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Integrated for LS50 Meta;

RoyB

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Easily, the biggest surprise in my Covid Buy Every Piece Of HiFi You See phase was the Sound Artist SA200ia.....I paid under $500 for it and when I got it I could believe how heavy it was and how well made. I bought it to be used on my test bench because it was cheap and had a number of great reviews. It ended up being used in my main system for months driving LS50 Metas and Magnepan MMGs (now Magnepan LRS)....It is a fantastic sounding amplifier! Loads of power and a great remote control (remote control is a must have at my age!). Recently I saw it advertised on Amazon for $399!......Not sure what another thousand dollars is going to buy you....Your next stop is the Buchardt i150 for $2500 (on sale right now for $2300).......Talk about a full featured, amazing amplifier. I bought one last week and it showed up a few days ago......My Lord! Read my "first Impressions" on my web site... www.rvbprecision.com Good Luck, let us know what you decide....
 

RoyB

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To add to my post above.....I bought a number of Topping, SMSL, and other Chinese amplifiers over the last two years......They all were returned. Simply didn't work well with the LS50 Metas and down right horrible with the Magnepans.....I think until folks experience REALLY good amplification, all this inexpensive, older technology Class D stuff might sound fine. Unfortunately, my reference amplifier is a Pass Lab First Watt F5v2.....So far, nothing compares to it....Until I bought this amplifier, I had no idea how good a piece of HiFi could sound!
 
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I read somewhere that even the cheaper Denon / Marantz will have DIrac Live this year. If you want a decent solution all-in-one you might want to look into Denon / Marantz.
 

pablolie

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I do have the following equipment ready to set up anytime after is was serviced: Benchmark DAC2-HGC, NAD M22, $14k towers and Velodyne MiniVee sub... I established that in my current dwellings the LS50 were easier to set up for what seems optimal sound. Then both the DAC2 and the M22 had issues that required servicing. I also have an Accuphase E-306v.

While the Benchmark and NAD M22 were being serviced, I set up the LS50 with the MiniVee sub and a NAD D7050, cutting stuff off at 70Hz. It was supposed to be an "emergency, temporary" thing. Honestly the combo sounds so satisfying that I haven't yet bothered to rotate other equipment in after it came back from service.
 
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RoyB

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While the Benchmark and NAD M22 were being serviced, I set up the LS50 with the MiniVee sub and a NAD D7050,

Don't you hate when that happens........;)
 

xaxxon

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If you are only looking for a 2-ch power amplifier, Buckeye amps are hard to beat.
why are there >2 channel amps easy to beat?
 
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