.

Fantastic choice. No need to change from there

 

[Anatta]

Bryston 4B3 from an UK seller.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/282976991037?rmvSB=true

 

[steve59]

We haven't heard back and I would like to know what you picked and what you preferred about it in comparison with the amps you passed on. When my salon1's sell I believe I'll buy the Hegel H30 for my Salon2's but I will really want to hear it along side the Mark Levinson 536 monoblocks

 

[Wookii]

We haven't heard back and I would like to know what you picked and what you preferred about it in comparison with the amps you passed on. When my salon1's sell I believe I'll buy the Hegel H30 for my Salon2's but I will really want to hear it along side the Mark Levinson 536 monoblocks

Sorry yes, once I'd posed the question I kind of sat back to take in the responses. I knew it might be a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question resulting in a different answer from each responder, but thank you to everyone that gave their thoughts.

I think ultimately the Salon 2's are going to sound good on the end of most decent amps. In the end however I had to compromise somewhat, as I had to reallocate some of the budget to additional speakers for my cinema room, so the amp budget got reduced.

Despite wanting to avoid the heat and complication of tubes, my new love affair with tube rolling on my Lampi B7 created an itch I had to scratch in trying a tube amp - so I went with a very well priced ex-dem Audio Research Ref 75SE (technically a hybrid). Whilst I got it as more of a stop-gap and to scratch that itch, I've been very impressed with it so far. I was initially concerned by comments on this thread (and else where that I have read) about the Salons need for high current, but I'm really not convinced that's such an issue, particularly at the levels I usually listen to, and I have not noticed any lack of dynamics or control versus other amps I have tried in the past (including high powered 1000W monoblocks).

When funds have built back up in a year or so, I may revisit - I'm still intrigued to try many of the options here (including the Hegel you mention, and the Luxman M900U, and maybe some Pass Class A monos, and maybe even the Aesthetix), but unfortunately flipping second hand amps to try them out is no longer a viable option as the second hand market is as flat as a pancake.

 

[tdimler]

If you like the ARC sound...maybe look at the 250 SE monos in the future...they seem to be available used at extremely low prices. Said to be an excellent combo with Salon2's.