I've been reading up on the CMA800R to pair with my LCD-X and soon to arrive Chord Hugo.
I recently demo'd the GSX-MkII and Senn HDVA600 at the SoCal meet, and the Auralic Taurus MkII at Stereo Unlimited here in San Diego.
At $1,500, the CMA800R and the Senn amp are the cheapest of the bunch. The Master 9 is in that $ ballpark as well.
With my LCD-X the GSX sounded amazing, very full, and is just a beauty. It's very expensive, and the wait is just too long. The Taurus had massive balls, bass galore, and very musical.
I currently have the Senn amp at home, and it sounds quite good, musical, has great synergy with the LCD-X and of course Senn's HD800, but the Taurus has considerably more power and is able to punch with greater bass impact at equal volume. The bass is very strong, hits hard, hits fast and then fades instantly. It's worth the $500 premium to me, and so the Senn is likely going back.
I only listened to the Taurus in balanced mode, and regret not switching over to SE given what I've read about that output's distinct character.
I've been chatting with Mr. Alden Zhao of Questyle and he informed me today that the company will be exhibiting at the upcoming
T.H.E. Show next month in Irvine, CA.
Hopefully the CMA800R will have that musical essence / character I'm looking for, with decent power. As Project86 cited in his review, one can always add another unit for greater dynamics. I'm really hoping Questyle will have that mono-balanced setup at THE Show.
Ah, such problems to ponder. Buy a single CMA800R now, and perhaps scale up in the future. Or pay a bit more for the Taurus...