Question Is more power better - and should it be class A?

Draaglah

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Hey there, I hope some experienced listeners can help me :)
So I own a pair of JBL Ti10k's, which I've been running off a Pioneer M90 (1986) and a Thule IA100 (early 2000's) for some time now, and I'm looking to upgrade my system - Always trying to squeeze more music out of it :)

The Thule is a 100w amp, with a ton of authority, crisp details and clarity (but can get slightly thin sounding comparatively), where the M90 is a more laid back, less crisp, but more full sound - it has more upper bass/lower mids, especially with its loudness function, making the JBL's really move some air. But it doen't hit as hard nor as precisely as the less powerful Thule.

So the options I'm looking at are a bigger Thule, the IA350b (4200$ in 2008), which is a 350watt balanced "digital class A" as Thule called it (meaning it essentially does the same as a class A, but ajusts the bias according to the load its actually seeing, cutting down the idle power usage and heat), also giving it very low distortion (0.005%).

The other option I've been looking at are some of the "affordable" second hand Class A monsters in my area, like Krell KSA150, Mark Levinson Model 23 and Vincents (like Vincent 933 Plus monos or sv-238Mk) or the revered DK Design Group VS-1 Reference MKII Hybrid.

Question is what will be most suitable for the Ti10k? I listen to almost all genres, but the "problems" usually arise with metal of all sorts and sometimes classical, because it needs the detail, clarity and precision of the Thule, but can easily end up sounding thin/harsh/lifeless without the heavier/warmer sound of the Pioneer...
 
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I would suggest you try to audition a Lyngdorf TDAi2170 or ideally TDAi3400 at home.

Both these will have incredible S/N ratio so will have much lower noise floors than the amps you mention so background noise is removed. Both have the best toom correction in the world, RoomPerfect to remove the biggest problem in most system - errors created by the room and if you are using digital sources, you can do away with add on DACS etc. and get a much cleaner, clearer signal path.

Finally you can choose different Voicings to compensate for recordings that are thin/harsh/lifeless etc.

The Lyngdorf thread on this Forum has loads of real world feedback from users I think you'll find useful. I used to distribute Thule in the UK and I can assure you the technologies in Lyngdorf products are something different.
 

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