Dsdreamer, I once owned the Studio 100s (same v3s as you), and I struggled finding an amp the didn't sound too bright--I lived in fear of that metal tweeter! I thought there would be no getting past those shrill high frequencies, but I eventually did. This experience taught me that amps do not all sound the same...
First amp I tried was a Musical Fidelity A5; nice amp, bad match for those speakers--just too shrill for me. I suspect the Simaudio recommended earlier would be similar--a great match for some speakers, but probably not for these (a least for me). After some more amp-related fussing, I eventually tried a tubed integrated (a Rogue Tempest II) which was a nice match. Yes, the difficult impedance curve must have tortured that poor tube amp, but it sounded good, even if the low end was a bit loose. I eventually sold the speakers to a friend who paired them with an Onkyo A-9555, which is a Class D design. I think they sound very good together, with the Onkyo punching way above its weight--hard to beat for the price, I think, but maybe not a real step-up from your Creek. Given that experience, though, I think some Class D amps might worth trying with your speakers, especially through a tube pre-amp if you're game for that. Also, my favorite reasonably priced interconnects (~$150 US used) are Acoustic Zen Wows; nicely detailed, warm signature. A good match for the Paradigms, I think. Good luck. -- Steidl Guitars ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steidl Guitars's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=36334 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=88452 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
