D'agostino vs Electrocompaniet or Ayre MXR

[dcvibe]

Anyone do an A/B of the D'agostino stereo amp and any of the electrocompaniet amps or Ayre MXR? I have Sasha 1's. Looking at possibly upgrading from electrocompaniet aw250r to either AW 400, Nemo's, or may pull the trigger on the MXR or D'agostino stereo amp. I suspect that the D'agostino may come out ahead. Any help or advice appreciated. I'm seeing a lot of people with Sasha and D'agostino...

[raidho]

Originally Posted by dcvibe

Anyone do an A/B of the D'agostino stereo amp and any of the electrocompaniet amps or Ayre MXR? I have Sasha 1's. Looking at possibly upgrading from electrocompaniet aw250r to either AW 400, Nemo's, or may pull the trigger on the MXR or D'agostino stereo amp. I suspect that the D'agostino may come out ahead. Any help or advice appreciated. I'm seeing a lot of people with Sasha and D'agostino...

Hi,
I have lsten the Sasha 2 with the D'agostino. (the monos) -> IMHO D'agostino is a good product but overpriced and is not so a high end ampli. play very flat...not exciting!

Electrocompaniet sound much better with a prix/performance very very good: a setup with a pre Accuphase and powerampli 400 sound amazing. Nemo are not necessary.

Ayre is my bestwish. if you can go with the mono you go have a very killer system.

[lakesailor]

I have never heard Electrocompanient (would like to) but have heard the D'Agostino on Wilson's and have also heard the Ayre MXR's on Dynaudio.

I think part of the problem with D'Agostino is that expectations are very high given the price and at least in my case I came away thinking it was beautifully made, nice sounding but overall it didn't provoke a sense of passion that is was an amplifier I would love to own.

The Ayre's are not inexpensive either but I was immediately impressed by the dynamics and tonality of the sound - build quality is also very impressive and I felt that they well worth the asking price and I would definitely be happy to own them.

Bottom line even if the prices for the Ayre and D'Agostino were the same I would happily choose the Ayre - very impressive gear. Keep in mind I didn't get to hear the Ayre on Wilson's or the D'agostino on the Dynaudio but the Wilsons were roughly 2x the value of the Dynaudio I heard paired with the Ayre's.

Good luck

[audio bill]

I'm surprised by the last two posts and their 'lack of praise' for the D'Agostino amps. I haven't had the pleasure of hearing them myself, but everywhere else all I've seen are glowing reviews. Maybe they don't match well with Wilson Audio speakers, but it's nice to see some new independent comments on their performance here. Thanks to both posters!

[BillK]

I've loved the sound of the Momentums since the first day I heard them, which surprised me as I was never at all fond of the Krell sound.

The biggest impediment for me is the price level; I simply can't afford the monos, and the stereo would mean going back to eating nothing but Ramen noodles for a year. ;-)

I will be interested to see how the Monentum amps fare against the Ayre MX-R Twenty coming in July, but at present if I needed a new amp I'd probably be looking at a Pass 250.8.

[turntable]

Before I bought my Momentum Stereo I listened at home the Ayre MX-R's, as well as Pass X-350.5, Levinson 532H. I actually wanted to buy the MX-R's as they are cheaper than the Mom S.

The Ayre was nice, but the Momentum Stereo plays music and was superior - not really close in my system.

The Momentum sounds great with my cj GAT and the Pass XP-20.

[MtnHam]

The Ayre MXR's are often available and a bargain on the used market. I like mine so well I own two pair!

[BillK]

Plus you'll be able to upgrade those MX-R's to MX-R Twenty status if you so choose for the difference in MSRP (around $9000 each) starting later this year.

[raidho]

Originally Posted by MtnHam

The Ayre MXR's are often available and a bargain on the used market. I like mine so well I own two pair!

a bargain not ....but a good price vs new yes.

in europa a pair of monos at very great price can be avialable for around 20k.Euro.

electrocompaniet is a bargain in second hand!!!!

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by dcvibe

Anyone do an A/B of the D'agostino stereo amp and any of the electrocompaniet amps or Ayre MXR? I have Sasha 1's. Looking at possibly upgrading from electrocompaniet aw250r to either AW 400, Nemo's, or may pull the trigger on the MXR or D'agostino stereo amp. I suspect that the D'agostino may come out ahead. Any help or advice appreciated. I'm seeing a lot of people with Sasha and D'agostino...

I'd hate to make a decision of this magnitude without spending some serious time listening to them all before pulling the trigger. I know that this may be impractical, but even if the nearest dealer is 1,000mi away, it may be worth the price of a plane ticket/hotel to hear them first hand.

The depreciation the moment you buy them is going to be huge, so the cost of some travel would be easier to swallow if you don't like them.

Alternative, try to find some people locally (through forums) who own them and see if they'll invite you. Offer them some $ or dinner at a fancy restaurant in exchange. I'd be happy to invite you at my home for an audition if I had any of those amps.

Alberto