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In Reply to: RE: Amplifier search, continued... posted by Dman on February 23, 2015 at 09:28:06
If you're a cheapskate, go solid state. Try one of these in your system
New with 3-year transferable warranty for under $500, plenty of power and reliable:
Edits: 02/26/15 02/26/15Follow Ups:
You do not have to be a cheapskate to go SS just sensible , I am listening to the Rotel 1552 MK 2 as I post it sounds wonderful nothing I know of gets close especially at the price build is excellent do not go anywhere near s/hand antique tube amps or for me unlistenable class D rubbish.
Edits: 02/28/15 02/28/15 02/28/15
Just to avoid any confusion whilst I find the Rotel 1552 Mk 2 amplifier to be excellent for the price, the best amplifier I have auditioned todate is the new Arcam Class G integrated A49 or P49 power amp, however they are considerably more expensive, class G technology is also in the Arcam AVRs
What speakers are you using ...... ?
Adire Audio DDRs. A DIY kit from now defunct Adire Audio (see link below).
If you are too tired or just don't care to click the link, I already posted in this thread the impedance/phase plot.
The unfortunate part is that both the HF and LF drivers are now unobtanium! That sucks, as these speakers are really nice; punchy and dynamic, lots of warmth (but not wooly or boomy) and a high end that doesn't shout or sound brittle. The mids are truly holographic, with a wrap-around tangibility, as dipoles are capable of. This is of course if they are built properly. The instructions, while good, don't really hint that the panels themselves should be much more rugged- stability is the key here, and I did that (three layers of 3/4" MDF to anchor things to start...
Dman
Analog Junkie
My speaker question was directed at Disbeliever .....
nt
Dman
Analog Junkie
I used various Class D amps on a variety of speakers including a large custom made TL speaker, KEF B & W and a virtually unknown Acoustic Insight TL Aurousal VS,I could not tolerate the Class D sound. For the past month I now have the excellent Acoustic Insight Phantom Source Floorstander. Today I just received the best amplifier I have auditioned the Arcam P49 Class G 200 wpc Ist 50 watts Class A it runs cool. The over hyped Devialet only has a few watts Class A . I find this latest Arcam amp to have far superior SQ to Devialet Premier-D .You can read a review of the Arcam amp in Words & Music Andrew Everard. AE is technical editor of Gramophone and for a change I completely agree with him with regard to the excellent sound of the latest Arcam, made in the US.
Edits: 03/03/15 03/04/15
Dis,
Can you give me your observations regarding your experience with Class D amps? SQ? Model(s)? Good points? Bad Points? etc... You get the drift!
I'm trying to probe deeper than "they're crap" or "they're great". I want to hear the things you liked and/or disliked. Be open and candid ; I've read your posts enough to take it (LOL)... But most of all, I value an honest, knowledgeable observation over a blanket statement any day and I've never known you to hold back!
BTW, this goes for anyone else who is reading this thread- if you have had any experience with Class D, please let fly! I want to hear your observations, not necessarily your opinions...
TIA,
Dman
Analog Junkie
My experience with Class-D isPositives: Good Jump factor, energy is like live music, with good details and midband drive .
Negatives: Light on the Bass, unnatural upper mids high, mostly a bit edgy and fatiguing over time and devoid of "warmth" (what ever that means, you just feel it :) )
Now the negatives will vary on speakers, closed in or soft on the top speakers will benefit greatly from class-D , even better if said speaker is a bit "fat" on the bottom, the Jump factor is good with them thou, I can see merit.
Regards..
Bel Canto
Rotel
So like everything else YMMV...
Edits: 03/04/15 03/04/15
Believe me they are all crap as far as I am concerned. OTH you have to listen for your self you may not be as fussy as I am. models evaluated, Flying Mole, Bel Canto, Primare Rotel Devialet the latter is not crap but SQ is not for me especially at the price with many unwanted features. If you want my advice buy the Class AB Rotel 1552 MK2 amp 120 wpc nothing else that I am aware of gets close at anywhere near the price. I have just bought the Arcam P49 Class G UK price . After reading GOFAST post it appears you have some weird speakers ?
Edits: 03/04/15 03/04/15 03/04/15 03/04/15 03/04/15
Did you use the Devialet with the Acoustic Insight Phantom Source speaker file... ?
No, Phantom Source Floorstander is only I month old but I did use the Devialet on the very similar earlier version Aurousal VS and much preferred my 16 year old Class AB amplifier a more involving natural sound.
Edits: 03/04/15 03/04/15
Are you asking Dman or Disbeliever ?
Didn't float my boat sonically, but I know a lot of live bands use them for vocals/keys/PA use.
Thanks for the suggestion though!
Cheers,
Dman
Analog Junkie
Had the Crown XLS 1500 here several weeks back, and it totally 'crushed' the ClassD Audio amp I have. Saw you were interested in the ClassD Audio amp in another thread.
The XLS was way superior, but you have to use the XLR input and the SpeakOn outputs. THe RCA in and the banana-outputs took a big bite of the SQ.
From what I have heard so far, there is no generic sound to those amps either (i.e., tube sounds like... Solid state sounds like...)...
Dman
Analog Junkie
Forgot to add...in the comparison also featured a DIY NCore400 which bettered the Crown XLS across the broad sound spectrum, just more 3D and refined. Of course the NCore cost 3-4 times the Crown 1500.
Maybe the XLS 2000 or 2500 might fare better with their beefier power supply.
I have the 125W./8ohm, the 254 module with a beefed up power supply.
While it does sound overtly 'warm', it doesn't sound 'tubey'. I have a couple Jolida amps that sounds anything but 'tubey'.
I love tubes but not the old 'muddy tubey sound'.
The XLS can sound 'hot' or 'warm' depending on the isolation used under it. Soft footers lean towards warmer, whereas my Stillpoints really brought out the hotter aspects of the sound of the XLS or any components as a whole.
My old ARC sounded "okay" when I got it- certainly that "old tube sound" was present. After checking and replacing the original output tubes (to start), things started to come alive. PSU mods/upgrades literally transformed the sound of that amp into something of a rock solid sounding performer. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the previous posts in this thread, there were other, intermittent issues that I just got fed up with trying to track down- I want to LISTEN to my music, not worry about putting my gear in "the shop" every time something goes down...
That's why I'm jaded about used tubes. Also, this is why D-wife really doesn't want ANY tube power in the house now- she's seen me at my frustrated worst trying to kick start this amp at times.
I should clarify my experience with the XLS Crown stuff- I have been in a great many bands over the years, and one of them was using an XLS in the vocal PA- didn't float my boat at all (of course, the FOH speakers for this were the typical JBL 15 plus a horn things).
The amp I am currently using (and having a love/hate relationship) is a Mission Cyrus II integrated as a power amp (volume/balance, phono stages and all I/O selectors have been removed). It'll bench out at roughly 60+ WPC (beefed up PSU internally), but isn't the cat's meow for resolution. When used within reason, it sounds certainly better than some mid-fi dreck out there. If pushed to the clipping point, watch out! It gets harsh, with a forward midrange that certainly does rock and roll no justice. I know its the amp losing steam as It does exactly the same thing with DQ-10s (not an easy drive either!) and JBL 4311s (mixed my band's last record on those- I now understand THAT love/hate relationship for those studio badboys from the 70s).
Dman
Analog Junkie
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