which amp would be "better"

[Leeken]

Because from my experience class D amps sound too analytical, too boring and neautral. These amp I listen will pair nicely with my solano because of what they sound like. In general I heard a lot of yves bernard andre amps and loved them.

Never heard of them,quite like plastic Bertrand tho

 

[DMill]

Yes and no, because I need to choose one of the those three amps and I havent received an answer yet.

Based on 2 minutes of looking at specs and not having any first hand knowledge of any of the three. I‘d maybe choose the MF3. They are a decent brand for resale and a few more watts doesn’t hurt. But we are talking pretty tiny differences in power in the three that unlikely matter much. Totally subjective opinion but you asked for one.

 

[CapMan]

Fair enough. The thing about ASR members is THEY DON'T LISTEN, which is ironic isn't it? They have their own mindless standard answers they trot out without listening to the OP's specific requirements. That's why NONE of them would ever make a useful salesman of any type. It's funny to watch and yet so tiresomely boring.

I'd have a good look at the YBA- it looks to be solid and well made. I'm not a big fan of the front panel 'look', but it may look better in the flesh.

I think my sweeping generalisation alarm just went off!

 

[voodooless]

That's why NONE of them would ever make a useful salesman of any type. It's funny to watch and yet so tiresomely boring.

Isn’t that a good thing? Salespeople are in it for the money. They just pretend to care, and will sell you whatever they can sell you, never mind if you need it or not. At the end of the day they have to go home and pay for food, house and taxes.

ASR will also tell you the things you sometimes don’t want to hear, didn’t know. Ask you questions. Propose alternatives… I really don’t understand what is wrong with that vs sticking to the three options the OP posted. We don’t know how much he researched? We don’t know where he lives, we don’t know why he chose these in the first place. We don’t know what was already rejected and why. All of the things could be relevant to the three choices at hand, or may reveal alternatives he didn’t think of.

 

[Zapper]

Because from my experience class D amps sound too analytical, too boring and neautral. These amp I listen will pair nicely with my solano because of what they sound like. In general I heard a lot of yves bernard andre amps and loved them.

The general philosophy on this site is that if an amp measures to a certain level of perfection, it has no sound of its own. It is "transparent". And then if a set of amps provides that transparent sound, as well as power and build quality, the bias is towards a less expensive amp that fulfills these requirements. Hence the recommendations for $500 Class-D amps.

This philosophy and bias is clearly at odds with your own, since you express a preference for the sound of a "yves bernard andre amp" (whatever that is, but it sounds expensive) over a class-D amp. Honestly, ASR isn't the forum for the type of questions you are asking.

 

[mightylightbringer]

Never heard of them,quite like plastic Bertrand tho

They are very good, their higher lines are amazing, the passion ia350 sounded better with a sonus faber olympica nova 1 than the mcintosh ma5300.

 

[CapMan]

As an ASR member who spent too much on expensive esoteric amps in the past I am very happy with my new Denon AVR. Frankly I can’t hear any difference. I wouldn’t get too hung up on it - (Good) Amps don’t have a sound - they should be neutral.

 

[Zapper]

hey I am looking to buy a amp for my elac solano bs283, after searching for local options (new, I don't like buying something electronic without a warranty) and came up with 3 main options:

the yba heritage a200 for 1800 usd (has a pretty nice dac in it so I won't need to upgrade for some time)
or
the musical fidelity m3si for 1800 usd (has a pretty meh dac so I will need to upgrade)
or
the musical fidelity m2si for 1300 usd (has no dac so its cheaper than the rest so I can get a good dac with it)

please do not take the dac into account, I want the one with the best amp performance out of these three for my solano's.

thank you all in advance <3

I like the YBA option for this spec:
110W into 8Ω
165W into 4Ω

Not a lot of amps have ratings for 4W, so that's a big plus. It's good when an amp shows a solid increase in power into 4 ohms - that tells you the power supply isn't too weak. Good features, looks cool, and the most amplifier watts.

 

[Michou]

Fair enough. The thing about ASR members is THEY DON'T LISTEN, which is ironic isn't it? They have their own mindless standard answers they trot out without listening to the OP's specific requirements. That's why NONE of them would ever make a useful salesman of any type. It's funny to watch and yet so tiresomely boring.

I'd have a good look at the YBA- it looks to be solid and well made. I'm not a big fan of the front panel 'look', but it may look better in the flesh.

As far as I know, Shanling manufactures the YBA (Yves Bernard André) amplifiers in China, and it wouldn't be surprising if Shanling actually owns the YBA brand.

 

[mightylightbringer]

As an ASR member who spent too much on expensive esoteric amps in the past I am very happy with my new Denon AVR. Frankly I can’t hear any difference. I wouldn’t get too hung up on it - (Good) Amps don’t have a sound - they should be neutral.

I don't think thats true, a "good" amp is subjective. in your opinion a good amp is a neutral amp, but other people would like a little warmth out of their speakers, also a neutral amp might also make certain speakers fatiguing.

 

[mightylightbringer]

I like the YBA option for this spec:
110W into 8Ω
165W into 4Ω

Not a lot of amps have ratings for 4W, so that's a big plus. It's good when an amp shows a solid increase in power into 4 ohms - that tells you the power supply isn't too weak.

I love the electrical circuit, it is well made and looks like it had thought put into it.

 

[CapMan]

I don't think thats true, a "good" amp is subjective. in your opinion a good amp is a neutral amp, but other people would like a little warmth out of their speakers, also a neutral amp might also make certain speakers fatiguing.

Then change the speakers or sort the room out. The amp has its job to do and it’s not as an equaliser (with the greatest respect). If a warmer sound is needed buy a neutral amp with tone controls

 

[mightylightbringer]

Then change the speakers or sort the room out. The amp has its job to do and it’s not as an equaliser (with the greatest respect)

thats a wrong way of building a system imo, why would you get such a thing? audio is supposed to be enjoyed and if an amp can make it even more enjoyable why make it neutral? if you like a warmer sound and you bought a pair of speaker which arent as warm as you might have liked, why can't you get a amp to balance it out?

 

[Zapper]

As far as I know, Shanling manufactures the YBA (Yves Bernard André) amplifiers in China, and it wouldn't be surprising if Shanling actually owns the YBA brand.

True:

YBA has, of course, been through many twists and turns since its inception and is now owned by Shanling with its products built in Shenzhen, China.

I just learned that Wharfedale is owned by a Chinese company International Audio Group that also owns Audiolab, Quad Electroacoustics, Mission, Tag McLaren, Castle Acoustics, Luxman, and the recently resuscitated Leak brand.

 

[mightylightbringer]

As far as I know, Shanling manufactures the YBA (Yves Bernard André) amplifiers in China, and it wouldn't be surprising if Shanling actually owns the YBA brand.

yes they are owned by shanling now, but still under the mastermind's Yves Bernard design. he designs them and shanling builds them.

 

[CapMan]

thats a wrong way of building a system imo, why would you get such a thing? audio is supposed to be enjoyed and if an amp can make it even more enjoyable why make it neutral? if you like a warmer sound and you bought a pair of speaker which arent as warm as you might have liked, why can't you get a amp to balance it out

If you like a warmer sound use eq which is infinitely adjustable to taste. How would chose the Goldilocks amp that is just warm enough ?? What if you decide another album needs to be a little cooler , do you change amps ??

 

[mightylightbringer]

If you like a warmer sound use eq which is infinitely adjustable to taste. How would chose the Goldilocks amp that is just warm enough ?? What if you decide another album needs to be a little cooler , do you change amps ??

no, but I personally don't feel like any album should be "cooler" to me warmer, soothing and rich is the way to go!

 

[restorer-john]

I love the electrical circuit, it is well made and looks like it had thought put into it.

Some tweaker has put pieces of wood in there! LOL.

 

[mightylightbringer]

Some tweaker has put pieces of wood in there! LOL.

View attachment 345576

they play as a shock absorbers, just shows you what kind of attention to detail yba has, it comes like this from the factory.

 

[CapMan]

they play as a shock absorbers, just shows you what kind of attention to detail yba has, it comes like this from the factory.

Wood - that well known shock absorbing material. Must get my rubber tyres swapped out for good ole wooden hoops at the next service