New Impression 11A's

[Hear Here]

I bought a pair of 11a's this spring. I have been using a Mark Levinson 8505 and I could not be happier. Built in MQA DAC and at 4 ohms your getting around 250w. I have had no clipping at higher volumes and have not set off any protection.

Expensive unit, however, you can find some open box units with full warranty at sites like music direct.

Good to hear from someone else who has used the ML 8505 integrated amp. I had one on loan for a couple of weeks and I rather liked its sound but there were features I didn't like. My NAD M32 offered very similar sound and a streamer module, so I stuck with the M32. I don't think I had the 5805 at the same time as the 13As so I don't think I used them together. Would you be interested to hear my observations on the 5805 that I passed to the dealer who loaned it? I could PM them to you if you wish. I'd be interested to hear if your experiences are similar. Peter

 

[Sunkenpirate]

Good to hear from someone else who has used the ML 8505 integrated amp. I had one on loan for a couple of weeks and I rather liked its sound but there were features I didn't like. My NAD M32 offered very similar sound and a streamer module, so I stuck with the M32. I don't think I had the 5805 at the same time as the 13As so I don't think I used them together. Would you be interested to hear my observations on the 5805 that I passed to the dealer who loaned it? I could PM them to you if you wish. I'd be interested to hear if your experiences are similar. Peter

Yeah it would be great to hear your take on the 5805.

 

[zigman]

Which integrated with DAC and streamer do you have? I have NAD M32 with M33 as my planned upgrade route. I used the M32 successfully with my ML 13As, but I had a couple of power amps that were marginally better in my view. These were the GamuT D200 Mk III and the Sanders Magtech. My room doesn't favour ML speakers, so I kept my old Avantgarde Unos. Virtually unused 13As currently for sale in UK. Peter

I ended up demoing the Vitus RI-101 with the DAC/streamer module and fell in love with it. Very good balance of resolution and naturalness without sounding analytical at all. Instruments realism is absolutely spot on. I thought it paired well with MLs. Cost is fairly high but since it has a built-in DAC and streamer it saved quite a bit of money buying separate components/cables making it a bit more palatable. I have heard good things about the NAD M32, it was on my list to demo though never got around to it.

I am in the same boat with the 11As, our new room is too small for them. In smaller rooms the depth of the newer MLs make it hard to sit far enough to hear the full range of the panel.

 

[Hear Here]

Yeah it would be great to hear your take on the 5805.

See my PM. Happy to send to others considering this great amp.

 

[Hear Here]

I ended up demoing the Vitus RI-101 with the DAC/streamer module and fell in love with it. Very good balance of resolution and naturalness without sounding analytical at all. Instruments realism is absolutely spot on. I thought it paired well with MLs. Cost is fairly high but since it has a built-in DAC and streamer it saved quite a bit of money buying separate components/cables making it a bit more palatable. I have heard good things about the NAD M32, it was on my list to demo though never got around to it.

I am in the same boat with the 11As, our new room is too small for them. In smaller rooms the depth of the newer MLs make it hard to sit far enough to hear the full range of the panel.

Sounds like a great amp but more costly than the speakers! I put most of my money in the speakers and perhaps 25-50% of that into amplification.

My room has problems because of its large size but more importantly its odd shape. The speakers are placed in the middle of an almost semi-circular room, so one speaker is 12 ft from the wall behind and the other 15 ft. Martin Logans just don't like this lack of rear wall to reflect some of the 50% of their energy that's projected backwards. They sounded great in a showroom but a bit of a disaster in my room. So they are for sale (UK only) at a great price and I've bought new Avantgarde horn speakers to replace my old ones.