Amp for AV123 LS6's

I recently ordered a pair of LS6's for dedicated 2-channel listening and have yet to choose an amp for them. My budget is $2000. Two amps in this range have caught my attention. First, the Wyred4Sound ST-1000 and second, dual Emotiva XPA-1 monoblocks. These both have been reviewed very well and seem to be high value amps. For preamp, I am going to stick with my home theater Pre/Pro (Onkyo PR-SC885) for now.

I'm looking for an amp that is completely transparent and neutral, capable of resolving the tiniest nuances while also having effortless uncompressed dynamics at louder volumes. Also, a huge soundstage and with precise imaging is very important to me. So whatever qualities of an amp (channel separation, low noise and distortion???) that lead to this result are also a must. Reviews that I've read seem to indicate that both of these amps excel in all these areas while having very different overall sonic characters. I am new to all these subtle differences between high quality amps, but want to learn. Most importantly though, I want to find an amp that will combine well with the LS6's and wow me no matter what I play and at what volume level.

One other question. If I don't choose an amp right away, I may end up driving the LS6's with dual bridged Behringer EP2500 amps, which I have two of sitting in boxes. These have respectable noise and distortion measurements, as well as good specs on damping factor and slew rate. Besides fan noise, what other ways sonically do these pro-amps fail in a hifi application?

All thoughts and opinions are welcome. Also, are there any other amps that should be on my short list in my price range?

Thanks,
Matt

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking that bridging does increase distortion and lower damping factor, so I understand why you say hook up in stereo. But at the same time, it gives more headroom and doubles the capacitance and isolates the channels better. But I agree, I will try stereo first.

Thanks for your input and yes, I do realize that doubling power gives 3 dB increase. While I do enjoy it loud, it's all about headroom and having the amp ALWAYS operate in its comfort zone. That was my reason for thinking to bridge the amps. Plus, I have two of them sitting in boxes...

I just scheduled an audition for this Sunday with EJ at Wyred4Sound, who just happens to have a pair of LS6's driven by the ST-1000!!....and he lives just an hour away from me. My LS6's are scheduled to ship sometime in the next week, so my plan is to initially use the Behringer(s) with the sound of the Wyred amps as my reference point. Not exactly controlled conditions, but I think I'll know if the difference is huge, small or barely noticeable. Although different rooms and stages of break-in might make even that difficult.

Very nice to hear! You've got me very interested now to hear these amps on the LS6's. Just to to clear, you say you will be using 7 of them total - does that mean 2 for subs and one bridged for each channel? Also, how is the low level detail with these amps, in your opinion?

No, I don't use the analog inputs on the Onkyo except for the HDMI from my PS3 since it can't output HD audio digitally. I also realize that the preamp may well be the weak link in my system after incorporating the LS6's, but one thing at a time...

Break-in of the speakers. The LS6's are said to take quite a while to break-in (around 500 hours).

I posted my impressions of the Wyred4Sound + LS6 combo on the "Official Wyred 4 Sound Amp Thread":

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post15889741

I think it is fair to say that the concept "break-in" is controversial. While I would agree with you that more of it is psychological than is often attributed, there is a physical basis for the effect. With a line source, there are many drivers that barely stretch their suspensions, which would extend this time.

I know I've heard break-in by direct A/B comparison. I own 5 Mackie HR824 monitors for surround sound. I bought the first 3 a month before purchasing the surrounds. I had remembered initially thinking that the sound was quite harsh and lacking good mid-bass, but obviously my perception changed or else I wouldn't have bought the surrounds. So when I got surrounds, I initially hooked them up right next to the l/r channels and directly compared. The difference wasn't as big as I had remembered (the psychological effect), but it was there. The broken-in ones sounded smoother and had more punch down low...