Luxman, Accuphase or Mcintosh for Palladiums

[oleg]

Please help to choose a right amp for my Klipsch Palladium F37 and JM lab 1007 BE speakers .

My current setup is a Harmon Kardon VCR645 as a preamp and Cambridge Audio Azur 840W as a power amp. The Harmon Kardon also feeds my desktop Focal JM lab 1007 BE speakers. Focals sing perfectly but the palladiums are too bright for my test so I decided to replace the current setup with a soft music reproduction integrated amp to fix it.

The SS amps from the list have ability to drive A or B speakers so one of them should match both pairs of my speakers well. Palladiums are priority!

1. Luxman L507U/509U

2. Luxman L507S

3. Mcintosh MA6450

4.Accuphase E460/350

The problem is I do not have apportunity to audit the above amps with my Palladiums.

Which amp from the list matches the Palladiums (make them softer) better?

I appreciate any help.

[Groomlakearea51]

McIntosh MA-6400, 6450 (if you do not need a turntable or headphones), 6500, 6800 or 6900 will do them justice. In addition, Mac would be the most long term reliable. Depends on your budget.

[Colin]

Any amplifier is not THE amplifier. Manufacturers quote
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)
for at their amplifiers’ highest wattage output. But THD
is not the same for all types of amplifiers. Since big ole Klipsch horns actually
need only a few, generally three to six, but usually not more than 20 or 30 watts,
these watts – milliwatts most of the time - must have very low distortion. Because
of their own exceptionally low distortion, big ole horns are extremely
revealing of anomalies upstream, including the amplifier’s THD. If a component has lots of distortion at low
power, the speakers can sound harsh. Odd-order harmonic distortion
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tube_sound),
in particular, sounds harsh. Which types of amplifier have lots of odd-order
harmonic distortion at very low wattage? Solid-state.

I have heard the wonderful $6K
Pass X250 (http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0202/passx250.htm)
amplifiers on my B-2 Cornwalls Is, and yet my 3-watt $550 2A3 tube Bottlehead
Paramours (http://www.enjoythemusic.com/Magazine/equipment/1202/bottleheadparamour.htm)
can sound just as sweet, when they are not clipping. Powerful
solid-state amplifiers do have headroom so loud passages at high volume have
considerable slam. They also have excellent woofer control so both bass and
mid-range sound solid. Yet not everybody appreciates the soft clipping of
tubes. But to me, all but the very best solid-state amplifiers on big ole horns
wears out my ears.

I would get the VRDs in a heartbeat, otherwise the Mac is the one to beat.

[artarama]

I have not heard any of these either, but from my voyeristic reaserch conclusions I would go for the 509U.

Maybe a plane ticket to hear some of this stuff first hand should be in the budget.

Maybe the "soft music reproduction" goal to "fix it" may point you to a quality tube preamp.

I would love to hear the SQN100 tube integrated. $2,100 + $250 frt to check this one out!

The price of an education can get pretty expensive!