Montis + Pathos Classic 1 Mk 3

I wonder...

What would you do if a little Pathos Classic 1 Mk 3 wanted to follow you home?

Pluses:

It's cute.
It has a fully balanced tube preamp stage.
It has XLR inputs for a DAC or an XLR equipped CD player.
It has a mosfet power amp stage.
It's stable down to 1 ohm and can drive Martin Logan speakers.
It's affordable.

Minuses:

It's almost too cute.
It's not really that powerful.
And.... that's about it with the minuses.

While you guys are pondering whether you'd buy one, I cut a deal for a good price. It should be delivered in the next few days. I'll let you know what I think when it arrives.

Ed,

I hope the pre meets your expectations and that you purchased with a full 100% refund option.

GG

PS: I just concluded a recent purchase, absent that option. Result, not good.

The old days of being able to audition products before you buy them becoming more and more difficult. Plus, with the new global retail market, your favourite hi-fi store may very well be located in another country! I find I am now relying on forums and professional reviews to help me decide on the merits of my next purchase - as is in the case of the Pathos amplifier.

Gordon, why were you disappointed with your new purchase?

I almost bought one few months ago. I heard the Mk II a few years ago driving a pair of Tannoys and was pretty smitten. I only held off because I want something that will be capable of driving my CLS's at some point. When I was researching it I did find an article that talked about bridging a pair of them, and I believe in that configuration the pair was capable of delivering somewhere around 180w/channel. If I can find the article again I'll post a link.

This is a nice review:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/pathos-classic-one-mk-ii-integrated-amplifier/