thinking to buy Luxman M900u mono , what other similar amps should i look? for Focal Maestro

[sbnx]

Pelo,

I would strongly suggest that you install two dedicated 20A outlets with at least hubble hospital grade outlets for your amplifiers. You have monoblocks but they are being dynamically constricted by not having each on its own outlet. This would be a basic infrastructure upgrade and no matter which amps you buy or use in the future would benefit from this. This is something that is not typically hugely expensive (maybe $1000 or less) unless there is some extenuating circumstance with how your house is constructed.

I would start with this before I changed amplifiers.

All the best,
Todd

 

[pelo911]

Pelo,

I would strongly suggest that you install two dedicated 20A outlets with at least hubble hospital grade outlets for your amplifiers. You have monoblocks but they are being dynamically constricted by not having each on its own outlet. This would be a basic infrastructure upgrade and no matter which amps you buy or use in the future would benefit from this. This is something that is not typically hugely expensive (maybe $1000 or less) unless there is some extenuating circumstance with how your house is constructed.

I would start with this before I changed amplifiers.

All the best,
Todd

great idea , i must to do it

you have a very nice room , amp and speakers !
can you upload a photo? would love to see how it look like

 

[germanchu]

Hello
One question for sbnx
I have heard Mephisto and i wanted to Know what are the pros and cons with the Luxman B1000F. And if you listened with the same loudspeaker ?
kind Regards

 

[sbnx]

Yes, I listened to the B1000F and the Mephisto with the same loudspeakers (not at he same time). These two amplifiers sound very different. Of course Phillip O'Hanlon used to be the Luxman distributor and is now the Gryphon distributor so he has certainly listened to both extensively. I believe he has a pair of B1000f's new in the box at a very good price. About half of what a Mephisto costs. I had the B100f's in my system for about a week long demo. To me they were too bright and tipped up. The bass was big and round sounding. They had a LOT of detail. They ran quite war/hot similar to the Mephisto in that regard. Loved the way they looked. In the end I went with the much warmer sounding AudioNet. Now I have Mephisto and definitely not looking back.

If you are interested in these amplifiers I would suggest you contact Scott Warren at SupraHifi. He is located in Dallas and is a Gryphon dealer and has a Colosseum in his showroom. He also knows Phillip and could probably arrange for the B1000f's.

 

[sbnx]

I had forgotten which speakers you have and went back and refreshed my memory on some of the posts in this thread. I have heard Focal utopia series speakers on several occasions. To my ears they are already very detailed and on the brighter side. I would be looking for an amplifier on the warm/sweet side of life to partner with them. In your first post you mention that they are a difficult load. The Gryphon amps will have zero issues driving them. In fact you would likely be shocked when you hear what kind of grip the Gryphon amps have on the bass. I am sure the B1000f would also drive them. Your choice.

 

[XV-1]

IMHO even the D’Agostino Momentum S250 will easily outperform the pair of Luxman M900U amps, it is simply more musical with more transparency while providing the ultimate controlled of the speakers (truly the best of both worlds tube combined with solid state design). The only other amplifier I found better is CH Precision M1.1...no Boulder or Soulution as both may sound dry and cold especially partnering with Focal!

100% agree. Before I upgraded my S200 to S250 I compared vs the Audionet Max monoblocks. The Dag S200 was better sounding and so much more musical. The S250 is even better.

 

[Imperial]

How about a Electrocompaniet AW250R.
Those go down to 0.5 ohms and have extreme current delivery at those loads.
They are unfazed at any load really.
About 2kw at 0.5 ohms..
At 1.7 ohms like 600 to 900w easely.
100 amps into deep loads.
And sound does not change at all into any load.

About $8000 new?

3 versions exist. Newest version is the most neutral, dynamic.
Older versions more etheral - tubelike.

Sounds like a 300B tube.

Anyway. Brutal dynamics. Ungodly drive capacity low loads....

A beauty!!!

Electrocompaniet AW250R.



Imperial

 

[iansr]

@sbnx; So you preferred the Max to the B-1000f? Have you heard the Heisenbergs? If so how do you rate them vs your Mephisto?

 

[sbnx]

I have not heard the Heisenberg other than a few times at shows. I didn't hear anything objectionable from them at the shows but you have to hear it in your system to really know what it is going to sound like. The Heisenberg is at a different price point. The Mephisto is $61K whereas the Heisenbergs are $108K (I think this is pretty close). At that point I would have to compare with monoblock Mephistos.

There is a difference in the engineering of these two amplifiers. The Gryphon is pure class A with very limited negative feedback while still having high bandwidth. The AudioNet is a class A/B design with a good amount of negative feedback with high bandwidth. The Gryphon uses BJT output devices whereas the AudioNet uses FET's. The most obvious sound difference is in the way the bass sounds with these two amplifiers. If you are looking for that super tight sound then that is the way Audionet sounds.

It is best if you could listen to a Grypon and an Audionet in your system. Any Gryphon and any AudioNet will work. They will give you the flavor of their house sound. I think both would sound nice with your Focal's.

If you are interested in these two brands you should contact SupraHifi for a head to head demo.

 

[bonzo75]

@sbnx; So you preferred the Max to the B-1000f? Have you heard the Heisenbergs? If so how do you rate them vs your Mephisto?

Having compared Mephisto to Luxman m900u, and Heisenberg to Berning quad Z, not directly to each other, my perception is that the stern Heisenberg combination with the Pacific is the best chain I have heard. I have seldom been so stunned by a component switch. It just gives the right weight, flow, gain, ease, bass details, etc. We had done that compare at Heihei's place, and heihei has since bought stern and Heisenberg. That time he had it only on demo.

A Pacific stern Heisenberg combination with a speaker like YG, I could get in lieu of analog sets horns, budget aside.

I did not read the thread details, I was just excited how this moved from a 10k euro Luxman to 100k plus Heisenberg

 

[Alrainbow]

Heard the luxman on Magico M7 all Luxman rig , thoughts were too soft and hifi ish , never felt like i was listening to live music ..

Would have to hear more of it for final analysis ..

 

[Alrainbow]

I have not heard the Heisenberg other than a few times at shows. I didn't hear anything objectionable from them at the shows but you have to hear it in your system to really know what it is going to sound like. The Heisenberg is at a different price point. The Mephisto is $61K whereas the Heisenbergs are $108K (I think this is pretty close). At that point I would have to compare with monoblock Mephistos.

There is a difference in the engineering of these two amplifiers. The Gryphon is pure class A with very limited negative feedback while still having high bandwidth. The AudioNet is a class A/B design with a good amount of negative feedback with high bandwidth. The Gryphon uses BJT output devices whereas the AudioNet uses FET's. The most obvious sound difference is in the way the bass sounds with these two amplifiers. If you are looking for that super tight sound then that is the way Audionet sounds.

It is best if you could listen to a Grypon and an Audionet in your system. Any Gryphon and any AudioNet will work. They will give you the flavor of their house sound. I think both would sound nice with your Focal's.

If you are interested in these two brands you should contact SupraHifi for a head to head demo.

Its been my experience that amps with BJT output stage will always do bass with more power and drive than FET’s ...

Its not super tight bass it just less of ....!

 

[Alrainbow]

How about a Electrocompaniet AW250R.
Those go down to 0.5 ohms and have extreme current delivery at those loads.
They are unfazed at any load really.
About 2kw at 0.5 ohms..
At 1.7 ohms like 600 to 900w easely.
100 amps into deep loads.
And sound does not change at all into any load.

About $8000 new?

3 versions exist. Newest version is the most neutral, dynamic.
Older versions more etheral - tubelike.

Sounds like a 300B tube.

Anyway. Brutal dynamics. Ungodly drive capacity low loads....

A beauty!!!

Electrocompaniet AW250R.

View attachment 65963

Imperial

Sounds like my kind of Amp ...!

 

[sbnx]

Having compared Mephisto to Luxman m900u, and Heisenberg to Berning quad Z, not directly to each other, my perception is that the stern Heisenberg combination with the Pacific is the best chain I have heard. I have seldom been so stunned by a component switch. It just gives the right weight, flow, gain, ease, bass details, etc. We had done that compare at Heihei's place, and heihei has since bought stern and Heisenberg. That time he had it only on demo.

A Pacific stern Heisenberg combination with a speaker like YG, I could get in lieu of analog sets horns, budget aside.

I did not read the thread details, I was just excited how this moved from a 10k euro Luxman to 100k plus Heisenberg

Interesting. What I am listening to right now is a Pacific, Stern, Mephisto with YG Hailey's. They Hailey's are on loan while I sort out some issues. Nobody has heard YG's sound like this before. Warm, rich, detailed, wide soundstage, deep. Really nice sound. Most people complain that the YG's are analytical, bright and strident. Well, not the way I have them setup.

 

[sbnx]

Its been my experience that amps with BJT output stage will always do bass with more power and drive than FET’s ...

Its not super tight bass it just less of ....!

To me the bigger deal with the way an amp handles bass is how much negative feedback it employs. (assuming both amps have sufficient current drive abilty) More negative feedback give a very tight, detailed bass. Some consider this "non-musical". Although, in reality bass is 90% room/setup dominated. We are just talking about how that last 10% sounds.

 

[bonzo75]

Interesting. What I am listening to right now is a Pacific, Stern, Mephisto with YG Hailey's. They Hailey's are on loan while I sort out some issues. Nobody has heard YG's sound like this before. Warm, rich, detailed, wide soundstage, deep. Really nice sound. Most people complain that the YG's are analytical, bright and strident. Well, not the way I have them setup.

They can easily sound bright and analytical and usually do at shows. But proper set up eliminates that.

Did you get the 242 yet?

 

[asiufy]

Interesting. What I am listening to right now is a Pacific, Stern, Mephisto with YG Hailey's. They Hailey's are on loan while I sort out some issues. Nobody has heard YG's sound like this before. Warm, rich, detailed, wide soundstage, deep. Really nice sound. Most people complain that the YG's are analytical, bright and strident. Well, not the way I have them setup.

I beg to differ Your description is how our setups usually sound, but of course, YMMV and all that. Just saying there are multiple ways to skin that cat, and yeah, you can make them sound dreadful very easily too.

 

[sbnx]

I did get the 242. It did not work. Distorted on loud passages. I have not tried flipping the "-6 dB" switches yet. I just got a pair of PX25's a few days ago. Will likely burn those in and give them a try this weekend. While the 300B's sound nice they are a touch mellow. I have two pairs of 300B's --Shugyuang and EAT. The EAT's sound better to me.

Not trying to derail this thread into a Lampi thread.

 

[sbnx]

I beg to differ Your description is how our setups usually sound, but of course, YMMV and all that. Just saying there are multiple ways to skin that cat, and yeah, you can make them sound dreadful very easily too.

Don't you agree that "everyone" says YG's sound analytical, bright and strident. Mostly because this is how they are setup. The YG's can sound like whatever you want. Since Yoav designs them with a flat frequency response they take on the character of the setup.

 

[sbnx]

I beg to differ Your description is how our setups usually sound, but of course, YMMV and all that. Just saying there are multiple ways to skin that cat, and yeah, you can make them sound dreadful very easily too.

If you don't mind me asking what are the dimensions of your room?

Thanks.