[tom1120s]

Originally Posted by jeffkad

Not to try to keep your bug alive, but have you heard the Salon 2's? You might be swayed with a good listen, like I was. I did the same thing, got them used at 50% retail, which is a steal in my book for anything approaching this level of SQ. I tried to power them initially with a Sunfire 200wpc amp that doubled down into 4 and 2 ohms. It sucked, and I couldn't understand why, since many of the reviews I'd read had used amps with lesser power. The guys here "harassed" me into buying a more powerful, better quality amp. I came across another great deal on a used MC452 and jumped on it. To say the improvement in SQ was enormous is an understatement. Now, can I tell you that Mike is right and this beast, with more power, will sound even better? I cannot, as I've not made that comparison, and frankly I don't feel the need to, as I am extremely happy with where I am now. Having said that, there has been a time or two where I saw the needle pegging, and I wondered if I was pushing the 452 to the max, but that's been so infrequent that it hasn't been an issue. So, as far as 450 watts and the MC452, I think this is a fine amount of watts and a fine amp to get real pleasure from the Salon 2. More power may in fact be better, but I think with 450/452, the threshold of satisfaction and enjoyability has been firmly crossed.

I have yet to hear the Salon2's - but they are the ones I am referring to. As indicated, I am not going to change up the current set up I have with the Marantz gear. I like it that much. Again, My thoughts are that how the amp(s) operate with enough current (and wpc) have more effect than just wpc. My JBL Arrays are rated at 89 and sound quite nice driven by a lonely 300 wpc(8 ohm)600 wpc(4 ohm)-better than the McIntosh MC402 I had before. As a matter of fact, I just came across a picture of the Salons WITH the complete Marantz reference system but because of reasons I do not know(perhaps I have to be a member?), I can not upload it. It was at a audio show.......