The Surprising M700

I do love to be surprised. I recently bought a pair of M700 monoblocks for dual duty. I’m putting together a theater room in my multi-purpose garage and as a backup, if ever needed, for my main system’s BHK 250. Opioid withdrawal pales in comparison to withdrawal from an exceptional amp.

I listen to music daily and it would be extremely hard to be without my 250 if it ever had to go in for repairs.

I also want to restart movie nights in my condo community of 114 homes. Friends and neighbors are invited weekly to see movies on my 100 inch theater screen. An older PC serves ripped movies through an Epson 5010 HD projector. It’s a great way to bond in a community like ours. I use a pair of older Focals 816S and a Music Hall 25.2 DAC in the rig.

I live in the Southern California desert. Even though the garage has an oversized air conditioner, keeping the room comfortably cool could be a challenge, particularly with a video projector blowing hot air. Combined with the heat we blow during sporting events, it could be more than the AC. can handle. A Class A amp would make us as toasty as the amp.

The hunt was actually pretty easy. Extending flagship technology into lower priced models is one of the best practices for a number of audio manufacturers. Even if that was not the case with the M700s, the amps have the unmistakably musical voicing of a PS Audio component. I’ve never had monoblocks before, but they turned out to be a great choice for my dual needs.

Plugged into my main system, the M700s proved to be the near equal of the BHK 250. They don’t have quite the superbly smooth top end, assertiveness or top and bottom extension. They are not as detailed driving Focals 1038s, but they sound so very close. At their price, they are a veritable bargain for a second system. And they run cool as cucumbers. English not being my first language, I’ve never figured out why cucumbers are said to be cool.

Anyone with limited resources should not hesitate to acquire the M700 monoblocks. They are superb amps in their own right. For me, they were the surprise of late April-early May. And at these times, I for one welcome a good surprise.

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I use three M700’s for my L, C, & R. (not shown) an S300 for the Rear Channels.

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The blacks are really classy looking. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

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I do :slightly_smiling_face:

I have Magnepan 3.6 speakers I use for front L&R Oppo 205 surround sys and DS DAC stereo. Both systems use the M700’s via passive swithces. The 3.6’s are power hungry and the M700’s handle them with ease. I may try an experiment and bi-amp them with my beloved custom built Odyssey Statos on the mid/ribbon tweeters and the M700 on the bottom. Just for fun. 1 is stereo and 2 is surround.

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I had the big Maggies (can’t remember the models) years ago. They were driven by a Levinson No.27 and accompanied by a Velodyne 15-inch sub. I had replaced all the crossover components and the Maggies sang and sang and sang.

I wish I still had them and could hear them today with the M700s. I am sure they would reproduce music more realistically than they did then with the Levinson. I am happy with my evolution but I feel your excitement listening to music with what you now have.

I’m sitting here with a huge grin and an out of this world look on the rest of my face! All I can say is Stella rocks!

I first took the initial plunge into hi-fi many years ago, and stayed averse to splashes and added no new equipment except for maintenance parts and music, each decade. Then I plunged in and upgraded my system, doing so several times during my 40-year working life. I stuck with the polite world of NAD—safe, comfortable, competent, incremental change, and sounds that I’d grown accustomed to.

Now, almost 4 years into retirement, I made the big decision to change, COVID has pushed us all indoors and will keep us there more than we all like, so fighting forced changed with planned change seems like the best way forward—taking control.

PSA equipment: M-700 and Stellar Gain Cell DAC/Pre that arrived last Monday, and Magepan LRS speakers (coming in May).

I was prepared for big changes, and I got ‘em. I was not prepared for the magnificence of the sound—the sound stage is bigger, wider, higher, deeper. Instruments no longer overlap. Details are amazing—strings sound like strings (and not like silent teflon) when they are stroked, plucked or fingered; drums sound musical, rather than as a noise. There is a transparency and a richness to everything. It’s like I have had the wax taken out of my ears and the singers have removed their Covid masks! Orchestras have come out from behind the curtain. I should add a note about bass: I currently have some rather polite and introverted Wharfedale 9.6 speakers. With my NAD, bass was distant and mushy. So far with the Stellar’s bass is crisp and detailed and in a few cases felt. Very noticeable in jazz and also with piano solos.

And this is after just a couple of days of listening! I recall Paul saying 36 hours is needed for all the pieces to gel; others have said 72 hours or more. I’ll just sit and “suffer” for a few days, I guess :slight_smile:

My genuine thanks to all involved—JakeF for his help and friendship; Paul for the “big idea”, Darren for the engineering, JamesH for his presence on the Forum, and all the other, anonymous people at PSA!

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I found somewhere between 200 and 300 hours was when my M700s (driving Maggie .7s) really began to shine.

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I’ve seen that number too, and I’ve seen Paul say 2 weeks, Love it, things can only get better!

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Thanks so much Palouse! Congrats on the new system and glad you’re really enjoying it. I’ll be sure to pass along the kind words to the rest of the crew!

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Yes! Stellar rocks! Love it. Thanks for posting.

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