Top Tier Amps

puroagave said:
Also missing are Ypsilon, Robert Koda and Zanden. I would rank Ypsilon above Lamm All-day-long, same for Zanden. I still think Rowland belongs in tier 1, who else had multi-axis CNC machines grinding out chassis' when Jeff thought of doing it back in the day...still waiting. :)
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Ypsilon makes wonderful gear.

Another topic would be: great brands that are plagued by piss poor distribution.


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SimpleSimonSays said:
I agree with you yet I don't think neither Lexus or Infiniti will ever achieve Tier 1 status... They are still perceived Tier 2 for some reason...
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Not so Lexus is tier one with their LFA stuff and F1 , Lemans participation, Infinity less so but their Skylines and sportscars participation give them street creed too .. Honda is Tier one with engines not so much their cars, Japanese BMW , BMW makes world class Tier 1 engines , tier 2 cars at best ..


Regards
 
Listening to a Nad Purifi amp right now on demo going straight from Lumin X1 into amp and am seriously baffled; I’m thinking it sounds clearer and cleaner and less colored than my Pass and Naim amps which cost 3x to 5x more. Perceptions vs. brand snobbery vs. performance vs. value. From a value proposition, maybe it’s the novelty of listening to something new, but I’m putting this experience in tier 1! Who is to say one amp is “better” than another when that conclusion is totally subjective by individual? This hobby can sure cause confusion - audio nervosa defined.
 
I'm sorry, but Infinity is definitely tier 3 at best... I'll give Lexus tier 2, but that is begrudgingly... Mercedes-Benz is very much tier 1 :)... sorry, but no Japanese (and definitely not Korean, sorry Genesis) car compares to German... all there is to it :P.

PS... McIntosh has to be higher than Tier 3... please tell me which piece is more sought after used then McIntosh? ..... <sound of silence> :P :D
 
Randy Myers said:
I'm sorry, but Infinity is definitely tier 3 at best... I'll give Lexus tier 2, but that is begrudgingly... Mercedes-Benz is very much tier 1 :)... sorry, but no Japanese (and definitely not Korean, sorry Genesis) car compares to German... all there is to it :P.
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Sold my Audi S4 (that was a mechanics wet dream) and bought a genesis sedan the 2nd year of production. Got rid of it after 6 months. Went to a BMW and now we own 3.


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Randy Myers said:
I'm sorry, but Infinity is definitely tier 3 at best... I'll give Lexus tier 2, but that is begrudgingly... Mercedes-Benz is very much tier 1 :)... sorry, but no Japanese (and definitely not Korean, sorry Genesis) car compares to German... all there is to it :P.

PS... McIntosh has to be higher than Tier 3... please tell me which piece is more sought after used then McIntosh? .....
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Sought after and public perception are two different things. I’ve probably owned more Mc than most here. Love it. The new Mc sounds though are quite different and not sure I’m a big fan of it. Joe dumped his 1.25kw’s fast for this reason.

Price and perception put it at a strong 3 (in good company).

Do others disagree? Are you saying the audiophile public at large would take a Mc 462 over a Soulution 711, CH M1.1, Boulder 3060, etc?

This is why this question is so hard. Parking our personal preferences at the door and looking at the market objectively is hard!

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Randy Myers said:
I'm sorry, but Infinity is definitely tier 3 at best... I'll give Lexus tier 2, but that is begrudgingly... Mercedes-Benz is very much tier 1 :)... sorry, but no Japanese (and definitely not Korean, sorry Genesis) car compares to German... all there is to it :P.

PS... McIntosh has to be higher than Tier 3... please tell me which piece is more sought after used then McIntosh? ..... <sound of silence> :P :D
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Lemme guess, you don't own a Mercedes?
 
Mike said:
Ayon is one of those brands that makes a good product, but not a lot of dealers carry it likely due to the distributor. I personally don’t have a lot of experience with it, other than shows (usually with Legacy speakers). What’s your thoughts? Tier 2?


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Unfortunately, can't say as I've never heard it. Be interesting to compare it to Wavac...
 
Mike said:
Sought after and public perception are two different things. I’ve probably owned more Mc than most here. Love it. The new Mc sounds though are quite different and not sure I’m a big fan of it. Joe dumped his 1.25kw’s fast for this reason.

Price and perception put it at a strong 3 (in good company).

Do others disagree? Are you saying the audiophile public at large would take a Mc 462 over a Soulution 711, CH M1.1, Boulder 3060, etc?

This is why this question is so hard. Parking our personal preferences at the door and looking at the market objectively is hard!
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All true, especially personal preferences part. I guess it would be the perspective of the audio enthusiast, but I am 100% sure Mc sells many time more amplifiers then the others mentioned, probably even combined.

Resale is a consideration in this hobby. It was difficult and took quite some time to sell my T+A amp (Tom got a very good deal on a very nice amp). I put a McIntosh piece up and it usually sells in a day or two.
 
Randy Myers said:
I'm sorry, but Infinity is definitely tier 3 at best... I'll give Lexus tier 2, but that is begrudgingly... Mercedes-Benz is very much tier 1 :)... sorry, but no Japanese (and definitely not Korean, sorry Genesis) car compares to German... all there is to it :P.

PS... McIntosh has to be higher than Tier 3... please tell me which piece is more sought after used then McIntosh? ..... <sound of silence> :P :D
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I just LOVE how open you are...

:roflmao:
 
Really??

I am surprised by this! With all the amazing high end stuff you have, I'd thought your clientele was more Tiers 1 and 2...

I guess it is good news then!

:)
 
a.wayne said:
Not so Lexus is tier one with their LFA stuff and F1 , Lemans participation, Infinity less so but their Skylines and sportscars participation give them street creed too .. Honda is Tier one with engines not so much their cars, Japanese BMW , BMW makes world class Tier 1 engines , tier 2 cars at best ..


Regards
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My take is that the Audi-BMW-Mercedes Benz crowd will always look down a bit at the Lexus-Infiniti-Genesis of the world... even though the comfort level is just as high in the latter...

The Luxman built quality is often as good/better than Tier 1 brands...

:tutu:
 
Randy Myers said:
....

Resale may also be considered a factor. Many of these brands would be extremely hard to resell while, McIntosh, ARC, etc., sell extremely easy and for top dollar.
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I agree with Randy. Resale value might be a good way to gauge in what tier an amp fits.
Any expensive amp that loses 90% of its value on resale should not be in a top tier.
 
NekoAudio said:
I'll just say that my personal opinion on the audio quality of amplifiers doesn't necessarily match with the perceived amount of prestige (or price).
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Your answer begs the question as to what amps you put in the high quality category which aren’t necessarily perceived as “prestigious “?
 
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